Netflix has released a new animated show, Human Resources, a show which details the workplace happenings of the Hormone Monsters from Big Mouth. Despite its recent premier on March 18, it has already been renewed by Netflix. The news comes alongside the announcement of Big Mouth’s renewal for a seventh season.
The Hormone Monsters, creatures invisible to parents, originally appeared in Big Mouth to guide tweens Nick Birch, Jessi Glaser, Jay Bilzerien, and Missy Foreman-Greenwald, and offer often poor advice for navigating the problems that arise during puberty and middle-school.
While not the main focus of the show, the Hormone Monsters are an integral part of the show’s appeal. Hormone Monsters Maury and Connie highlight the relatable struggles of the transition to young adulthood, many of which are never discussed. Their candor and simple, juvenile humor render them accessible and likable to a wide range of audiences.
Despite this reception, some critics question whether the Hormone Monsters can stand alone from their tween counterparts. “[Human Resources] is pretty consistently hilarious, if you like the deranged thing Big Mouth does, but inconsistently involving on the emotional levels that make Big Mouth so special,” says critic Daniel Feinberg in his review from the Hollywood Reporter. “This is more of a workplace comedy centered around the otherworldly hub in which Hormone Monsters, Shame Wizards, Depression Kitties, Anxiety Mosquitos, Lovebugs and Hate Worms toil.”
Human Resources is definitively more complicated and convoluted than its predecessor. The first few episodes introduce a slew of characters and narratives which convolute the simplicity of what the Hormone Monsters were originally intended for and make each episode somewhat difficult to understand. Feinberg cites the reason for this as the absence of central human characters.
“It’s easy to keep track of which human virtues and vices the different creatures represent, but it isn’t always quite as simple to keep track of how the characters operate on Earth,” he said. “Every creature is assigned to several people and works in mismatched teams, and the decision was made not to pack the spin-off with Big Mouth human characters.”
Merits of the show aside, some question how appropriate the show is for younger audiences. Much of this concern seems to come from parents who have seen Big Mouth. They dislike that their children could be potentially exposed to sexual content, with one twitter user saying, “For those of you that like Big Mouth, how does it feel being a border line pedophile?” The show does not feature any sex scenes, or nudity beyond desexualized instances used for comedic effect.
Some have even gone so far as to say the show “glorifies masturbation” like one twitter user.
Some might argue views like this merely reflect the stigmatization of the topics discussed in Big Mouth.
“The fact that the show is directed and geared towards people who experienced these issues, and are made to feel uncomfortable about them, shows that the show is working against stigmatization,” says Barstow student Anita Mohan (‘23). “These are topics that should not be uncomfortable or inappropriate for anyone. And the show doesn’t glorify anything, or depict anything really damaging or illegal. It’s literally animated.”
Needless to say, most of these concerns will not carry over to Human Resources, as most of the characters are neither child, nor human.
