TV Review - Friends From College: Season 2

This second season was released in early January. It did so without much of a splash. Given the talent involved, it's a shame. The first season felt overlooked as well. Maybe overlooked is the wrong word. The critics basically slammed it. It was more dismissed than anything. Then, by late February, it was announced that the series was cancelled. The series hasn't gotten the kind of buzz as Bird Box or even Russian Doll. It's doubtful that it'll get the kind of awards attention as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt or The Crown. It's perhaps in the same vein as recent, single-camera comedies about Generation X, which probably hurt the series in its first season. I would argue though that it has improved for its second and now final season. It's certainly way more entertaining and better written than a lot of the new comedies on network television right now.

Keegan-Michael Key (The Predator and Keanu) stars as Ethan Turner, a published author in New York City. He's in the process of divorcing his wife, Lisa, because he cheated on her with another woman named Sam who is herself married and is possibly facing divorce. His gay best friend is also his agent. He's not as wealthy as his other friends. He has a crappy apartment with a weirdo for a roommate. He's still a bit of a romantic, but like his friends, he avoids conflict but awkwardly stumbles into them constantly.

Fred Savage (The Grinder and The Wonder Years) co-stars as Max Adler, a very talented agent who perhaps wants to change his career. He's gay and is engaged to be married to a tall, sardonic doctor named Felix. Max is good at managing his clients and pitching or selling their ideas. He can sometimes ramble nervously or anxiously too much. He's a bit neurotic, but he can be smart and pragmatic.

The thrust of this second season is Max's pending wedding to Felix. His is the only gay relationship, but it's funny to watch a gay couple getting married while most if not all the straight couples get separated or divorced. Among the straight couples, it's funny to see a boomerang effect to what they do and who they end up with. Created by Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller, the comedy and the vibe is very much a New York, upper middle class one. Yet, Delbanco and Stoller come up with ways to skewer that and the characters therein.

Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 30 mins.

Available on Netflix.