Previewing I Love That for You

 

The truth is stranger than fiction.  And whenever fiction thinks it has come up with something they think is stranger, the truth comes through and proves it still is the strangest.  Case in point, when Showtime ordered I Love That for You, a story about someone who lies about their cancer diagnosis to get a job, they probably thought it was some farfetched comedy premise.  But about a month before the show premiered, new broke that a writer on Grey’s Anatomy lied about having cancer and having an abortion.  The truth remains undefeated in its weirdness.

 

I Love That for You stars Vanessa Bayer whose own childhood leukemia inspired the show (it is unknown if Breyer liked about still having cancer to get on Saturday Night Live or if Bayer as a child guilted nurses into giving her cake like her character in flashbacks does).  But instead of SNL, her character’s dream is to be a host on the Special Value Network, basically a fictional Home Shopping Network.  Fellow SNL alum Molly Shannon plays her mentor.

 

Jenifer Lewis, fresh off the series finale of Black’ish plays the CEO of SVN and anyone who watched her former shows knows she can easily deliver great one liner with her sharp tongue and steals every scene she is in.  The other notable part of the show is Bayer’s love of nineties music, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, and The Cranberries are all featured in the first episode.  Though the only reference in the second episode is that someone wears a Tribe Called Quest shirt.

 

I Love That for You airs Sundays at 8L30 on Showtime, but episodes are uploaded the Friday before each televised episode On Demand and streaming.