Vir Das, Gurfateh Pirzada, Varun Sood, Vihaan Samat, Muskkaan Jaferi, Niharika Lyra Dutt, Lisa Mishra and Mini Mathur all join Ananya Panday on this new Prime Video India series that covers the fall from grace of an heiress who has to rebuild her life without the help, or access to the wealth, of her family.
Opening Shot: Hordes of packed Louis Vuitton suitcases are punted to the door, attached to an impeccably dressed woman who is left out in the rain with just her expensive belongings.
The Gist: Born in Delhi with a golden spoon in her mouth, Bella “Bae” is set up to marry Agastya, who comes from a similarly wealthy family. But married life isn’t as blissful as she imagined: Agastya is too engrossed in his work to pay attention to his wife. Loneliness drives Bae to hook up with her trainer and Agastya at her husband’s work event, prompting him to kick her out and her family to disown her. With no previous life experience, Bae has to start over in Mumbai with only herself to count on.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Call Me Bae’s vibe is Schitt’s Creek meets Emily in Paris, with plenty of rich people problems and social media influencer graphic art appearing onscreen.
Our Take: The riches-to-rags story trope puts a strong emphasis on personality and inner strength: without the trappings of wealth, power, and money, can someone get by and survive in the real world? Despite its cheeky title, Call Me Bae is about a woman’s reinvention when faced with the hardest challenge of her life.
Ananya Panday is winning in the role of an heiress who is disowned after making one, admittedly large, mistake. Bae is a bit of an airhead up until this point, majoring in “social media journalism” while her husband is getting his MBA, and saying goodnight to all of her designer purses. But once she’s on the street without anywhere to go, Panday’s charm helps Bae find her footing — even if she’s following nonsensical signs to get there.
The series doesn’t necessarily put Bae in dire straits either: the most she has to do out of her comfort zone is find a job and a roommate, and she isn’t forced to give up her designer bags in the process. But it’s a fun nod to Panday’s own nepo baby roots; after all, this Bollywood star likely relates more closely to Bae’s Delhi life than her Mumbai one.
Call Me Bae isn’t groundbreaking, nor is it trying to be. If you like the breeze and low stakes of Emily in Paris and the extravagant wardrobe (this time filled with the monetary explanation), this show should be on your watch list.
Sex and Skin: There are insinuations of sex, but we don’t see anything very racy.
Parting Shot: Bae interprets the signs around her as a signal to go to Mumbai instead of LA; she gets in a taxi heading to the airport, ready to start her life again.
Sleeper Star: This is Panday’s show, through and through. She’s magnetic and embodies the bubbly character to perfection.
Most Pilot-y Line: “I started my day with some morning affirmations,” Bae says, explaining how she combatted her loneliness in marriage. “I am Bae, I am here to slay. Eat, love and pray. Seize the day.”
Our Call: STREAM IT. Call Me Bae has a lightness to it that fits the bill for comfort TV.
Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Vulture, Teen Vogue, Paste Magazine, and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.