In her Netflix series The Duchess, Katherine Ryan introduces us to a new and possibly more real version of the single mother we usually see on screen, you know the one, all downtrodden and constantly being told by her friends that she ought to take some time for herself once in a while. Usually written by a man, she’s boring, one dimensional and no one can quite work out how this maternal martyr even has friends to tell her such things. Unsurprisingly, Katherine Ryan has gone in a different direction.
This single mother creation is totally in control, she indulges her and her daughter’s whims and has created a fairytale life in which they’re both the princess and the prince visits once a week.
Of course, this is not actually a fairytale. The lovely dentist Katherine has been seeing for a year wants to be more involved in her and her daughter Olive’s life. Meanwhile, Olive’s father is an ex boyband member who has grown rather eccentric and grown to eschew shirts and capitalism. Both men appear to be inconveniences, getting in the way of Katherine’s desire to give Olive a sibling via a sperm donor.
Setting boundaries with everyone but her daughter, Katherine has written a heightened version of herself who isn’t particularly held back by societal expectations.
So blinkered in her desire to give Olive a perfect life, Katherine fails to see the possibilities that could lie with her dentist boyfriend, nor the dangers that could befall her daughter if she continues to harass her fellow school mums. Though these activities, combined with the comedian’s acerbic style make for fun viewing.
Speaking of fun viewing, a lot has been said about Katherine’s wardrobe and house in the show and her character’s ability to afford them, both are fabulous and quite frankly right now I don’t want to see anything less on-screen as I sit in my miserable studio flat. Also, why you gaggin’ she bring it to you every show.
The Duchess is on Netflix now!
