Coach Steve, "Big Mouth"

The Netflix original series “Big Mouth” is difficult to describe and that’s probably an understatement. Whether you’re a classic “Family Guy,” a politically angsty “South Park” or masochistic “Rick and Morty” fan, most people have their go-to adult cartoon.

I never did. I think they’re kind of weird and hard to relate to and “Sausage Party” was absolutely excruciating to me. But I’ve recently found, like many of the characters in “Big Mouth,” “I’m going through changes”—although thankfully, not the same ones.

The cartoon, originally released on Sept. 29, 2017, is about puberty and it is absolutely ridiculous. But as ridiculous as I find it, it’s also low-key relatable and I think that’s what impresses me most about it.

Disclaimer: I can really only speak for girls in terms of the show’s relatability. I don’t know how relatable it is for guys, I’m not sure I want to know how relatable it is for guys after watching it, but my fear is that the depiction of male puberty is probably pretty accurate.

The first season of this series consists of 10 episodes that are each about a half hour long (nice for a short attention span, you can burn through them pretty quickly) and it confuses you right off the bat. The opening scene of the first episode is two boys sitting in a classroom watching a presentation on the female reproductive system.

Andrew Glouberman, played by John Mulaney (hold the applause), finds himself aroused by the depiction of fallopian tubes. Shortly after, we are graced by the presence of the hormone monster who convinces Andrew that he must go to the bathroom to more deeply contemplate fallopian tubes.

The hormone monster, and later the hormone monstress, are the backbone of this animated series. These beasts are constantly popping up at the most inopportune moment to creatively antagonize these middle schoolers and control their life decisions—which if I shudder to think back to middle school, it would explain a lot.

However, the character I am focusing on today is not one of the middle schoolers enduring the harrowing experience of puberty, but an adult that is present in all of the kids’ lives. Coach Steve, voiced by Nick Kroll (who by the way voices 11 other characters in the show as well) is the gym teacher and all he wants in the world is someone to hang out with him.

I honestly can’t help but find myself rooting for this character. He ends up in a lot of shit because he’s always being dumb, but he has the best intentions in the world. Evidently, I am not the only one who feels this way because there is a petition on change.org to give Coach Steve his own spinoff series!

Coach Steve’s biggest struggle lies in the realm of companionship. It seems that he is constantly trying, but just never seems to hit the mark. Although it’s obvious to the rest of the characters and as well as viewers that his shortcomings are due largely to a severe lack of understanding of social cues, the saddest part about Coach Steve is that he really has no idea.

In the very first episode, “Ejaculation,” Coach Steve volunteers to chaperone the school dance. At this dance, he tries to engage some of the other teachers in conversation. He invites them to go to Panera Bread and split a bread bowl with him which they politely decline.

Why would anyone want to do that? What a weird way to bond with your coworkers! But obviously, this was completely lost on Coach Steve, as was the DJ at the dance telling him to go away after he requested a song and tried to hang out.

Later in the series, Nick and Andrew trick Coach Steve into signing off on an unsupervised field trip to the city. And by tricked, I mean they just asked him because they knew he would be dumb enough to say yes.

Even Andrew expresses to Nick that he feels guilty for taking advantage of this man and Nick responds, “honestly, I think he’s just grateful for any human contact” which is confirmed shortly after when Coach Steve tries to convince them to hang out in the city with him later in the day.

It’s pretty much the same old song and dance for every human encounter Coach Steve has. Although this character has nothing but good in his heart, he just can’t ever seem to win. That being said, I cannot and will not stop rooting for this one of my favorite underdogs. Go get ‘em Coach Steve.