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- HULU
- Oct 7, 2015
- HULU
- Oct 7, 2015
Summary Alex Cole, a bachelor brother (Tommy Dewey) and his newly divorced sister, Valerie Cole (Michaela Watkins) live together and raise her teenage daughter (Tara Lynne Barr) in this comedy from Zander Lehmann.
Created By: Zander Lehmann
- HULU
- Oct 7, 2015
- HULU
- Oct 7, 2015
Summary Alex Cole, a bachelor brother (Tommy Dewey) and his newly divorced sister, Valerie Cole (Michaela Watkins) live together and raise her teenage daughter (Tara Lynne Barr) in this comedy from Zander Lehmann.
Created By: Zander Lehmann
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
77
95% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
77
95% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
A compelling, surprise-filled show about the devaluation of romance in contemporary life.
Valerie and Alex are both oblivious and self-involved, but they also love each other, and Watkins and Dewey save them from stereotype with strong sibling chemistry and a surprisingly natural inclination for truth. This emerges slowly, in bits and pieces, often camouflaged by one-liners and set pieces (adjacent blind dates! the first one-night stand! Mom comes to town!), but it is truth nonetheless, hilarious, heartbreaking and miraculously resilient.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 69 User Ratings
7.7
84% Positive
58 Ratings
58 Ratings
7% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
9% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 69 User Ratings
7.7
84% Positive
58 Ratings
58 Ratings
7% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
9% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
I absolutely love this show, and fell in love watching it the first season. The 3 lead actors are each amazing, and are so great on screen together. Michaela Watkins really surprised me with the how well she is at acting in a more serious and darker comedy show like this, since I've only ever seen her in more goofy and solely comedic roles before. Love the mother/daughter scenes between her and Tara Lynne Barr who is amazing playing Laura. Its great seeing more of Tommy Dewey, who I liked a lot on the Mindy Project, as one of Mindy's many boyfriends. Casual is without a doubt one of my new favorite shows and is definitely my favorite Hulu original show.
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SEASON 1
Two things : this show does have a little indy film feel and the three leads are terrific, particularly the two ladies.
What is terrific about this show is how they approach balance. not the life wrk balance, but relationship's balances and inner balance. It's a quiet topic with some depth, so there is no big broad humor or heavy melodrama( at least not yet). Over time the the characters- all three plus Leon- have developed enough unlikeablity and quirkiness that feel genuine that it keep it the characters interesting, and also provides fodder for the writers. That's balanced with enough humanity and love and natural strain between them to keep us caring. Their thoughtful yet constant bad decision making does more than keep the plot going. It smartly moves the characters , pushing them to their limits with themselves and each other. They could let the characters grow a bit more from each relationship but in the spirit of reality, it makes sense that they, especially Alex, does not.
I am not disappointed in the so-called lack f humor. I don;t think of this show as a comedy or a dramedy. It's between a dramedy and drama. Maybe it's about time we stop labelling so much and stop worrying about marketing a show and allow the artists to create and then we can get to simply watch what we enjoy when they are at their creative best.
I love the guest starring role and performance of Mike Birbiglia. What a fun revelation!
Honestly, when his character dries up (as it is destined to), if Chris Messina is up for grabs now that he's on The Mindy Project so little, the producers should grab him since he has the vibe for this show and would be a romantic lead with real substance- an actual threat for Alex- and frankly, he also would have been a far better choice as antagonist for the lead this season. The actor they have now is fine, but bland and for that role and for that of Sarah, it feels woefully miscast and underworked. They both needed to be sultry, complex and a little quirky, not simple and annoying to stand up to the others.
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SEASON 1
Casual is occasionally surprising, sexually provocative and cruelly wry; despite some of the show’s faults--including a cynical through-line that occasionally reaches toxic levels of intra-family hurt and resentment--it is addictive and weirdly welcoming.
The comic situations and commentary on how difficult it is to find love in the era of Twitter and texting feels organic to the three people at the center of this remarkably well-crafted and well-acted piece.
The pilot's take on these lovable downers is a bit of a downer itself, but the second half hour sharpens its wit. [9 Oct 2015]
Over its first season, Casual breaks no new ground. Many of its scenes could swap in to any number of indie movies about bougie ennui, and many of its conversations have been had better elsewhere. That said.... Casual is often smart, and it's well paced, and it addresses its to-do list head-on.
There are, admittedly, some funny lines (Valerie laments about a guy, “His favorite movie is ‘Underworld’ ”), and a bittersweet quality throughout that approximates some of Reitman’s films.... Still, the series just isn’t distinctive enough to separate itself from the pack, from the casting to the premise, in the way something like Hulu’s “Difficult People” did
A great new show for those viewers who enjoyed Californication, Weeds and shows with a darker comedic edge. The main characters are well written, and I am excited to see where it goes. Mostly it is a show about trying to believe that love still exists in our culture of online dating, one night stands and cheap sex. I do not think that the show exploits language and nudity just to get viewers. I think most sex scenes presented are handled with care and only are present for the advancing of the story. As with many post modern shows dealing with the grayness of morality in relationships and sex, some viewers will find it offensive. For this looking for a relatable tale of internet dating and broken relationships, this is another interesting show to add to the list.
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SEASON 1
I love Jason Reitman as a filmmaker and storyteller. He has a unique view of the world, and I've often been drawn to the stories he tells. I was looking forward to "Casual" for that reason, but the pilot was incredibly underwhelming. I expected more, or at least some consistency, and there was none to be had.
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SEASON 1
I genuinely like the premise of the show and many of the story-lines. That said, I also am genuine when I say that the main character is unbelievably unlikable and unbelievable. She somehow manages to obliterate a good scene upon entering. I am not sure if it is the character or the actress but the combination proves a vacuum of personality or joy. It also stuns me that Hollywood apparently believes that mid-30's looks more like early 50's.
The rest of the cast has energy and vitality but there is a dark cloud around the main character- admittedly going through a divorce but at this point who hasn't- that is inescapable.
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SEASON 1
Okay, I admit there are some funny dialogues at time but not nearly enough to justify watching these absolutely horrid characters interact with each other and then be subjected to the gratuitous sex scenes. Literally, those scenes are like 'hey look at us, Hulu we can show sex and cuss on camera...yeahhhh'. I watched 4 episodes and will never watch another.
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SEASON 1
All the characters seem synthetic, written, and fake. Really Hulu? Take a note from Amazon and go after great material instead of this regurgitated drivel.
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SEASON 1
