This article contains sexually explicit material.
For many women, there are few joys in life quite like dishing about sex over drinks with girlfriends. Now, a new series on Above Average is making that concept even more entertaining.
In Cocktales with Little Esther, comedian and actress Esther Povitsky sits down with other hilarious women and asks them the important questions: What were some of your embarrassing adolescent misconceptions about sex? If you could redesign the penis, what would you change? What do you think Hillary Clinton’s orgasms sound like?
Cocktales is the brainchild of Two Trick Pony, a production company by Tory Stanton and Scott McCabe. Povitsky previously collaborated with Two Trick Pony on the web series Hope and Randy. “We wanted to work on something new together and they had the idea for a funny, sex talk show,” Povitsky told the Daily Dot. “We wanted to ask questions that would invoke real, honest, thoughtful answers and ones that will set people up to be funny and interesting and charming.”
In the first three Cocktales episodes (episode three premieres today), Povitsky chats with comedian friends, Orange Is The New Black‘s Lauren Lapkus, Angela Trimbur, and Jess Lowe. Each features an appearance from Grandma Rose, an elderly woman who has tried everything in the bedroom and isn’t afraid to share her knowledge with younger ladies. Povitsky offers safe words for guests to use when they don’t want to answer a question and she gives each one a (used) condom balloon as a parting gift.
Despite the absurdist nature of the show, Povitsky and her guests all have their share of truly revealing, emotionally honest moments. In Trimbur’s episode, for instance, the conversation ranges from the joys of spanking to the unexpected emotions that can arise during intimate encounters.
“The guy that I’m dating right now, when he first went down on me, I cried,” Trimbur told Povitsky. “I don’t know, like, no one’s ever really done it for a long period of time, and it just felt really selfless, and it felt like making love.”
Initially, the concept for Cocktales did not exclude men; Povitsky noted that at least one male comedian was approached to appear on the show but had to decline for scheduling reasons. Still, while she isn’t opposed to interviewing men on the show down the road, she likes “keeping it girly and feminine.” She added, “I’m hoping that this will be a good way for young women to talk about sex.”
What is perhaps most notable about Cocktales is not the gender makeup, but the positive and shame-free tone of the conversations. All too often, comedy about sex punches down. A series where the awkwardness and complications of sex are embraced rather than mocked is a welcome change.
“To me, the most exciting thing about this series is that it’s sex-positive and it makes sex a normal conversation,” said Povitsky. “If you watch the show, there’s nothing inherently dirty about it. I’m open to talking about these things, but I’m not a dirty comic. I’m glad we got to talk about these things in a positive way that feels light and silly.”
Catch up on the current episodes below, before three new episodes premiere in December.
Photo via Above Average/YouTube
