David Farnor | On 29, May 2023

New episodes of Platonic arrive on Wednesdays.

Can a man and woman ever just be friends? That’s the question asked by When Harry Met Sally – and, 34 years after Nora Ephron’s seminal romantic comedy, it’s revisited in Apple TV+ series Platonic. The 10-part series catches up with Will (Seth Rogen) and Sylvia (Rose Byrne) five years after they parted ways – but, crucially, where another show might venture into rom-com alley, Platonic stays in its titular lane. This is a comedy about a man and woman who are friends and stay just that.

That decision is what makes Platonic interesting – because it’s not about will-they-won’t-they romance but about the complexities of staying friends in adulthood. Amid jobs and families, routines and responsibilities, it takes effort from all parties for friendships to endure. For Will and Sylvia, they fell at the first hurdle of Will getting married – after she criticised his choice of partner, things went sour. When she hears that he’s gotten divorced half a decade later, she reaches out to make sure he’s OK.

What ensues is a collision of two opposite lives. A former lawyer turned housewife, Sylvia is living with her husband (Luke Macfarlane) and three kids, while Will is running a bar with his friend. One has matured, one hasn’t, both aren’t quite doing what they expected with their lives – they have a burgeoning midlife crisis in common.

Co-creators Nick Stoller and Francesca Delbanco get the nuances of that period of life just right, whether that’s the challenges of a family movie night where everyone can watch their own choices on a separate device or the awkwardness of avoiding conflict even when it’s necessary to move on or resolve a problem. The scripts take us from real estate deals to post-break-up confrontations via flooded bathrooms, touching on familiar set-ups from films and TV shows past. But the difference this time around is that the characters going through these things feel relatable and real.

Crucially, that doesn’t mean that they’re likeable – Seth Rogen slides between annoying and amusingly inappropriate with an easygoing rambunctiousness, while Rose Byrne pays Sylvia as prone to being critical but also genuinely kind-hearted and concerned. Together, though, they’re a sensational double-act, and – after some prickly uncertainty – you can visibly see Will a Sylvia relax in one another’s company.

The cast, including Reggie (Andrew Lopez), the stepbrother of Will’s ex, and Andy (Tre Hale), Will’s friend, as well as Macfarlane’s straight-laced spouse, are all charming and convincing, but the central pair are the reason to tune in, as they throw pop-culture references and crude one-liners back and forth with the kind of humour that feels like it’s designed to make each other laugh, rather than play to an audience. The result is a genuinely funny comedy that celebrates the value of friendship between men and women – and makes you want to be friends with them too.

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