HBO’s Camping is a show about a dysfunctional group of people on a camping trip led by a high-strung control freak, Kathryn McSorley-Jodell. The group gets up to hilarious misfortune as she freaks out about the schedule. In the series premiere, Kathryn eagerly checked into a campsite at Town Bear Lake (eight adults, one child, at the Groupon rate).
The Jodells
The Jodells (Kathryn, Walt, and Orvis) are the central family to the show. Kathryn planned the whole trip for Walt’s birthday. She is obsessed about her mildly successful Instagram, her pelvic floor, and the camping trip going according to plan. The trip was supposedly adults only (her rule), but they had brought their son. Kathryn had Walt help her take all the mattresses from the other tents since she needed them for support. And when everyone wanted to swim during their “birds of prey watch”, she couldn’t bring herself to join in.
The Campers
The other couples on the trip were Carleen, Kathryn’s wishy washy sister, and her husband Joe, who brought his stepdaughter, Sol; George, Walt’s best friend, and his wife Nina-Joy, who seemed to have an awkward history with Kathryn; and Miguel, who had just separated from his wife Margaret, and Jandice, his new, free-spirited girlfriend. Kathryn was the last to find out about Miguel and Margaret, which bothered her. She also tried too hard to be friendly with Nina-Joy, who was clearly uncomfortable being around her. And finally, Jandice’s spontaneity threw Kathryn off balance, especially when she jumped into the lake naked and everyone followed.
The Caretakers
The proprietor of the camping ground, Harry, and her wife, lived on a trailer on the property. Harry seemed taken with Kathryn, offering to heat up water for a bath if she wanted. They insisted on giving her a BB gun in case of bears. The Jodells were strictly anti-gun, but somehow the BB gun ended up with them anyway. Their first night there, they heard a noise, and Kathryn started shooting the BBs in different directions. She hit Miguel, who was getting frisky with Jandice outside. Harry dug out the BB and stitched him back up.
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