‘Coastal Elites’: Sarah Paulson, Issa Rae and Bette Midler are self-isolating in HBO’s new comedy

Issa Rae plays the character of Callie Josephson in the comedy “Coastal Elites”. Image: Courtesy of HBO/Youtube

Welcome to the post-COVID world of television. HBO has drawn on the unprecedented global health crisis — and particularly how it has affected the world of entertainment — to create a unique program.

Titled “Coastal Elites,” the comedy special turns the spotlight on individuals who are social distancing. Sarah Paulson, Issa Rae and Bette Midler will share the screen alongside Kaitlyn Dever and Dan Levy.

https://youtu.be/nE2lCR9bRiw

The satirical production tells the story of five main characters who find themselves on the verge of a mental breakdown. Between current politics, the cultural moment and the ongoing pandemic, the protagonists try as best they can to endure the reality that social distancing entails.

The characters face the camera one by one as they speak to Clarissa Montgomery, a YouTube celebrity played by Sarah Paulson, who specializes in meditation: “Take a deep, healing breath and imagine that you’re not even on Twitter or Facebook or Xanax,” she says while filming an episode of her “Mindful Meditations show”. The character played by Issa Rae recounts her particular encounter with a certain “Ivanka.”

Viewers will have to wait until September 12 to see the television film, directed by Jay Roach of “Scandal” and written by Paul Rudnick, on HBO. NVG

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