Apple TV+’s latest half-hour comedy “Platonic” is a joyous reunion of “Neighbors” stars Rose Byrne, Seth Rogen, and that film’s director Nicholas Stoller, in another project that features two people questioning where they’ve ended up in ordinary lives. It works mainly through the power of its casting because Byrne and Rogen have an obvious comedic chemistry, translating what feels like real friendship into something that can be seen on-screen. “Platonic” is at its best when it leans into this connection, allowing their characters to bring out the best and worst in each other, the way friends often do, and reminding viewers how great these two are at sketching believable characters in the sometimes-unbelievable construct of the film or half-hour TV comedy. There’s simple joy to be had in spending time with Byrne and Rogen as they play characters navigating their way through very different mid-life crises, and they both seem energized by the other’s presence. It may be fiction but it feels true friendship.
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Created by Stoller and his creative partner and wife Francesca Delbanco (who was also behind the underrated “Friends from College”)—the two also alternate directing duties—“Platonic” opens with its weakest episode, perhaps because it’s less believable that Rogen and Byrne aren’t close friends than that they are. At the start of the series, Sylvia (Byrne) and Will (Rogen) haven’t spoken in years after she broached a friendship barrier by telling him that he shouldn’t marry his awful fiancée Audrey (Alisha Wainwright). It turns out she was right. When she notices on Instagram that Will and Audrey are divorcing, she takes the encouragement of her husband Charlie (Luke Macfarlane, who co-starred in Stoller’s “Bros” last year) to reach out to her former BFF and offer support (and maybe a little gloating).
When Sylvia and Will reconnect, it comes with that odd dynamic that comes when two friends miss key events in each other’s life. They seem to have gone in such different directions as adults that they couldn’t possibly rekindle whatever connection they lost when they were basically kids, but Rogen and Byrne find a way to make how their characters settle back into their routine believable. It’s that shared history that connects people who haven’t spoken in years, and not in a cheesy, Hallmark way. It’s the kind of dynamic rarely seen on screen in that men and women in comedies usually have to be romantic partners to have this kind of chemistry. They even name-check “When Harry Met Sally” in the premiere, although Will misremembers that the film proved men and women could be friends without romance.
When they reunite, they happen to be at major turning points in their lives with Sylvia questioning how much she gave up to be a stay-at-home mom and Will managing both the pain of divorce and a growing craft brewery. Like a lot of friendship comedies, they end up pushing each other out of their comfort zones as they almost remind one another of a time before a mid-life crisis was even a possibility. Instead of just complaining about the mundanity of her life with friend Katie (Carla Gallo, getting a reunion of sorts with her “Undeclared” co-star Rogen), Sylvia explores new routes to happiness, even getting back into the law business in the second half of the season (with horrendously embarrassing results), and Will needs Sylvia’s help to close some doors on his broken marriage. There’s a simple reading of “Platonic” wherein Will opens Sylvia up to having more fun in life while Sylvia teaches Will a bit more responsibility, but the team here is smart enough to not paint those predictable arcs of “dissatisfied mom” and “man-child” with strokes that are too broad.
“Platonic” works because it balances subtle character beats for Byrne and Rogen with its broad, sitcomish set-ups. Whether it’s Sylvia accidentally doing Ketamine or Will getting invited to an awkward work event by Charlie, the set-ups may seem forced on paper, but the talent of the cast and the quality of the writing keeps them entertaining. The show also wisely allows Sylvia and Will to have lives apart from one another, including a subplot in which he’s dating someone too young for him in Peyton (Emily Kimball) or she’s trying to get back into a profession that she’s worried has left her behind. After kind of a rocky start, they become fully realized together on their own and togethr, and, importantly, they become increasingly likable. Byrne and Rogen are just easy performers to root for and that goes a long way in a character-driven comedy like this one. Comedies work much better when you simply enjoy spending time with its protagonists.
It helps that these two have ace comic timing, whether it’s in dialogue-driven scenes or the more extreme behavior—admittedly, the writers arguably have a tendency to lean too heavily on getting drunk or high for comedic value. While supporters like Macfarlane, Gallo, and Tre Hale are effective, “Platonic” really lives and dies on how much you like Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen. For fans of these excellent comic actors, it’s like being reunited with old friends. [B+]