Left to right: Debra, Debra and Debra.
Three Busy Debras is a live-action adult comedy series created by Mitra Jouhari, Alyssa Stonoha, and Sandy Honig. The series follows the crazy and surreal misadventures of three housewives, all named Debra and their odd travails around the off-kilter suburbia of Lemoncurd.
Debra, Debra and Debra are neighbors and best friends (kinda) who regularly meet up for brunch, to talk about trivial things or to have some weird and wacky adventure... like joining a cartwheel club, trying to cure depression through shopping, or covering up an accidental murder.
- Debra (Sandy Honig) is the shortest, but also the oldest and the meanest of the three. She usually functions as The Leader, occasionally sliding over to Team Mom... not because she's so caring and nurturing but because she's an unrepentant Control Freak. She usually wears a dress.
- Debra (Alyssa Stonoha) is "the middle Debra" and is aloof and emotionally distant, probably thanks to being trapped in a loveless marriage. She has a son, Trayden, whom she doesn't really care that much about. She usually wears a pantsuit.
- And Debra (Mitra Jouhari) is the tallest of the Debras, but also the stupidest, most childish and least emotionally mature. After her husband's death she's starved for affection and attention and has a tendency to get extremely clingy, turn into a Stalker with a Crush, or hit on anyone she finds attractive, be they male or female. She usually wears a romper.
On July 27th, 2022, it was announced that the show had been cancelled after two seasons and sixteen episodes.
Contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Pantsuit Debra is neglectful and uncaring, and sometimes verbally abusive, towards her young son, Trayden. Interestingly enough, despite being a child Trayden seems to have his life together far better than his mother does, and even has another, rather more loving, mother, whom he ends up staying with in the series finale.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Pantsuit Debra has pale skin and dark hair, and is very emotionally detached.
- Ambiguously Bi: All the Debras are married (or in Romper Debra's case, a widow) and are clearly attracted to men... but there's tons of sexual tension between the three as well. Mostly it's from the affection-starved Romper Debra, who can act like a Yandere towards her friends, but Pantsuit Debra has her moments as well... for example, they're both clearly crushing on Dress Debra's sister Barbra (who at one point slaps both their butts, and they seem to like it). The second-season episode "To Have Debra, To Hold Debra" goes to town with it and turns the lesbian subtext into plain text; in that episode Romper Debra and Pantsuit Debra fall in love and get married, only for a jealous Dress Debra to seduce Pantsuit Debra in order to break them up. Of course this episode was a Show Within a Show, or All Just a Dream, or a show about a dream, so it didn't actually happen and the canonical sexualities of the three Debras remain ambiguous. Dress Debra also had sex with a female prison guard— though it’s unclear if that was purely to break the other Debras out of prison.
- Ambiguously Human: The Debras are sometimes implied to be humanoid robots or clones.
- Ambiguous Situation: It’s not entirely clear if Pantsuit Debra is actually having a romantic affair with her own brother OR if she’s simply such an emotionally closed off, aloof woman that she treats something as innocent as visiting a family member with all of the secrecy and shame of a clandestine affair.
- Awful Wedded Life:
- Pantsuit Debra makes several comments that reveal that she hates her husband and tries to spend as much time away from him and their children as possible. A throwaway line from her implied that he feels the same way.
Pantsuit Debra: I can’t just leave my husband [for you], as much as he might want me to.- In the second-season episode "To Have Debra, To Hold Debra," Pantsuit Debra and Romper Debra fall in love and get married. Their marriage immediately turns into this, with Pantsuit Debra turning into a verbally abusive alcoholic for no visible reason, cheats on her wife with Dress Debra and then commits suicide. It turns out none of it actually happened, though; it was a Show Within a Show that was All Just a Dream anyway.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- Dress Debra rejects a boy’s advancements by saying she has a home to come back to… and that he can "fuck [her] there."
- Dress Debra assures Pantsuit Debra that being unable to cartwheel is nothing to be embarrassed about… it’s something to be ashamed of.
- After forming plan on how to cover up her pool boy’s murder, Dress Debra pulls Romper Debra aside and tells her that since it was her (Dress Debra’s) dinner party and she was the reason they’re all there, if anyone should take the fall… it should be Romper Debra.
- Black Sheep: Dress Debra's sister Barbra. She's a convicted felon who's spent time in jail for arson, and ropes Pantsuit Debra and Romper Debra into a heist to steal the Lemoncurt Declaration of Independence.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Possibly, see Ambiguous Situation. Pantsuit Debra spends "Debspringa" having a seemingly romantic weekend with a man, and in the end the man begs her to stay and reminds her to “call mom more,” before she reluctantly goes back to her husband.
- Brutal Honesty: Often, and always with a sugary tone.Dress Debra: I’d rather swim in shit than spend one more minute -— [Notices Romper Debra behind her and turns around, with a bright smile] -— in your ugly, ugly home! Debra! We were just talking about you behind your back!
- Control Freak: Dress Debra -— to the point of bugging her house to her what her friends say when she leaves, and keeping a supply of Understudies to replace her friends when they spend time away from her.
- The Ditz: Romper Debra rarely has a clue.
- Early Instalment Weirdness: The original stage show, and the pilot based on it
, was even more surreal, certainly a good deal creepier, than the series. It had the three Debras as essentially the same character; they all wore the same outfits and shared the same personality, even if they did different things and had different ideas. They also spoke in a much more stilted, almost robotic way and never made eye contact with each other when they spoke to each other. This didn't translate well to TV, however, and so the series changed things up a little by making the Debras individuals (but without losing that "Debra-ness") and actually having them make eye contact, which according to the actors made them consider the relationships between the three Debras a little closer. - Earth-Shattering Kaboom: Season 2 (and the series as a whole) ends with a meteor wiping out the town of Lemoncurd, killing everyone.
- The Eeyore: One episode seeds Pantsuit Debra fall into a severe depression, frequently expressing her despondence and lack of energy to the other Debras, who quickly get annoyed by this and ditch her. Pantsuit then stumbles into a group therapy session, where she vents about her poor mental state. After she’s done, another member begins talking about their issues and Pantsuit Debra is immediately uninterested and annoyed and "realizes" that her friends were right and deciding that the best thing to do is to keep her feelings to herself and become a Stepford Smiler.
- "Everybody Dies" Ending:
- "To Have Debra, To Hold Debra" ends with everyone except Romper Debra dead. Of course that was All Just a Dream.
- The final episode ends with a meteor hitting the town of Lemoncurd, killing all the Debras. The rest of the town is also implied to have died, with the possible exception of Pantsuit Debra's son Trayden, last seen hiding in an underground bunker with his "other mom."
- Evil Laugh: Extremely common in the series. If someone laughs at anything, chances are it either starts as or turns into an Evil Laugh. Dress Debra is particularly likely to do the evil laugh, but the two other Debras aren't far behind... neither are minor characters and random side characters.
- Extreme Doormat: Romper Debra can be this to the other two. She's by far the most put-upon Debra, and if anyone gets abused, stuck with an unpleasant task, or get bullied around, it's her. For the most part she doesn't even try to stand up for herself... sometimes it seems like she's just too stupid to realize how badly she's being treated, but other times it's hinted that she is actually perfectly aware but is too starved for attention or affection to break out of the abusive friendship.
- Extreme Omnisexual: Romper Debra. After her husband's death she's starved for attention and falls in love incredibly easily, and she isn't picky about what sex her prospective love interest is... or even if said prospective love interest is even alive.
- Face Death with Dignity: Attempted, anyway. As the meteor heads for Lemoncurd in the finale, the Debras gather for one last brunch before the end. No dignity is had however, as they all three instantly break down in blubbering fear of their imminent end.
- The Ghost: All three Debras occasionally refer to their husbands, but none of the husbands are ever seen. In the case of Romper Debra's husband, he's specifically said to be dead, but the other two seem to be alive... just not on-screen. Pantsuit Debra in particular will mention her husband every so often, usually to casually inform how terrible her marriage is.
- Identically Named Group: All three main characters are suburban women named Debra.
- Innocently Insensitive: Romper Debra is just as self-absorbed and callous as the other two, but because she's also the stupidest and most childlike of the Debras she seldom comes across as intentionally cruel and more like she simply doesn't know any better.
- The Leader: Dress Debra is usually the ringleader of whatever insanity the Debras get into.
- Light Is Not Good: The Debras always wear pure white clothes, but they're very clearly not good people.
- Limited Wardrobe: Each Debra has one standard outfit, which is why this page refers to them as "Dress Debra," "Pantsuit Dabra" and "Romper Debra."
- Nested Story Reveal: Taken to absurd length in "To have Debra, To Hold Debra." It's a tragic love story that ends with Dress Debra and Pantsuit Debra both dead, and Romper Debra diving birth to a child she names "Brunch." Then it's revealed that the entire thing was a stage play the three Debras were putting on, and none of it really happened. Then it's revealed that Romper Debra dreamt the whole thing and the stage play never really happened either. And then it's revealed that it was all a story in a book that Dress Debra was reading, and even the dream didn't really happen. Finally, it's revealed that all this was part of a TV show that Pantsuit Debra was watching. Pantsuit Debra then proceeds to address the viewer, saying "See you next week!", reminding us that all of this has just been a show and none of it really happened.
- Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Though all the Debras are terrible people; extemely self-centered and with very little concern for anyone else, they do form this dynamic as a trio. Romper Debra, who is mostly an Innocently Insensitive Womanchild, is Nice; Dress Debra, who is a Rich Bitch Control Freak is Mean; and Pantsuit Debra, who's an Aloof Dark-Haired Girl bordering on Ice Queen, is Inbetween.
- No Woman's Land: Lemoncurd, where women are not allowed to vote, murdering a woman is considered a "public service," and, thanks to Romper Debra, are tagged with a tracking device, amongst other oppressive rules.
- Older Than They Look: Dress Debra is at least sixty years old, but looks to be in her early thirties. Her sister Barbara is an elderly woman and looks it.
- Really Gets Around: Dress Debra cheats on her husband with pool boys, female security guards, high school boys, and it’s implied she sleeps around in general.
- Rich Bitch: None of the Debras seem to be struggling financially, but Dress Debra plays the Rich Bitch trope the straightest. She seems like she lives the most luxurious life and is by far the meanest and most likely to think that the rules simply don't apply to her.
- Spoof Aesop: Frequently, as part of the Crapsaccharine World the Debras live in. Notable examples include "Cartwheel Club" where Romper Debra declares that she’s learned an important lesson: that she is "very, very scared of [Pansuit Debra,]" and "The Great Debression," where, after an episode of wallowing in her depression, Pansuit Debra realizes how "annoying" it is to listen to someone else’s problems and decides to become a Stepford Smiler.
- Stalker with a Crush: In the Sleepover episode, Dress Debra and Pantsuit Debra come to believe Romper Debra is this because she asks them questions about their feelings and has a scrapbook of pictures of their times together. The end of the episode proves that they were right.
- Stepford Smiler: All three Debras hide their woes behind gleaming, near constant smiles. Best shown in Debspringa.
- Dress Debra is such a high strung control freak towards her friends and with her house because she has no other control or hobbies with her life. She chooses to spend "Debspringa" going to a high school where she is bullied.
- Romper Debra is lonely, grieving over her husband and craving a deeper connection with the other Debras, and is prone to Yandere tactics to keep love interests and her friends close. She spends "Debspringa" going back to her political career, where she pushes for women in Lemoncurd to be tagged with a tracking device in their ears, and after succeeding in that she almost resumes a romantic relationship with Homra.
- Pantsuit Debra hyper-focuses on menial tasks like cleaning to distract herself from the fact that she is a "vortex of unfulfilled potential," and suffers from depression— eventually deciding to keep her feelings to herself and wallow alone rather than talk to her friends about it. She spends "Debspringa" reconnecting with Jason, her brother, in an ambiguously romantic affair, before declining his pleas that she leave her husband.
- In the end, all three Debras choose to go back to their lives together, but none of them seem happy. Pantsuit Debra bleakly asks that "We’re Debras, where else would we be?”
- Surreal Humor: The show's humor is quite out there.
- Sympathetic Adulterer: Spoofed, Dress Debra makes it plain to the potential pool boys she’s scouting that she will be having an affair with whoever she hires. She then announces that "Yes, I am cheating on my husband— and that’s Okay in my world." Cue thunderous applause from the pool boys.
- Team Mom: Parodied with Dress Debra in the second season episode "The Honorable Order of the Debras", where she legally adopts the other two.
- Token Good Teammate: "Good" is stretching it a lot, and she can pick up the Jerkass Ball for comic effect, but Romper Debra at least comes across as well-meaning, just too stupid and self-absorbed to realize that she does more harm than good.
- Too Dumb to Live: The entire town of Lemoncurd in the series finale. A meteor is going to destroy the town in eight hours, and nobody thinks to just evacuate the town.
- Vague Age: The only thing we know about Dress Debra's age is that she's a lot older than she looks. She looks to be the same age as the other two Debras, but is confirmed to be old enough to be their mother. (In that same episode she adopts them.) Just how old she is is never revealed; it's a minor Running Gag that whenever someone tries to reveal her age, she stops them from doing so and changes the subject.
- With Friends Like These...: The three Debras are not only terrible people in general, they're terrible friends to each other. Dress Debra in particularly will mistreat, boss around and verbally abuse the other two, often with Sugary Malice, and has no regard for anyone but herself. Pantsuit Debra is aloof and uncaring, and will repeatedly express her disdain for the others. Romper Debra is the nicest of the three (to the point where they treat her as an Extreme Doormat) and the only one who seems to genuinely enjoy her friends' company, but she's a clingy Yandere Stalker with a Crush and not much respect for personal space. And yet, they stick together, none of them able to break out of their mutually abusive, but oddly co-dependent, friendship.
- Womanchild: Romper Debra can lapse into this; she's the most childlike of the Debras and sometimes gets directly childish. Pantsuit Debra is usually more adult, but can lapse into childish behavior alongside Romper Debra, forcing Dress Debra to act as their stern "Mother." In "The Honorable Order of the Debras," it's shown that Romper Debra and Pantsuit Debra basically regress into a pair of bickering kids when Dress Debra isn't around, which is why the episode ends with Dress Debra legally adopting them both as her children.
