Few Instagram bios can spark the Lisa Frank level of psychedelic joy that Aidy Bryant’s does. A string of emojis, a sort of Morse code of pink bows, rainbows, watermelon slices, poodles and candy, surrounds three words: “Shrill on Hulu.”

“I wish that it was a thoughtful, curated experience,” Bryant says. “But it was just that I went to my ‘frequently used’ tab on my keyboard. And then it was willy nilly, baby.”



For the record: An earlier version of this article said the alternative newspaper the Stranger was based in Portland. It is based in Seattle.

Here’s another bio. After being part of ensembles for most of her career, as an alumna of the Second City in Chicago and a veteran of “Saturday Night Live,” Aidy Bryant broke out on her own last year as the lead character in “Shrill.” And like her character Annie Easton, a writer at a Portland alt-weekly who begins to find her unapologetic voice, Bryant had to overcome her initial self-doubt.