Florence Pugh may be the star and gives a commanding performance to show for it, but the Don’t Worry Darling cast member who stole the show for me was Kate Berlant. As pregnant housewife, Peg, she exudes an incredible charm that serves as the most potent source of levity amid the unnerving thrills and effectively distracts you from all the Don’t Worry Darling drama that has surrounded the film.
The psychological thriller also marks one of the first times the comedian has really been given a chance to shine on the big screen in a role that is more than a quick cameo. However, we felt even those were worth including as we shine the spotlight on Kate Berlant’s wonderful filmography so far and where these movies and TV shows are now available to stream, digitally rent, or purchase.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
With only his longtime friend and stunt double (Brad Pitt, in the badass role that won him his first acting Oscar) at his side, the former star of a hit Western TV show (Leonardo DiCaprio) contemplates his uncertain future as a film actor in late 1960s Los Angeles.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: One of those quick, big screen cameos I was referring to occurs when Berlant plays a movie theater box office ticket seller opposite Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast member Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate in writer and director Quentin Tarantino’s dark and dazzling love letter to cinema’s silver age.
Stream Once Upon A Time In Hollywood on Starz.
Rent/Buy Once Upon A Time In Hollywood on Amazon.
After Class (2019)
After unwittingly making a career-threatening mistake, a college writing professor from New York (Justin Long) is given some time off, during which he visits his family as they prepare to say their final goodbyes to his ailing grandmother (Lynn Cohen).
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: Also in 2019, the actor landed a much larger starring role as Jackie Cohn, the sister of Long’s character, in writer and director Daniel Schechter’s After Class — a film that can both make you laugh and move you to tears.
Stream After Class on Amazon Prime.
Stream After Class on Tubi.
Stream After Class on Plex.
Sorry To Bother You (2018)
A financially strapped, young, Black man (Academy Award nominee Lakeith Stanfield) gets a job as a telemarketer, where he discovers that the key to working his way up the corporate ladder is by disguising his voice to sound like that of a stereotypical white person (provided by David Cross).
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: A year before appearing in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and After Class, Kate Berlant starred in another somewhat brief, but absolutely memorable, role as telemarketer Diana DeBauchery (which, she assures, is not pronounced like it is spelled) in Sorry to Bother You — the visually stunning, conceptually unique and topical feature-length debut of writer and director Boots Riley.
Stream Sorry To Bother You on Netflix.
Rent/Buy Stream Sorry To Bother You on Amazon.
I Love You Both (2016)
Shortly after they turn 28, a young man (Doug Archibald) and his twin sister and roommate (Kristin Archibald) find their codependent relationship threatened when they both fall for the same bisexual man (Lucas Neff) and he ends up reciprocating feelings for each of them.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: In 2016, she made her feature film debut in the role of Ivy in I Love You Both — an endearing comedy that shines the spotlight on the intriguing cross-section between romance and sibling rivalry that was also written by real-life siblings Kristin and Doug Archibald, the latter of whom also directed.
Rent/Buy I Love You Both on Amazon.
Dean (2016)
A professional illustrator from Brooklyn (Demetri Martin) struggling to move on from the recent loss of his mother finds love with a woman (Gillian Jacobs) while on a visit to Los Angeles, during which his father (Academy Award winner Kevin Kline) looks to sell his childhood home against his wishes.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: Also in 2016, she appeared in another independent romantic-dramedy written and directed by its lead actor called Dean — a somber look at the grieving process through a quirkily humorous and uplifting lens — in the small, but still memorably funny, role of Naomi, whom our main character meets on a plane.
Ghosted (2017)
A practically minded former police officer (Craig Robinson) and a book store employee who believes in the paranormal (Adam Scott) are kidnapped and thrown together as partners by a top secret agency that specializes in investigating strange phenomena occurring in Los Angeles.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: In 2017, Kate Berlant landed her first major, recurring role on a live-action TV series in the form of Linda on Ghosted — a short-lived, but really fun, series with a sci-fi/horror spin on the buddy cop comedy genre from co-creators Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten.
Stream Ghosted on Hulu.
Buy Ghosted on Amazon.
A League Of Their Own (2022)
While many of the men in the United States are forced to travel overseas to serve in the Second World War, talented female athletes compete in an all-women’s professional baseball league.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: In 2022, the talent landed a major starring role on a live-action TV show in the form of baseball player Shirley Cohen in Amazon Prime’s A League of Their Own cast, in co-creator Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham’s wonderfully poignant and funny series reimagining of one of the best sports movies of all time based on an inspiring true story.
Stream A League Of Their Own on Amazon Prime.
Kate Berlant: Cinnamon In The Wind (2022)
Comedian Kate Berlant performs her irreverent, partially improvisational, and experimental routine — touching on subjects like clairvoyance, the “overwhelming privilege of her childhood,” and her inability to put an end to her set — in front a small, intimate crowd in Los Angeles.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: Also in 2022, she debuted her own first stand-up comedy special, Cinnamon in the Wind — a visually unique FX original presentation (available to stream on Hulu) that was originally filmed in 2019 and directed by fellow comic Bo Burnham.
Stream Kate Berlant: Cinnamon In The Wind on Hulu.
Would It Kill You To Laugh? (2022)
Years after going through a turbulent, highly-publicized split, the most successful and influential comedy duo of all time (John Early and Kate Berlant) reunite.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: Also in 2022, the star and her friend and frequent collaborator, fellow comic John Early, debuted a sketch comedy special of their own, Would It Kill You to Laugh? — a refreshingly strange and cleverly meta outing available to stream on Peacock that was presented by A24 and directed by co-writer Andrew DeYoung.
Stream Would It Kill You To Laugh? on Peacock Premium.
The Characters (2016)
Eight of comedy’s most exciting up-and-coming voices are each given one half-hour episode to present the best of their talents in the form of sketches and improvised stand-up routines.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: Years before headlining their own sketch comedy special, Kate Berlant and John Early were both featured cast members on The Characters — a unabashedly absurd Netflix original comedy series that also starred Tim Robinson of SNL and I Think You Should Leave fame.
Stream The Characters on Netflix.
Animals. (2016-2018)
An eye-opening look at life in modern day New York City from the point of view of the non-human creatures who inhabit it.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: Kate Berlant and John Early have also both leant their voices to various characters on Animals. — an inventively funny and surprisingly thought-provoking HBO original animated series from co-creators Mike Luciano and Phil Matarese that was produced by Mark and Jay Duplass.
Human Kind Of (2018)
As she is already struggling with enough of the common pressures of adolescence, a teenage girl (former Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast member Michelle Trachtenberg) begins to suffer even stranger circumstances after her mom suddenly reveals the shocking news that her estranged father was an extra-terrestrial.
Why it’s worth checking out if you like Kate Berlant: In 2018, the frequent voice actor landed a role as a series regular on an animated comedy series in the form of Cory, the best friend to the central character of the Facebook Watch original, Human Kind Of — a clever, sci-fi twist on the modern coming-of-age story from creator Diana McCorry.
Stream Human Kind Of on Facebook Watch.
For those who caught Kate Berlant in Don’t Worry Darling and loved her performance enough to binge through all of the titles above already, keep an eye out for her next project. The comedian is starring in an upcoming comedy called First Time Female Director, which is actually the directorial debut of fellow comic and former Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast member, Chelsea Peretti. Also, if you have Disney+, check out her acting debut in Season 2, Episode 12 of Lizzie McGuire.
