Who doesn't love to hate those outrageous, uber-wealthy, if-you-have-to-ask-you-can't-afford-it denizens of New York City's Upper East Side?
For three seasons, from 2015 to 2017, fans followed the life of Odd Mom Out Jill Weber (Jill Kargman), along with her family, friends, and frenemies, as she navigated LOL only-in-New-York situations and revealed tropes that hit a little too close to home for those who actually live in the home of Gossip Girl.
Kargman played a fictionalized version of herself, based on her novel Momzillas which was published in 2007 and which she described as "living in an ecosystem that has become so elite, so hip, and so trendy, that I find myself the 'odd mom out.'" The show introduced us to a cast of characters that ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. Now that OMO is being re-released, let's refresh our memories.
Devon
Devon (Christopher J. Hanke) is more of a diva than Brooke, for whom he serves as a right hand. The executive assistant gives new meaning to the word sycophant. He has such a high opinion of himself that thinks himself more like his boss's partner and believes he's indispensable.
Reality sets in as to what his place is in her company (which also includes her new charity Provide-HER) when he's dismissed by not only Brooke, but her volunteer cronies, when she does the opposite of whatever he suggests, and refuses to give him either a promotion or raise. "It's called slavery, Brooke. I should know."
Stephanie
A disciple of Brooke, Stephanie (Alice Callahan) is symbolic of all the UES mombots who Jill tries to distance herself from.
You know who they are. The ones who want to present themselves as having a perfect life. They all have the same face because they all go to the same plastic surgeon; wear the same designer shoes and handbags; and complain about the same "problems," such as the migraine from renovating the New York penthouse and Hamptons beach house at the same time. They shame Jill for having not yet seen Hamilton, and make sure to mention they'd seen it four times and look down on her unglamorous apartment and lack of staff. Jill takes solace in the mantra: They hate ya, 'cause they ain't ya.
Lex Von-Weber
Sean Kleier is Lex, Jill's successful brother-in-law who is younger than her husband Andy and not as upstanding. The handsome scion went from frat boy to Wall Street investor, making his fortune bringing bagels to China. He and his wife, an UES Barbie named Brooke, live the NYC dream and flaunted it every chance they get.
They take a 10-minute helicopter ride from Manhattan to Thanksgiving dinner in the suburbs of Westchester, when they could have driven in less than an hour; he has an impressive collection of pocket squares; squelches his boredom of being the man who has everything by signing up for the first manned mission to Mars; and even after he and Brooke fall prey to a Ponzi scheme, they find a way to get by with only half their household staff five days a week instead of 24/7.
Brooke Von-Weber
Comedic actress Abby Elliott plays snobby Brooke to the hilt. The former Olympic skier and a fierce advocate for her charitable organization N.A.C.H.O. (New Yorkers Against Childhood Obesity... the “y” is silent), she is the quintessential momzilla as well as a handbag designer who loves being the wife of multimillionaire, Lex.
The beautiful blonde is the mother of four children who she palms off on the nannies to take care of. Brooke is the Queen Bee of the UES mom brigade, and when she finds out Lex cheated, well she makes him pay--financially and otherwise. It's not until we meet her two disdainful sisters who don't think she's "all that," that we understand why she's so desperate to prove she's "somebody."
Janice
Maybe it's her olive skin and very curly dark hair that has given Brooke the idea that Janice (Sas Goldberg) is a Black woman (Brooke calls her Jan-eese, as in geese) and thinks she's a diversity hire at the blonde's Tory Burch-like handbag company because the brunette is from Detroit.
At a white-themed Hamptons party, Brooke asks her if she finds it offensive because "I support 'hashtag Black Lives Matter.' Hashtag OK?" When Janice finally convinces her boss that she is not a POC, she adds, "You'll be hearing from white me's lawyers!"
Jill Weber
She's a stay-at-home mom of three, wife to Andy, and professional photographer who pre-motherhood worked for glossy magazines. When not in head to toe black, she's got some black accessory that "makes" the outfit all in an effort to not look like the mombots who look like "Lily Pulitzer threw up on them."
Jill likes to insist that she's literally an odd mom out compared to Brooke & Co. but at the same time she often seems to value the same things they do: entry into Manhattan's elite private schools and reservations at fancy restaurants (she stoops to using "Von" in her name to secure one).
Candace Von-Weber
The legendary actress Joanna Cassidy lends her star power to the cast as Jill's mother-in-law Candace Von-Weber--a woman obsessed with her role as family matriarch. OK, she's actually a monster-in-law, manipulative, overbearing, and oversexualized--but, hey, no one is perfect. She has incredibly high standards and wants only the best for her family.
When she finds herself with nowhere to live after a Ponzi-schemer takes all her money, and she moves in with Andy and Jill (oh yes she does), as maddening and demanding as she is, Jill is touched by how loving this un-grandma-like grandmother is to her children, especially Jill's oldest daughter Hazel.
Vanessa Wrigley
Yes, there's a doctor in the house: Jill's BFF and ER physician who keeps the odd mom sane. Vanessa (K.K. Glick) who is single has her own life of dating which Jill relishes hearing about since she's been long out of that scene. Vanessa is the polar opposite of Brooke: salt of the earth, yet salty which makes her the perfect match for her acerbic pal.
The two do have a falling out though when, to keep peace in her husband's family, Jill begins spending too much time playing handmaiden to Brooke, missing out on gal pal time and events like Vanessa's birthday. All was forgiven though, because Vanessa is a loyal bestie to the end.
Andy Weber
As Jill's attorney husband with a blue-blood pedigree, Andy (Andy Buckley) is nothing that the Upper East is said to be. He is down to earth, unpretentious and he and Jill their eldest daughter and set of boy/girl twins, live modestly in a 'hood known for penthouses and school drop-offs done via limo.
Andy is a good husband, dad, son, and brother--a real people pleasurer as well as moral compass who becomes angry he finds out his younger brother Lex is cheating on Brooke. When the other family members discover they're distant relative was an Austrian Duke (Jill implies the guy was a Nazi) and decide to add "Von" to their family name, Andy resists. It's just too snobby for his taste.