For its third and final season, Survival of the Thickest welcomes some legendary actors and fashion figures to its cast: Wanda Sykes, D.L. Hughley, Ashley Graham, Ronny Chieng, Jenna Lyons, and Ice-T will guest star in the next installment, which has started filming in New York City.
In Season 2, everybody’s favorite New York City stylist, Mavis Beaumont (Michelle Buteau), continued to make mistakes, learn about herself, and evolve following a major breakup. In this new season, she’ll get to start afresh.
Getting a Season 3 green light has been “such a beautiful every-day-is-a-birthday-gift with no gift receipt!” Buteau tells Tudum. She promises the upcoming third and final season will “be lived in, lived out loud, we’ll tie up and let it loose, honey!” Also cause for celebration? Co-creators Buteau and Danielle Sanchez-Witzel will make their directorial debuts with Episodes 5 and 3, respectively. Keep reading for everything there is to know about Season 3 of Survival of the Thickest.
Survival of the Thickest centers on Mavis Beaumont. Black, plus-size, and looking for love while loving herself, Mavis works hard to grow her brand and establish herself as a stylist of note. She’s determined not only to survive but thrive with the support of her chosen family, a body-positive attitude, and a cute V-neck with some lip gloss. The scripted comedy is inspired by Buteau’s acclaimed book of essays.
Kim Nguyen and Amy Aniobi will also direct, and Aniobi will be the showrunner. A24 and Anne Hong from Mosaic executive produce with Aniobi, Buteau, and Sanchez-Witzel.
Survival of the Thickest Season 1 follows up-and-coming stylist Mavis after a devastating breakup with her live-in photographer boyfriend, Jacque (Taylor Selé), as she attempts to establish a new life outside of coupledom and pursue her plus-size high-fashion dreams.
The end of Season 2 sees Mavis taking her riskiest stand yet: After criticizing a designer for not being as size-inclusive as he claims, Mavis doubles down on this spicy take during a podcast interview — leading to a very public fallout with the designer and throwing her career into uncertainty.
She wouldn’t be the Mavis we’ve come to know and love if she did back down, though. Instead, in classic Mavis fashion, she takes matters into her own hands and reaches out to the designer to collaborate on an unprecedented inclusive line worn by transgender women and people of all body types during a groundbreaking runway show. This moment is a culmination of everything Mavis has been striving to achieve in her career. It also represents a convergence of the series’ most prescient themes, namely the importance of authenticity and speaking up.
Throughout all eight episodes, Mavis’ friends and chosen family, including artist Khalil (Tone Bell) and finance girlboss Marley (Tasha Smith), stand by their bestie while navigating their own ups and downs. According to Sanchez-Witzel, the main question while creating the second season was, “How are we growing not only Mavis, but the whole world?” Ultimately, the showrunner says, “The theme we kept coming back to was leveling up: getting these characters to reach new heights romantically, take chances with their careers.” Marley enters into a steamy will they, won’t they rapport with an equally driven city council member named Daphne (Jerrie Johnson), while Khalil gets help from a therapist to interrogate his tendency to self-sabotage in both his professional and personal lives.
Mavis’ love life, too, faces its own chaos. After flying to Rome to win her past fling Luca (Marouane Zotti) back with an ultimately unsuccessful grand gesture, Mavis entertains a few dubious flings (including one with a sexy local bartender, which presents its own set of problems). In the season finale, however, her unresolved feelings for her ex lead them to rekindle their romance. Does this little reunion mean the two are falling in love again, or is it just people falling back into old habits? We’ll have to wait for Season 3 to find out.
“Season 2 felt like a beautiful place full of love, hope, and growth,” Buteau reflects. “There’s truly nothing better than having the opportunity to live your truth and share your stories onscreen.” Buteau is also ready to see what’s next for her character. “Honestly, I want to know what’s good for Mavis! Mavis has really put herself out there, and if she continues to do so, the sky’s the limit.”
A release date for Season 3 hasn’t been announced, but the show has kicked off production in New York City. In the meantime, rewatch Seasons 1 and 2 on Netflix and stay tuned to Tudum for more Survival of the Thickest updates.
