Another Period

Updated on Feb 01, 2024

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Another Period is an American period sitcom created by and starring Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome. It follows the lives of the Bellacourts, the first family of Newport, Rhode Island, at the turn of the 20th century. Lillian (Leggero) and Beatrice (Lindhome) are sisters "who care only about how they look, what parties they attend and becoming famous, which is a lot harder in 1902". It is intended to be a spoof on reality shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, while in terms of era, roughly contemporaneous with Downton Abbey and satirizing many of the same themes of class and social standing.

The series was picked up for 10 episodes and debuted on Comedy Central on June 23, 2015. It is directed by Jeremy Konner, co-creator and writer of Drunk History. Ben Stiller's production company Red Hour is producing. Leggero, Lindhome, and Konner are also executive producers. The second season premiered on June 15, 2016. It was renewed for a third season on May 23, 2016. The first season was released on DVD at Amazon.com on June 17, 2016.

The House of Bellacourt

Lillian Abigail Bellacourt, played by Natasha Leggero, is the second-eldest Bellacourt daughter, who is often seen wearing a tiara. After Charles Ponzi left at the altar at age 11, "the height of a woman's sexual peak," she entered into a loveless marriage with Victor, with whom she has produced eight daughters, most of whom are named Susan. Lillian is smart and resourceful, but often falls victim to her own selfishness. She falls into a deep depression when Laverne Fusselforth dies during their wedding ceremony and his grandson marries Hortense. Lillian consistently carries around her vicious chihuahua, Mayor Cutie, before killing the dog in a fit of rage.

Beatrice Bellacourt, played by Riki Lindhome, is the youngest daughter. She is twin to Frederick, with whom she involved in an incestuous relationship. Beatrice serves as the "ideal woman" of the turn of the century. Tall, rich, and slender, she is a talented singer with no interest in politics and no opinions of her own. She also exhibits exceptional selfishness and sociopathic tendencies, attempting to murder people without empathy. She has several children, including a son whom she calls The Little Asshole. In the second season, Frederick sends Beatrice to a nunnery when their relationship begins to threaten his position as vice president. Beatrice finds God as a result, and she returns to Bellacourt manor with the intention of saving Lillian from damnation.

Hortense Jefferson Library Bellacourt, played by Artemis Pebdani in the pilot episode, Lauren Ash in the remainder of the first season, and Lauren Flans in the second season, is the eldest Bellacourt child. Dodo and Commodore are both embarrassed by her unattractiveness, and "pray her life will be blessedly short." Hortense acts as a satire of the moderate bourgeoise feminist, calling for women's suffrage, and is a member of the Women's Temperance League as well as the Newport Association of Gal Spinsters (N.A.G.S.). Although Hortense is the most liberal character, she is as ruthlessness as any Bellacourt, exposing the family to ridicule when she sells their scandalous secrets to the press. In the second season, Hortense marries Bertram Harrison Fusselforth VII, but the pair die in a car crash while on their honeymoon.

Lord Frederick Bellacourt, played by Jason Ritter, is the youngest child and the heir to the Bellacourt family fortune. He is the illiterate twin brother of Beatrice, with whom he is involved in an incestuous relationship. He lacks any semblance of ambition, as his life consists of leisure activities. After being set to marry Celery Savoy, Frederick is arranged by the Commodore to be a senator and then future vice president to Theodore Roosevelt.

Commodore Bellacourt (originally Harold Bellawitz, a fur trapper), played by David Koechner, is the family patriarch and "magnet magnate." Often away on business, he avoids his family when he is home. In the season one finale, the Commodore disowns Lillian and Beatrice after their scandalous secrets are sold to the press. The Commodore later takes them back in order to have them annul their husbands and marry into rich families so that he can regain his fortune. However, he is left bankrupt when the marriages do not pan out.

Dorothea "Dodo" Bellacourt, played by Paget Brewster, is the wife of the Commodore and the mother of his first four children. She begins to suspect her husband is having an affair, and delves deeper into her pre-existing morphine addiction to cope. Her condition worsens as the series progresses, and she attempts to quit cold turkey after she forces herself upon the butler Peepers after drinking too much absinthe. In the second season, Dodo flees the Bellacourt estate and joins a nunnery after learning that the Commodore plans to have her institutionalized for giving away most of his fortune to charity. Dodo returns after the Commodore sends her divorce papers, the charity organizations she donated to being fronts as she transferred the Bellacourt fortune to the abbey.

Victor Schmemmerhorn-Fish, V, played by Brian Huskey, is married to Lillian. Victor married into the Bellacourt family in order to "stack cash", but feels that he cannot live "on a husband's allowance." A closeted homosexual, he is in a secret relationship with Albert. In the second season, Victor agrees to have his marriage to Lillian annulled on the condition that he be allowed to continue living at the manor.

Albert Downsy, Jr., played by David Wain, is married to Beatrice. A closeted homosexual, he is in a secret relationship with Victor. In the second season, Albert agrees to have his marriage to Beatrice annulled on the condition that he be allowed to continue living at the manor.

Celine, played by Christina Hendricks, is a former prostitute who has become the secret mistress of the Commodore. The Commodore arranges for Celine to become a servant at the manor, where Beatrice changes her name to "Chair". In the season one finale, Celine attempts to kill Dodo before Blanche pushes her down the stairs, sending her into a coma. In the second season, Celine regains consciousness after giving birth to Kermit, son of the Commodore. She spends most of her time in a wheelchair before regaining use of her legs. She convinces the Commodore to divorce Dodo and marry her, but leaves him when the Commodore becomes bankrupt.

Servants at Bellacourt Manor

Peepers (formerly Mitchell P. Spiritwalker) played by Michael Ian Black, is the Bellacourt butler, who was adopted and raised by a Native American family as an infant. Though the Bellacourts take no notice of his efforts, Peepers is a stickler for perfect order and hopelessly devoted to the family to the point of killing Scoops LaPue and having feelings for Dodo. Peepers is also Blanche's legal guardian and has the ability to send her to an insane asylum at his discretion. In the second season finale, Peepers helps Dodo with her plan and later moves into the abbey to serve under her.

Blanche, played by Beth Dover, is the head housemaid. She was diagnosed with hysteria as a nervous disorder and spent time in an asylum, feeling slighted that she was the only patient left unraped by the orderlies. She is easily startled from the experiences she did have there. In Season 2 Blanche reveals her pregnancy and marries Dr. John Goldberg before giving birth to her child.

Garfield Leopold McGillicutty, played by Armen Weitzman, is the under butler/valet, manservant, (and later potato scrubber) who was taken by Peepers from the orphanage at age 5 to work in the manor. The Bellacourts are his only family and he loves them with a blind devotion, having known nothing else.

Hamish Crassus, played by Brett Gelman, the foul, unkempt groundskeeper who tends to the grounds of the mansion and performs certain other "special" duties such as kidnapping, "re-conforming to heterosexuality training," and selling women into sexual slavery. While framed for the death of Scoops LaPue, Hamish is revealed to be the Commodore's half brother in season two.

Flobelle, played by Alice Hunter, the new maid hired to replace Chair. She is an open-minded woman.

Real-life characters

Bebe Drake as Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and humanitarian

Josh Fadem as Falling Charlie, AKA Charlie Chaplin, an entertainer known for his clumsy falling routine

Rich Fulcher as Mark Twain, the famous author and adventurer

Billy Merritt as William Howard Taft, a politician aspiring to a position in the White House

Mike O'Connell as Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States

Matt Besser as Leon Trotsky, Marxist revolutionary from Russia

Cedric the Entertainer as Scott Joplin, composer of ragtime music

Kate Flannery as Anne Sullivan, interpreter for Helen Keller

Matt Gourley as Albert Einstein, a theoretical physicist who sees the brilliance of Beatrice

Tim Heidecker as Andrew Carnegie, a steel magnate

Chris Parnell as Dr. Sigmund Freud, sent to psychologically vet Frederick for membership in the U.S. Senate

Ravi Patel as Mohandas Gandhi, lawyer and political leader from India

June Diane Raphael as Eleanor Roosevelt, niece of the current President and unofficially engaged to another distant cousin, Franklin

Shoshannah Stern as Helen Keller, blind and deaf advocate for women

Ben Stiller as Charles Ponzi, a businessman who was once engaged to Lillian

References

Another Period Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

Contents

The House of Bellacourt

Servants at Bellacourt Manor

Real-life characters

References