Before Aya Cash Stole "The Boys", She Gave TV’s Best Performance on "You’re the Worst"

Get to know the Aya-Cash-back-cat.

When production wrapped on Season 2 of Amazon’s subversive superhero series The Boys last year, there was only one gift befitting new addition to the cast, Aya Cash.

 

 

 

 

 

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A @maybeayacash appreciation post: a tiny human who takes up ALL THE SPACE brilliantly this season as a ruthless b**ch (a testament to her massive talent because she’s one of the kindest & coolest human beings you will ever meet). Aya Fucking Cash, everybody.

A post shared by Erin Moriarty (@erinelairmoriarty) on Sep 14, 2020 at 12:24pm PDT

And now that the latest season of the hit show has arrived, viewers the world over are coming to understand the relevance—nay, the need—for such a shirt.

Fact is, on a program with exploding heads, regular deployments of the c-bomb, dozens of sociopathic superheroes, multiple Billy Joel call-backs and a sprinkling of oedipal perversion, it’s Aya Cash’s chaotic supe Stormfront who’s sucking up all the attention. And rightfully so.

As a newly-installed member of the Avengers-esque collective The Seven, Stormfront has already caused quite the ruckus, giving no f***s during a carefully-planned press day, riling up an angry populace against the Seven’s lead supe (and biggest psychopath) Homelander (Antony Starr), and killing dozens of innocents in a faux-terrorist incident like it’s nothing.

Now, four episodes into the too-short eight-ep season, there are suggestions Stormfront (mild spoilers coming) could be ageless, and was perhaps ye olde racist supe Liberty. This poster certainly suggests she could be, thanks to a visual allusion to a certain statue…

 

 

 

 

 

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Two weeks until season 2 drops. @theboystv #theboystv #theboys

A post shared by Aya Cash (@maybeayacash) on Aug 21, 2020 at 9:32am PDT

The critics agree: Season 2 is even better than Season 1, and Aya Cash is a big reason for its success. However, we’re not here to convince you to watch The Boys. You probably already are (it's a big hit!). Instead, we’re here to bring all these newcomers on the Aya Cash Bandwagon (welcome!) to the You’re the Worst station, because that’s where she spent five years giving the best performance on TV as the spiky, multi-faceted music rep Gretchen Cutler.

No, You’re the Worst wasn’t a ratings hit, nor did it win any awards. It was demoted from FX to FXX in America, and took years to even arrive on Australian shores. However, all five seasons are now available to stream on SBS on Demand, and it’s just waiting to be discovered by anyone hungry for a vicious and unvarnished comedy about unlikeable people who, actually, grow to become quite lovable and find ways to better themselves for one another. Although, not before they cause all kinds of pain for their personal pleasure, and laugh at one another’s misfortunes without a second thought. This ain’t Friends, folks.

Cash’s Gretchen Cutler was the standout of the show, introduced as a misanthrope to match wits with British-author-in-LA Jimmy Shive-Overly (Chris Geere). However, after a season of ribald comedy and reckless barb-slinging, Cash revealed Gretchen’s additional layers in S2, as her private and mostly hidden battle with clinical depression became public, and Jimmy had to reckon with what it meant to be her partner.

Of course, this was ultimately Cash’s showcase, as Gretchen came to terms with what she was actually going through, without masking it in drink, drugs and her preferred hobby of derailing other people’s lives. It was heartbreaking and hilarious, with both the show and Cash walking a dangerous tightrope rarely seen on television. And they pulled it off.

Creator Stephen Falk wrote for Vulture that he was only emboldened to plumb these depths after seeing what Cash could do: "Yes, it was a creative decision [but Cash] is so insanely talented we wanted to give her something more meaty than most comedies could."

Though it’s tempting to insert more videos and GIFs in this article, You’re the Worst is really a trip you should take for yourself, right down to its confronting final montage in S5, which reiterates that mental illnesses cannot be cured by love alone. However, the show reiterates at the very end, depression can be treated, and life does go on, and companionship—even for misanthropes—can be a comfort on that particular journey especially.

So go watch it already. All five seasons are now streaming on SBS on Demand. The Boys is also available on Amazon Prime Video.

Header Image: FXX