Dollface is a 2019 comedy series on Hulu that was created by Jordan Weiss and executive produced by Margot Robbie.
Jules Wiley (Kat Dennings) has been with her boyfriend Jeremy for five years, neglecting her other female friendships with Madison Maxwell (Brenda Song) and Stella Cole (Shay Mitchell). But when Jeremy unexpectedly dumps her, she finds that going back to those friends is harder than she thinks, as she's practically been out of their lives for five years and she has to face down her own introverted nature, while simultaneously having Imagine Spots of an old Cat Lady (Beth Grant) guiding her through her life.
Jules also works at a female beauty company called Woöm where she has to deal with her co-workers Alison B (Brianne Howey), Alison S. (Vella Lovell), and Izzy (Esther Povitsky), who is making everyone believe she is actually named Alison, too. Between her work and her friends, Jules will have to navigate this thing called "female friendship" and work out what she wants from her own life.
The first season premiered on Hulu on November 15, 2019. A second season, which added Lilly Singh to the cast in a supporting role, premiered on February 11, 2022. On May 10, it was announced that the series had been cancelled and wouldn't be getting a third season.
Dollface contains examples of the following tropes:
- Amicable Exes: This is what Jules and Jeremy are trying to be, even though he dumped her after five years. Jeremy tries to reconnect with her at the end of season 1, having realized that he screwed up; Jules didn't take to it.
- Benevolent Boss: Downplayed with Celeste as she’s pretty shallow and superficial but still treats her employees well.
- Best Friend: What Jules is trying to get back now that she's alone.
- Celebrity Paradox: Jules and Madison find Stella talking to Dave Coulier. Jules specifically refers to him as his Full House character Uncle Joey. Shortly after Full House ended Bob Saget stared on a short lived series called Raising Dad with Kat Dennings.
- Comically Missing the Point: After Jules tries room with Izzy (and finds her intrusive), she tells Izzy that she isn't good with roommates. Izzy says that if she isn't good with roommates, why did she have eight in the last three months?
- Control Freak: Madison.
- Crazy Cat Lady: Because Jules is worried about becoming this, she tends to imagine a literal Cat Lady (played by Beth Grant) as her guide to life, driving the bus of recent breakups, and generally being in charge of the game show that is her life.
- The Fashionista: Stella. She's never without some gorgeous (or weird) ensemble.
- Genki Girl: Izzy. Stella even says she's like if "drugs were a person".
- Girl Posse: The Alisons at Jules' work, although they aren't actually very mean. They just seem untouchable (to the point where when Jules wanted to sit at their lunch table, she imagined the table literally moving away from her). It's subverted, however, by Izzy, who is just pretending to be named Alison in order to fit in.
- Hollywood Homely: Jules is in-universe average looking, but is played by the gorgeous Kat Dennings.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: The entire plot of the show, as Jules just wants to go back to being friends with Madison and Stella, but she also doesn't know how to navigate those friendships or her own life.
- Identically Named Group: The Alisons at Jules's workplace. Rather, they are Alison B., Alison S., and Izzy who pretends her name is Alison.
- In Season 2, when the Alisons have started their own Woöm-like company (also called "Alison"), their brand manager is named Alison J. (though "Alison" is just her middle name).
- Imagine Spot: Every episode opens with Jules in one which reflects her dilemma. Many episodes are often filled with these. F*** Buddy turns this up to 11 with pretty much all of Jules scenes with the Lego guy featuring various degrees of an imagine spot, to the point its hard to judge what actually happened especially how they met which is depicted as Jules going shopping at a car dealership, but one for boyfriends.
- Motor Mouth: Izzy is extremely talkative.
- Ms. Fanservice: Stella is a model and is usually seen wearing revealing outfits. She's also played by Shay Mitchell which qualifies her as this by default.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Celeste and her lifestyle website Woöm are an obvious reference to Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop.
- No Social Skills: Jules is great at talking to people she already knows, but when it comes to going to parties or making small talk, she is incredibly awkward, unsure of herself, and just afraid. It's one of the reasons she let her friendships with other women behind — she was more at ease staying home with her boyfriend, which isn't an option anymore.
- Off to See the Wizard: Episode 9 "Feminist" sets the story at a women's march with the characters seeking wisdom from the speaker, a renowned feminist. The episode also has many visual and plot references to The Wizard of Oz:
- The episode begins in black and white and switches to color when Jules is knocked out.
- Jules, the Dorothy of the story, has her hair braided, wears a blue plaid-patterned shirt and a pair of red shoes.
- Stella, who is worried about not being smart, wears a straw hat throughout the episode, making her the Scarecrow.
- Madison, who is dealing with heartbreak, wears a shiny, silver jacket and bright pants, similar to the Tin Man.
- Izzy, afraid of not being independent and being introduced almost having a panic attack, is wearing a brown, fuzzy jacket and has her hair in a similar shape to cat ears, making her the Cowardly Lion.
- The cat lady appears in a pink, sparkly dress with a magic wand a la Glinda the Good Witch.
- Jules' boss, Celeste, has changed from her traditional, comfortable all-white clothes into a black dress and fills a more antagonistic role than normal in the episode, mirroring the Wicked Witch.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Madison and Stella. Even though they disagree (about a lot), they have been friends forever and are fiercely protective of each other. Jules used to be the same way, but let the friendships fall behind when she began dating Jeremy.
- Really Gets Around: Stella. When Jules relays a story about getting a t-shirt in Aruba with Madison, Stella asks where she was during that time — and Madison politely reminds her that she was giving a lifeguard a blowjob.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Invoked and averted. It's implied that Madison makes a ton of money in her job and can therefore bribe people to get better care at the hospital. However, it's actually because she's dating a doctor there.
- Start My Own:
- In Season 2, following the Time Skip, the Alisons have quit Woöm and started their own competing company.
- Also in the start of Season 2, Madison is fired from her PR firm job along with everyone else who works there, and starts doing the same kind of work as an independent agent.
- Time Skip: Season 2 skips ahead to a time after the COVID pandemic has passed and the girls start going back to work after quarantining.
- Title Drop: Dollface is Jeremy's affectionate nickname for Jules.
- Unreliable Narrator: Some scenes featuring Jules are told through dream-like imagine spots which make it hard to tell what actually happened vs what we see happen.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Madison is terrified of magic.
