30-645: Maya Erskine is an American actress and writer. She is known for her roles as Maggie in Man Seeking Woman , Mikki in Betas , and Mizu in Blue Eye Samurai . From 2019 to 2021, she starred in Hulu 's original TV comedy series PEN15 alongside Anna Konkle ; the duo, who co-created, co-wrote, and co-executive produced the series, played fictional versions of their 13-year-old selves. The series received critical acclaim and
60-490: A Comedy Series nominations for her work on the series. She is recognized by Gold House as the A100 Honoree. In September 2019, she confirmed her relationship with actor Michael Angarano . On November 2, 2020, the couple revealed they were engaged and expecting a child. Their son was born in 2021. In 2024, Erskine revealed that she and Angarano had married. In April 2024, Erskine announced her second pregnancy. Their daughter
90-474: A collective term for supernatural beings who should be respected and avoided rather than worshipped. Troll could later have become specialized as a description of the larger, more menacing Jötunn-kind whereas Huldrefolk may have developed as the term for smaller trolls. John Arnott MacCulloch posited a connection between the Old Norse vættir and trolls, suggesting that both concepts may derive from spirits of
120-403: A date with an actual troll , physically misplacing his penis, or meeting a Japanese monster composed of human penises. Sometimes Josh is successful in finding a girlfriend; however, these relationships usually only survive for one episode. On June 19, 2013, FXX ordered a pilot episode for Man Seeking Woman from Simon Rich , directed by Jonathan Krisel . On February 6, 2014, Jay Baruchel
150-425: A rating of 100% based on 13 reviews with an average rating of 8.8/10. The site's critical consensus states, " Man Seeking Woman explores new avenues of storytelling in season 3, while maintaining its excellent absurdist humor and imaginative dealings with relatable relationship issues." On Metacritic, the season has a score of 89 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Troll A troll
180-477: A relationship; however, these conflicts are taken to absurd and literal extremes. The show centers on Josh Greenberg, who struggles finding love after a break-up with his long-term girlfriend Maggie. His mature and successful older sister Liz often tries to help him enter into a serious relationship, and his sex-crazed best friend Mike often tries to help him with solely having sex. Josh's efforts oftentimes lead him into surreal and awkward circumstances such as going on
210-817: A theater program in Amsterdam . Erskine has performed with the Los Angeles–based theater groups the East West Players and the Geffen Playhouse . In 2019, she appeared in Amy Poehler 's directorial debut, Wine Country , opposite a slate of comedians including Poehler, Maya Rudolph , Tina Fey , and Rachel Dratch . The same year, she began starring in the Hulu series PEN15 , which she created with Konkle. She received two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for
240-496: Is a being in Nordic folklore , including Norse mythology . In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings. In later Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not Christianized , and are considered dangerous to human beings. Depending on
270-451: Is a term applied to jötnar and is mentioned throughout the Old Norse corpus. In Old Norse sources, trolls are said to dwell in isolated mountains, rocks, and caves, sometimes live together (usually as father-and-daughter or mother-and-son), and are rarely described as helpful or friendly. The Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál describes an encounter between an unnamed troll woman and the 9th-century skald Bragi Boddason . According to
300-479: Is based on Rich's short story compilation, The Last Girlfriend on Earth , Jonathan Krisel , Andrew Singer, and Lorne Michaels are also executive producers, with Broadway Video , Allagash Industries and FXP (formerly FX Productions) as production companies. It has received generally positive reviews from critics. On April 4, 2017, the show was canceled after three seasons. Most episode plots are based on relatable conflicts and struggles of entering/maintaining
330-421: Is easy to fall for, taking a ridiculously funny approach to a common theme." On Metacritic , the season has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The second season received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a rating of 100% based on 8 reviews with an average rating of 8/10. The third season also received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has
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#1733106066875360-607: The Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game . Beginning in the 1950s, Troll dolls were a popular toy based on the folklore creature. Trolls based on the dolls appeared in the Hollywood animated movie Trolls (2016) and its subsequent sequels Trolls World Tour (2020), and Trolls Band Together (2023). Troll is the name, and main antagonist, of a 2022 Norwegian movie released by Netflix on December 1, 2022. The Danish artist Thomas Dambo has created from recycled wood
390-408: The absence of trolls in regions of Scandinavia is described in folklore as being a "consequence of the constant din of the church-bells". This ringing caused the trolls to leave for other lands, although not without some resistance; numerous traditions relate how trolls destroyed a church under construction or hurled boulders and stones at completed churches. Large local stones are sometimes described as
420-523: The dead. Troll , a Norwegian research station in Antarctica , is so named because of the rugged mountains which stand around that place like trolls. It includes a ground station which tracks satellites in polar orbit . Trolls have appeared in many works of modern fiction, most often in the fantasy genre, with classic examples being the portrayal of trolls in works such as in Tolkien's Middle-earth or
450-697: The end dangerous, regardless of how well they might get along with Christian society, and trolls display a habit of bergtagning ('kidnapping'; literally "mountain-taking") and overrunning a farm or estate. Lindow states that the etymology of the word "troll" remains uncertain, though he defines trolls in later Swedish folklore as "nature beings" and as "all-purpose otherworldly being[s], equivalent, for example, to fairies in Anglo - Celtic traditions". They "therefore appear in various migratory legends where collective nature-beings are called for". Lindow notes that trolls are sometimes swapped out for cats and "little people" in
480-399: The folklore record. A Scandinavian folk belief that lightning frightens away trolls and jötnar appears in numerous Scandinavian folktales, and may be a late reflection of the god Thor 's role in fighting such beings. In connection, the lack of trolls and jötnar in modern Scandinavia is sometimes explained as a result of the "accuracy and efficiency of the lightning strokes". Additionally,
510-670: The poem Beowulf emphasizes not the harrying of Grendel but the cleansing of the hall of Beowulf, so the modern tales stress the moment when the trolls are driven off." Smaller trolls are attested as living in burial mounds and in mountains in Scandinavian folk tradition. In Denmark, these creatures are recorded as troldfolk ("troll-folk"), bjergtrolde ("mountain-trolls"), or bjergfolk ("mountain-folk") and in Norway also as trollfolk ("troll-folk") and tusser . Trolls may be described as small, human-like beings or as tall as men depending on
540-515: The product of a troll's toss. Additionally, into the 20th century, the origins of particular Scandinavian landmarks, such as particular stones, are ascribed to trolls who may, for example, have turned to stone upon exposure to sunlight. Lindow compares the trolls of the Swedish folk tradition to Grendel , the supernatural mead hall invader in the Old English poem Beowulf , and notes that "just as
570-589: The region of origin of the story. In Norwegian tradition, similar tales may be told about the larger trolls and the Huldrefolk ("hidden-folk"), yet a distinction is made between the two. The use of the word trow in Orkney and Shetland, to mean beings which are very like the Huldrefolk in Norway, may suggest a common origin for the terms. The word troll may have been used by pagan Norse settlers in Orkney and Shetland as
600-510: The role of her character's mother on PEN15 . Erskine attended Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences and graduated from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts . She is a 2005 YoungArts alumnus. She then attended New York University Tisch School of the Arts . Erskine initially studied musical theater but shifted to the school's Experimental Theater Wing. During her time at NYU, she met Anna Konkle while they were both studying abroad at
630-400: The same as human beings, without any particularly hideous appearance about them, but living far away from human habitation and generally having "some form of social organization"—unlike the rå and näck , who are attested as "solitary beings". According to John Lindow , what sets them apart is that they are not Christian, and those who encounter them do not know them. Therefore, trolls were in
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#1733106066875660-404: The section, Bragi was driving through "a certain forest" late one evening when a troll woman aggressively asked him who he was, in the process describing herself: Old Norse : Anthony Faulkes translation: John Lindow translation: Bragi responds in turn, describing himself and his abilities as a skillful skald , before the scenario ends. There is much confusion and overlap in
690-608: The source, their appearance varies greatly; trolls may be ugly and slow-witted, or look and behave exactly like human beings, with no particularly grotesque characteristic about them. Trolls are sometimes associated with particular landmarks in Scandinavian folklore, which at times may be explained as formed from a troll exposed to sunlight. Trolls are depicted in a variety of media in modern popular culture. The Old Norse nouns troll and trǫll (variously meaning "fiend, demon, werewolf , jötunn ") and Middle High German troll, trolle "fiend" (according to philologist Vladimir Orel ,
720-629: The term is used to denote various beings, such as a jötunn or mountain-dweller, a witch, an abnormally strong or large or ugly person, an evil spirit, a ghost, a blámaðr , a magical boar, a heathen demi-god, a demon, a brunnmigi , or a berserker . Later in Scandinavian folklore, trolls become defined as a particular type of being. Numerous tales are recorded about trolls in which they are frequently described as being extremely old, very strong, but slow and dim-witted, and are at times described as man-eaters and as turning to stone upon contact with sunlight. However, trolls are also attested as looking much
750-508: The use of Old Norse terms jötunn , troll , þurs , and risi , which describe various beings. Lotte Motz theorized that these were originally four distinct classes of beings: lords of nature ( jötunn ), mythical magicians ( troll ), hostile monsters ( þurs ), and heroic and courtly beings ( risi ), the last class being the youngest addition. On the other hand, Ármann Jakobson is critical of Motz's interpretation and calls this theory "unsupported by any convincing evidence". Ármann highlights that
780-573: The word is likely borrowed from Old Norse), possibly developed from Proto-Germanic neuter noun * trullan , meaning "to tread, step on". The origin of the Proto-Germanic word is unknown. Additionally, the Old Norse verb trylla 'to enchant, to turn into a troll' and the Middle High German verb trüllen "to flutter" both developed from the Proto-Germanic verb * trulljanan , a derivative of * trullan . In Norse mythology, troll , like thurs ,
810-514: Was born in 2024. Man Seeking Woman Man Seeking Woman is an American romantic comedy television series created by Simon Rich for FXX . It originally aired for 3 seasons from January 14, 2015, to March 8, 2017. The series is set in Chicago , about a naïve and soft-spoken man in his 20s named Josh Greenberg (played by Jay Baruchel ), who finds himself in several surrealist and awkward circumstances while trying to find love. The series
840-496: Was cast as the lead character, Josh Greenberg. On March 20, Eric André , Britt Lower , and Maya Erskine were announced as the remaining principal cast members. On July 2, the network announced it had picked up the series for a 10-episode series order, as well as its principal cast and production crew. On October 31, Miles Fisher was cast in a recurring role. The series is filmed in Toronto , Ontario , Canada. On March 3, 2015, it
870-584: Was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards . In 2024, she began starring as Jane Smith in the Prime Video series Mr. & Mrs. Smith , for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series . Erskine was born in Los Angeles , the daughter of Mutsuko Nigatawa and jazz drummer Peter Erskine . Her mother is Japanese , from Tokyo . Her mother also plays
900-419: Was renewed for a 10-episode second season. On April 12, 2016, FX announced it was renewed for a 10-episode third season. Man Seeking Woman has been met with positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season of the show a rating of 82%, based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Amusingly surrealistic and enjoyably odd, Man Seeking Woman
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