Netflix’s “Big Mouth” released its sixth season, bringing back vulgar puberty flashbacks and reminders of the journey of growing up. If you’re looking for the next animated series to watch, look no further.
Ongoing since 2017, “Big Mouth” follows a group of middle schoolers as they navigate their changing bodies, natural desires, friendships and everything else that goes on during the formative years of their lives. The season was released on Oct. 28, and consists of 10 episodes — like its five previous seasons — that run for about 27 minutes each.
Season five of “Big Mouth” was released back in November of 2021, and in March of 2022, Netflix released a spin-off show entitled “Human Resources.” The show follows creatures in the minds of the “Big Mouth” characters, such as Hormone Monsters, Love Bugs and Depression Kitties.
The official trailer for season six was released at the beginning of October, featuring plotlines that come from the “Human Resources” spinoff, such as a pregnant Maury, and season six of “Big Mouth” introduces new family members for each of the characters.
The season opens with the core characters: Andrew (John Mulaney), Nick (Nick Kroll), Jessi (Jessi Klein), Missy (Ayo Edebiri), Jay (Jason Mantzoukas), Matthew (Andrew Rannells) and Lola (Nick Kroll), with the introduction of a new character named Elijah. Storylines from season five continue, including Andrew’s new relationship with Bernie, a girl he met while on vacation, as well as Jessi’s struggle with her new stepmom, who is pregnant with Jessi’s soon-to-be stepsister. Additionally, we see the continuation of Jay and Matthew’s relationship and Lola’s ongoing life with an absent mother.
Elijah is introduced as a new student at Bridgeton Middle School, and he becomes Missy’s love interest. Throughout the season, Elijah struggles as he discovers that he is asexual. The introduction of an asexual character is one of the small ways “Big Mouth” makes sure to remain inclusive.
Although season five included a lesbian love story between Jessi and Ali, their relationship ends almost as fast as it began, and we see almost none of Ali in season six. Despite the discontinuation of one LGBTQ+ relationship, it seems as though Elijah and Missy have much more potential with their relationship. Perhaps Elijah will return for his own plotline and develop more as an individual character next season.
We also see the inclusion of pop culture references, including the Rice Purity Test and Apple — specifically a newly (fictional) released product, the Apple Brooch. While previous “Big Mouth” seasons also include references to trends, these seem to be two of the most up to date fads, which is an interesting way of tying the “Big Mouth” world to the real world.
Additionally, some notable cameos include Tyler, The Creator voicing God — yes, as in an animated Lord himself — and Adam Levine as one of Lola’s pretend dads. It seems ironic for Adam Levine to voice a character who pretends to be a young girl’s dad in order to claim part of her pending financial wealth — especially considering his recent controversies — but he’s proven that acts of controversy are within his comfort zone.
Apart from the return of the hormone monsters and love bugs, no additional creature characters are present throughout the season. It is relieving to not have to deal with Depression Kitties or Tito the Anxiety Mosquito again, but the lack of additional characters present amongst the Bridgeton kids takes away extra layers of the plot. However that’s even more incentive to tune into “Human Resources.”
A favorite episode of the season is the finale, “F**ked up Friday,” a parody of the 2003 film “Freaky Friday.” At the end of episode nine, each character makes a wish, and episode 10 begins with characters mentally inside of another person’s body based on their wish.
Although the concept of “Freaky Friday” isn’t new, the “Big Mouth” version is both heartwarming and comical. It is a strong way to end the season, as the primary conflicts are quickly resolved and no major cliffhangers are included. Despite this, a seventh season has already been confirmed, so we are guaranteed to see more of Bridgeton Middle School and the “Big Mouth” crew.
Generally, this season is on par with the rest of the series. While season six doesn’t particularly stand out within the show, it fits well with the previous five seasons and has a solid foundation for a future season to build upon.
The musical pieces sung by the characters during this season were definitely enjoyable — possibly even more so than previous seasons — but a change of pace will likely be needed soon before the show begins to feel repetitive.
Overall, those who’ve already watched the first five seasons will find season six enjoyable. If you’re a first-time watcher looking for something new and are tolerant of never ending conversations about sex, then “Big Mouth” is right up your alley.
Andie San Luis is a Campus News Intern for the fall 2022 quarter. She can be reached at asanlui1@uci.edu.
