‘Tuca & Bertie’ Creator Lisa Hanawalt on Exploring Period Pain and Reproductive Health in Season 3: ‘Doctors Dismissing You is Very Common’

variety.com:

Michaela Zee editor Although “Tuca & Bertie” navigates difficult subjects such as mental health and sexual assault, creator Lisa Hanawalt isn’t trying “to be overtly political or topical” with her series.  “I’m just telling stories from my point of view — things that affect me and my friends, and the things we’ve experienced,” she said.

The adult animated sitcom revolves around best friends Tuca Toucan (Tiffany Haddish) and Roberta “Bertie” Songthrush (Ali Wong), two anthropomorphic bird women living in the fantastical city known as Bird Town.

In the recently completed third season on Adult Swim, the series highlighted two topics seldom covered on screen: menstruation and reproductive health. “So many of the women I know suffer from endometriosis, from PCOS [polycystic ovary syndrome], from cysts,” Hanawalt said. “It’s such a huge problem, and it’s surprisingly difficult to diagnose.”  In Episode 2, Tuca suffers from a chronic condition related to her menstrual cycle, causing severe abdominal cramps, heavy bleeding and nausea.  “I chose Tuca because she’s such a fun-loving, extroverted character that this seemed like more of a barrier [or] an obstacle for her.

Her health issues are in direct contradiction with her personality, and she’s not the type to want to stay home in bed — and I relate to that,” Hanawalt explained. “She feels very depressed by having her movement impeded, so it really started from there.” Determined to alleviate her extreme period pain, Tuca undergoes multiple tests at the hospital to get a proper diagnosis, only to leave hours later with inconclusive results.  “It seems like years and years of doctors dismissing you is very common,” Hanawalt said. “I’ve experienced doctors shrugging off my