By Paula Hendrickson
Contributor

[dropcap]You[/dropcap] could say that it was another period when Natasha Leggero—co-creator with Riki Lindhome of Comedy Central’s raucous comedy, Another Period—grew up in Rockford. But she did.

Yes, Another Period—which returns for its third season on January 23—can often be coarse and crude, and frequently edges perilously close to the edge of bad taste, but the performances always elevate the material to another level. Anyone who’s not easily offended will laugh out loud at least a couple times per episode.

The cast—led by Leggero and Lindhome (also half of Garfunkel & Oats)— as the childish, spoiled, and super wealthy Bellacourt sisters, Lillian and Beatrice, respectively—has included a lot of famous faces, including: Jason Ritter (Kevin (Probably) Saves The World) as their idiotic brother and unlikely politician, Frederick; Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) as their morphine-addicted mother, Dodo; Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) as their maid-turned-stepmother; and Michael Ian Black (The State) as fastidious head butler, Peepers.

But the most ingenious bit of casting? Lillian and Beatrice’s smarter but less attractive suffragette sister, Hortense, has been played by multiple actresses. The actress from the original pilot, Artemis Pebdani, was replaced by Lauren Ash (Superstore) in season one. She, in turn, was replaced in season two by Lauren Flans. While Hortense appeared to have met her demise at the end of season two, rumor is that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Donna Lynne Champlin is assuming the role in the third season.

The fact is, Another Period is a show where you’ll see a lot of familiar faces—from TV, film, and Broadway—in recurring and one-shot roles. As a viewer, you get the feeling that actors of all stripes are vying for a chance to visit the hysterically dysfunctional Bellacourt Manor.

What might surprise first time viewers—apart from Beatrice and Frederick’s disturbingly unusual relationship—is that despite being a basic cable comedy series, Another Period has amazing sets and costumes that really help sell the idea that this rich, oblivious family, and the dirt-poor servants who cater to their whims, really are living a century ago.

Want to catch up on the fun? All episodes from seasons one and two can be streamed on the Comedy Central website: cc.com/shows/another-period.

Programming notes

Season 3 of Another Period premieres 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23 on Comedy Central. R.