The Californians is an SNL soap opera parody featuring Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and others as wealthy blondes with Valley girl accents (Valleyspeak) exaggerated almost to the point of incoherence.
Armisen’s character, Stuart, owns the house in which the action occurs. His wife Karina (Wiig) is unfaithful. Hader plays Devin, a romantic rival and antagonist to and long lost brother of Stuart; a recurring line is Stuart’s “Devin? What are you doing here?” Vanessa Bayer appears as a Latina maid, Rosa, the only brunette character.
Every installment includes three scenes, generally involving unexpected guests such as a doctor, a private detective, a runaway, or a lost family member. Stuart will invite them to sit down on the furniture, which he describes precisely (e.g., “Mexican country-style chairs”, “burlap and cane daybed”, or “neutral-toned fruit-wood chairs”).
After a shocking revelation, typical to soap operas, such as an unexpected pregnancy, the camera zooms in on each character, who displays open-mouthed astonishment.
Each scene ends with all of the characters in the room crowded around a single mirror and gazing at their own reflections.
