HBO's satirical comedy series The Other Two has finally returned for its third season, premiering on May 4 with two new episodes. Picking up three years later as COVID-19 restrictions dwindle, we're brought back into the Dubeks' often absurd world of celebrity. But more importantly, we're also treated to more of Brooke's (Heléne York) boyfriend Lance (Josh Segarra), one of the best, most lovable supporting characters in the series.
What Is 'The Other Two' About?
The Other Two Season 1 follows the Dubek family, namely millennial siblings Brooke and Cary (Drew Tarver), as they adapt to their younger brother Chase's (Case Walker) overnight fame as a burgeoning teen heartthrob à la Justin Bieber. In Season 2, Chase has already become an established celebrity, and it's their mother Pat (Molly Shannon) who gets her own meteoric rise to fame via her daytime talk show Pat! The Pat Dubek Show. Brooke and Cary are able to leverage their mom and brother's fame to get their own jobs in the industry, with Brooke becoming a talent manager and Cary finally getting his big break as an actor with a supporting role in the movie Night Nurse. Things are looking good for the previously down on their luck Dubek siblings, but take a turn for the worse in the Season 2 finale, ending right as the COVID-19 pandemic is starting to take hold in the United States. Season 3 picks up after a three-year time jump, showing how drastically the characters' lives have changed during the pandemic.
Who Is Lance Arroyo?
We are first introduced to Lance (Josh Segarra) in the pilot episode as Brooke's simpleminded ex-boyfriend who's tagged along to their family dinner despite them being broken up. He's a Footlocker employee with far-fetched dreams of designing his own sneaker line, each novelty shoe idea more ill-conceived than the last. Brooke sees him as an annoyance, believing him to be too immature for her, but they stay friends and Lance remains supportive of her new career. When Chance asks Lance to design him a pair of shoes, Lance also reaps the benefits of his fame, holding a runway show for his own fashion line at the end of Season 2. Though his fashion line was a success, the first episode of Season 3 reveals that Lance has changed careers and become a nurse in order to give back and be a greater help during the pandemic.
Like Cary's best friend Curtis (Brandon Scott Jones), Lance doesn't necessarily get a lot of screen time, but steals the show whenever he does. Bubbly and relentlessly optimistic, Lance is always there to show support for Brooke and her family, even when while he's in a relationship with someone else. And Lance's character would be nothing without Segarra's charming performance, as revealed in Comedy Central's after show The Other Show where creators Sarah Schneider and Chris Kelly discussed how much Segarra brought to the character, which was eventually tailored to him and his real life personality, including Lance's signature "hell yeah". Along with his recurring role in The Other Two, Segarra recently played another supportive boyfriend in Scream VI and has had several recurring television roles over the past few years in Orange Is the New Black, AJ and the Queen, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and most recently, Apple TV's The Big Door Prize.
Lance Is Brooke’s Foil
Lance acts as Brooke's character foil throughout the series, and though we see their relationship evolve, Lance is still on the receiving end of Brooke's volatile moods as she struggles with insecurities about her own career. It's revealed in the first episode of this season that Brooke and Lance are engaged, and though they do love each other, it can be difficult for Brooke to curb her jealousy as she feels overshadowed by Lance's beloved personality. He was already a lovely, kindhearted person to be around, with his infectious smile but now that he's a nurse people can't seem to get enough of him. Showing up to the Night Nurse premiere in his scrubs, other guests are quick to tell him he's a hero, and when Brooke and Lance attend a going away party at the hospital, it's clear all the nurses adore him as well.
Starting out as Chase's assistant and later becoming a talent manager, Brooke has always been insecure about the nature of her job and how unserious it can be. Rising in the ranks of the entertainment industry, Brooke is reminded of her younger days as a professional dancer and what could have been of her life had she never suffered a career ending injury. She runs ridiculous errands for her little brother, most recently transporting a photo of his armpit across the country ahead of Chase's Rolling Stone cover story, and is clearly having a crisis over the career path she's chosen (or rather been brought into via nepotism).
In the Season 3 premiere, "Cary Watches People Watch His Movie," Brooke sees everyone in her life undergoing positive changes since the pandemic, and seeks out an old friend who turned into an anti-vaccination conspiracy theorist to make herself feel better about her own life. Lance notices this and discreetly tells her friend to go home, confronting Brooke about her mean-spirited intentions in inviting her. Even though she knows he's right, Brooke blows up at him anyway, causing another temporary rift in their relationship.
But even so, Lance gives Brooke her space, sending her the occasional supportive text message to reassure her. Brooke can be a selfish and at times impulsive character, so only time will tell if her and Lance will stay together, but we can only hope we'll get to see more of Lance's wholesomeness in Season 3.