Your Friends and Neighbors released in mid-April, and I wouldn’t be surprised if your initial thought right now was ‘oh right, I heard something about that’. I did the exact same thing, until my brother recommended it. Now, having watched the entire 10-episode first season (it was renewed for season two before the first had aired) in the last seven days, I’m here to pass on the message.
In Jon Hamm’s return to the small screen since Mad Men ended its run in 2015, Don Draper returns in the form of Andrew Cooper. This time, he’s a slightly better husband and much better father – though it’s a low bar – who works as a hedge fund manager.
When we meet him, though, things aren’t going well for Coop. He makes great money, but between his several houses, cars, private schools and recent divorce, it’s going out almost as quick as it comes in.
This is all well and good… until he walks in on his wife, Mel (Amanda Peet), in bed with his best friend Nick (Mark Tallmen). He then gets fired, with his boss keeping the money he’d made from his accounts and legally restricting him from getting another job… and, despite regularly finding stress relief with Sam (Olivia Munn), his ex-wife’s friend and neighbor’s ex-wife, he quickly spirals.
Unable to get a job and only with enough savings/assets to keep up his lifestyle for a few months, he figures that his disgustingly rich friends and neighbors probably won’t miss a few of their many watches, jewels and wads of cash.
He’s right, for the most part, but it turns out sneaking into the houses of people close to you and leaving with expensive items they own doesn’t have the best results.
Big budgets + prioritized quality = easy recommendations
It’s not revolutionary to say that, when it comes to high-quality TV streaming, Apple TV+ is right up there with Max. In fact, I think it has stolen the ‘premium streaming’ spotlight from HBO.
Where other services, even Max, put more focus on diversifying their libraries, Apple’s streaming service boasts a budget that lets them spend money on shows that other platforms simply can’t – and not worry too much if they land with a thud.
You can see this through the general production of its shows. Like you can a Netflix show just by looking at it, the same can be said for Apple, but in a positive sense. I’ve even heard people in my daily life casually sell shows on other services with claims like “it’s Apple TV-level quality”.
This larger budget also allows the company to partner with top tier Hollywood talent like Jon Hamm, Cate Blanchett in Disclaimer, Gary Oldman in Slow Horses and Jake Gyllenhaal in Presumed Innocent, that no other service can puff its chest out with. Not to mention Apple-produced blockbusters like F1 starring Brad Pitt or the Best Picture Oscar-winning CODA.
Quiet deliveries, consistent standards
Of course, there are Apple shows that I wouldn’t recommend, or even haven’t finished. However, one of the biggest reasons many Apple TV+ originals land without much fanfare – like Your Friends and Neighbors kinda did – is that Apple simply does a poor job of advertising many of its series.
Did you have any idea that there’s a new Spike Lee joint coming out on Apple TV starring Denzel Washington as a music mogul? I didn’t until a few weeks ago when it popped up within the Apple TV+ app. So, while new seasons of shows Severance or Ted Lasso make a splash, quieter releases are easy to miss – especially when they don’t have perfect review scores as their backbone.
But, while it might not reach the heights of The Studio or Shrinking, this series Your Friends and Neighbors starring Jon Hamm is just another example of the supreme quality of Apple TV+, and it’s the perfect easy watch to end your nights with.
The perfect nightcap
Have you ever had a rough day – feeling sick or work’s got you feeling blue – and lacked the energy for whatever serious drama you’re currently watching? The Pitt, The Last of Us and The Bear are some of my favourite shows of the year, but there were certainly times when I got home and just couldn’t deal with the kitchen frenzy.
At the same time, you’re not in the mood to scroll through TikTok while Seinfeld runs in the background.
I think this series offers the perfect combination of drama, comedy and mystery – similar to that of The White Lotus, though it doesn’t quite reach the heights of that series. It’s light-hearted enough for a laugh and serious enough to keep you entertained, with enough mystery to hold your attention until credits roll on episode 10.
Finding rubies among diamonds
Of course, I didn’t actually avoid this series because of its Rotten Tomatoes score. It simply slipped me by. And, while I think the score could perhaps be a little higher, if 78% of people recommend a show it should be a positive, not a negative.
Your Friends and Neighbors isn’t a masterpiece, but it keeps you enticed without leaving you filled with anxiety before bed and Hamm’s got a dry, sarcastic humour that I really gelled with.
It’s just another example of Apple TV’s quality over quantity. While Netflix boasts a diverse selection of almost 8,000 shows and movies, Apple TVs amounts to only a few hundred. While that’s a negative at times, especially when trying to use it as your sole streaming service, it means that rather than searching for diamonds in the rough, you’re often left debating whether it’s worth your time to give a ruby and sapphire show a chance.
This mystery dramedy is a ruby – the second-most valuable gem, apparently – and I’m here to tell you to give it a shot. While you’re subscribed, if you’re looking for the very best on Apple TV Plus, Long Way Up, Black Bird, Slow Horses, Pachinko, Murder Bot, Mythic Quest, Severance, Carême, Trying, Shrinking, Platonic, Bad Monkey, Dickinson, Silo, Hijack, Ted Lasso, Sunny, and Servant all boast 90%+ scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
