The long-awaited third season of Master of None has a trailer, though the storyline is rather different than fans might expect.
The trailer (below) previews the five-episode season that chronicles the relationship between the show’s breakout supporting character Denise (Lena Waithe) and her partner Alicia (Naomi Ackie) rather than focusing on the romantic adventures of co-creator Aziz Ansari’s character, Dev Shah — a struggling actor who was the focal point of the first two seasons.
The episodes are directed by Ansari, and written by Ansari and Waithe. From the description: “This new season is a modern love story that intimately illustrates the ups and downs of marriage, struggles with fertility, and personal growth both together and apart. Fleeting romantic highs meet crushing personal losses while existential questions of love and living are raised. Season three delivers an evolution of the series that remains tethered to previous seasons while breaking new storytelling ground of its own.” Waithe’s character, Denise, also appeared in the show’s first two seasons, and Waithe previously co-wrote the Emmy-winning season two episode “Thanksgiving.”
Master of None debuted to acclaim and fan popularity in 2015 and aired its second season in 2017. In 2018, Ansari was accused of sexual misconduct by a woman who had been on a date with the actor and described him as acting overly aggressive and said the experience left her feeling “violated” and “taken advantage” of.
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Ansari defended himself in a statement, writing, “I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date. We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual.”
Master of None went on hiatus, but Ansari released a Netflix comedy special, Right Now, in 2019 that further addressed the issue. “There’s times I felt scared, there’s times I felt humiliated, there’s times I felt embarrassed, and ultimately I just felt terrible that this person felt this way,” he said in the special. He later added that if the issue has made “other people more thoughtful, that’s a good thing.”
Master of None returns Sunday, May 23 on Netflix.
