Life & Beth: The Main Characters, Ranked By Likability
Hulu's Life & Beth, a partially autobiographical look at the life of Amy Schumer, is a touching and often charming series perfect for Sunday afternoon relaxation screenings.
Schumer's Beth is her most intensive character work to date, and she also feels very real. She's a complex individual who does manage to be likable, but she's also so much more. Riddled with regret, unsure of herself or her future, these are all intensive character traits, and they help make the titular character outright endearing. However, she's not the only one from the series that seems like somebody worth knowing.
8 Matt (Kevin Kane)
Matt is certainly the most toxic individual in Beth's life. He keeps her on a lease without her knowledge, which for months on end puts her in debt. She doesn't even realize this because he never tells her of his own volition.
Beth has to find her ex—who once threatened to hurt himself if they stayed broken up, which is more than a little manipulative—under a bridge, burnt out and hammered drunk. Matt needs to be the past for Beth, but the series doesn't just show her turning her back on him. She realizes he needs help and does what she can to see that he gets it, though without further delving into his overwhelming neediness.
7 Leonard (Michael Rapaport)
While Life & Beth is just one comedy show to marathon watch on Hulu, it also manages to be one of the streamer's more binge-able drama shows.
Beloved character actor Michael Rapaport, of Deep Blue Sea fame, plays Beth's father, Leonard. A constant drinker with a temper, Leonard is troubled but he does very clearly care for his daughters. He may show up for Beth's volleyball games either tardy or a day late, but he does show up. He's a man struggling to either move forward or just stay put, utterly dissatisfied with his life's trajectory and disabled by addiction. But he tries and in life, that's point A all the way to point Z.
6 Jane (Laura Benanti)
Life & Beth is a Hulu show worth watching in 2022 if only for the organic dynamic between Laura Benanti's Jane and her daughter, Beth. The resentment harbored by her daughter has two prongs and Jane's certainly on the receiving end of one of them.
As Beth declares in her eulogy: Jane "wanted to be a good mom. And she was. Sometimes." Like other characters in the series, she's flawed but just trying to move forward.
5 Murray (Murray Hill)
Murray Hill only makes intermittent appearances throughout Life & Beth's 10-episode run. Playing a character also named Murray, Hill makes for one of the more calming and supportive individuals in Beth's life.
Murray is Beth's boss, and there's a minor push-and-pull between them because Beth is unaware of just how unsure she is about her future. She likes pushing wine, but it's also possible she's just saying she does. The series ends up showing her following her dream, and there's no doubt Beth wouldn't have been able to find her true path were it not for her boss, who supports Beth in her decision to leave financial stability for happiness. Not every boss would do that, especially after the employee nabs a big client.
4 Ann (Susannah Flood)
The best shows like Life & Beth feature a female protagonist with a close-knit group of highly supportive friends and family members.
Susannah Flood portrays Ann, Beth's sister, and it's astonishing just how new she is to the industry. Flood's first credit was in 2015, and it's already more than readily apparent that she's ready for prime time. She makes Ann seem like more than a soft-spoken, eccentric caricature, which could have easily become reality with a less talented performer. Ann keeps to herself, but that's not to indicate she's uncaring for those around her. She's just very, very different from Beth, and in that dichotomy, there's an endearing quality.
3 Maya (Yamaneika Saunders)
Yamaneika Saunders portrays one of Beth's three friends, all of whom make major appearances. However, it's Saunders's Maya who is the biggest assistive backbone.
Maya outright tells it how it is. She sees a problem, she sees what needs to be done, and she displays tact until it's time to just blurt the obvious. She's good at both, as Maya is the ultimate friend to have in good times and bad.
2 John (Michael Cera)
Like in Michael Cera's best movies, the actor brings a quiet and layered performance to Life & Beth. He portrays John, a self-proclaimed "farmhand" who gives himself way too little credit.
John effectively runs the vineyard Beth spends most of the series at, and he proves to be a cold yet loyal confidant with whom she can be herself. John is overtly subtle, and he can prove to be quite socially awkward, even going so far as to come across as rude. However, he's got a wonderful heart and shows little issue in expressing his love for the Earth, friends, and even acquaintances.
1 Beth (Amy Schumer)
Beth is a woman with a plan, she's just not quite sure what it is yet. She tells everyone around her "Yes, I am happy in my job" but the simple truth is she's flailing.
She holds resentment, both toward her mother and, even more damaging, towards herself. Beth is clearly a character close to Schumer's heart, and that honesty bleeds through each scene of the final product, all of which are spearheaded by the comedic icon.