Your Friends & Neighbours
By Sioph W. Leal
Ten years ago, Mad Men ended and now John Hamm returns as the lead in Your Friends and Neighbours as Andrew “Coop” Cooper, a man fired in disgrace who is grappling with his recent divorce and what he resorts to. Unable to work due to a non-compete, Coope starts stealing from his neighbours’ homes in the wealthy Westmont Village but discovers that the affairs and secrets they hide are more dangerous than he ever thought.
Audiences are always crying out for something new, something that isn’t a sequel or remake to fill our screens and that is exactly what Your Friends and Neighbours is. Its different from anything around, filled with dark humour, shrewd looks at the psychology of its characters and a lot of irony that are perfectly balanced and create an intriguing premise filled with layered characters and exceptional performances from all the cast. Despite the dark tone, its funnier than expected but with a moody, serious atmosphere that makes for a great watch and one that will be talked about long after the season concludes, leaving audiences eager for the next chapter. Thankfully, Apple have already green-lit this for a second season so while the wait will be long, there is more to come! While it is funny, its entertaining and with a smart edge for the more refined viewers with a sharper mind to give it some depth.
A good build up is always welcome in a quality show like Your Friends and Neighbours and while the first two episodes are the shakier and slower of the series, they never falter on quality. It isn’t a deep show by all means and it is one of the most entertaining and unexpected watches of the year so far but it does set up complex realism about our standards as a society and what hides beneath the bubbling surface of the lives we present.
The real strength of the series is the cast and the relationship between their characters. They’re driven by Coop’s wounded pride and how his identity is fractured with Hamm navigating every complexity with ease and making shifts in tone come off naturally that allows the darker tone to shine but allowing the humour to happen yet never take over so the tone remains constant.
Your Friends and Neighbours is one of the most surprising, effective, and energetic series to come out with much to be enjoyed and dissected. It is another in a long list of quality series under Apple TV that uses style, plot and character to showcase its obvious quality while giving the audience some surprises.