Why season four of F is For Family is the need of the hour.

Last week saw the release of Bill Burr’s F is for Family season 4, a sitcom about the life of the Murphy family in 1970’s USA. The show was created by American comedian Bill Burr and is loosely based on his life and his relationship with his father and stories from his childhood growing up in the 70’s.

The show’s lead is Frank Murphy (Bill Burr) a patriarch who struggles to cope with the times he lives in. Frank whilst being a teenager was drafted in the army to serve during the Korean War and before he knew it, he was married and burdened with responsibilities and before he knew it, his life has passed him by.

The show has a fantastic intro, which describes why Frank’s life turned out the way it did. Frank at this point works as the chief of ground staff, and he was a wife Sue(Laura Dern), two sons Kevin(Justin Long) and Bill (Haley Reinhart) and a daughter Maureen (Debi Derryberry). Frank believes in a style of parenting that his dad practiced and orders his kids around by threatening them.

At the end of season 2, Sue gets pregnant again and this puts more pressure on Frank to keep working at the job he hates.

Most of the show, Frank tells his kids that they have it easy, because his father was even more sadistic. But in season 4, when Frank’s father Big Bill arrives, the kids are shocked, as he is nothing like how Frank described him.

When Frank sees his father this way, he is forced to confront and analyze his memories with his father and his trauma. This leads to him confronting why he behaves the way he behaves with his kids and understanding how toxic behavior can shape the belief of the kid when they grow up.

On first appearance, it seems as thorough this show is all about vulgarity and dark jokes, the kind of humor that Bill Burr as a performer is known for. What Burr does brilliantly however in this show, is represent problematic instances in a humorous light and shows the repercussions. In the whole of season 4, Sue tries to tell Frank to confront his feelings and to talk to his father, he brushes her off by telling her “This is why men rule the word, they don’t think too much on little things” and ultimately ignoring that leads to more problems.

F is for Family does not glorify the injustice that existed in the 70’s it points, it holds up a mirror and makes the audience think of how societies have evolved or how it hasn’t. Like when Sue gets cat called in the workplace or not have her relevant points taken seriously just because she’s a woman.

Also when an older lady in the neighborhood asks her son to beat up his wife to put her in her place. These are instances from a show about the 70’s but it just feels like the reality of how it is right now as well.

In this season, there is also more depth into the character of Rosie, a black man who works with Frank at the airport.

There is a separate episode which is called R is for Rosie, which focuses the life of Rosie in his black neighborhood and the problems he faces. When Rosie attempts to run for alderman, there are attempts made to stop his voters from coming and also even when he is elected, he faces injustice when he tries to get water back to his neighborhood. When they do finally get water, Rosie’s daughter says “Look Daddy, I can almost see through it”, it really brings to perspective how unfair life is for the black community.

Burr also creates a fictional community called Whiteboro which just is there exclusively for the whites. During one episode, Rosie’s family drives right through it and just that scene is enough to show the contrast between Rosie’s neighborhood and Whiteboro.

This season, calls for introspection and identifying the problems within and Frank is a clear example of that, when he finally admits to his issues, and understands his behavior and how his actions have effects on people.

For a show that looks like its away from the times, it sure does a great job with relatability and drives important point home. During the last episode, when Frank is rushing to the hospital to be there for his wife’s birth, Rosie screams “Good Luck Frank, and if the police stops you, don’t worry, you’re white!”.

If there was ever a dialogue to sum up the times we’re in, that was it.