Pontiac native delves into menopause with YouTube comedy series
In the past, menopause was a taboo subject. People wouldn’t talk about it, and it was just a thing women went through that was hush-hush. But, then things started to change.
In 2001, “Menopause The Musical” debuted, and the show’s popularity showed how culture was moving towards talking about menopause in a very open and real way.
Now, Michigan native Shari Doran is bringing that menopause discussion to life again. She’s doing it in an entertaining way, too, with a YouTube series called “Thee Third Act.”
Shari Doran and Jane Hajduk are Los Angeles producers who met during college. Now, the longtime friends have written a new short-form comedy series, “Thee Third Act,” about two best friends dealing with menopause who decide to “journal their exploits as they try anything to ease their transition into their third act of life.”
Doran, who grew up in the Pontiac area, says the response to “Thee Third Act” has been super positive.
“We wrote this project to see what would happen, and it’s been overwhelming. People are loving it,” she says. “With this show, there’s an irreverence to the subject matter, and it’s funny. We’re really two best friends surviving it, and everyone relates to it because we’re just two regular people sharing our stories.”
Before this latest endeavor, Doran has worked with many other companies, including Making It Up Productions/Wayne
Brady, Warner Brothers, ABC, Universal Studios and Princess Cruise Lines. Most recently, she wrote, produced and released “History Speaks: Diary of a Generation,” a World War II documentary on Amazon Prime.
By the year 2025, 1.1 billion women will be in menopause, Doran said.
“I think now, because of the era and the new generations that are coming up, people aren’t afraid to talk about things that maybe my mom wouldn’t talk about,” she says. “Everyone I speak to said their moms didn’t say anything about it.”
Not to mention, the laughs that come with it.
“With this show, we’ve been having so much fun with it,” she adds. “(It’s) amazing to hear from different spectrums of women, and women are coming to us from all over.
It’s funny, and everyone appreciates that.”
“Thee Third Act” isn’t just for women, either. Men can appreciate it.
“It gives the audience that mindset that you aren’t alone. For men, it gives them an eye-opener of, ‘Oh, that’s why my wife is doing that!’“she says. “I think it lends itself to the fact that friendship is important in your life. You don’t have to go through something alone. Whether it’s menopause of your parents’ death or different things, friendship helps you get through it together. I think people relate to that, and the humor gives people permission to make fun of what they’re going through, too. They go: ‘OK. It’s not just me.’”
Watch “Thee Third Act” at youtube.com/@theethirdact. The episodes run 2 to 5 minutes in length. They bill the show’s first, 12-episode season as an “irreverent, heartwarming and fast-moving” series.
For more information, visit theethirdact.com.