When the Fallout TV series came out in 2024, I published my thoughts on it on this blog, including why I think that it was a fantastic adaptation of a game property. The sets, the acting, the story, all of it added up to one of my favorite shows currently on TV.

I rewatched it in the lead up to the release of Season 2, and it really held up. Sure, there were some weird things, like fusion cores being super rare and powering whole vaults, that were a bit weird, but overall it was better than I could have realistically hoped for.

I’ve now watched Season 2 in its entirety. Did I like it? You bet I did! Are there still some puzzling aspects of it (which I’ll get to in a bit)? Also yes. Regardless, I definitely tuned in to it eagerly every week, along with my family, to see what drama was brewing in the wasteland that week. Did I mention that we are a Fallout family? Yeah, this was a major event in our household.

Before I go on, here is your obligatory SPOILER warning. If you haven’t watched the second season, I highly recommend that you go and do so before reading this blog. We good? Okay, let’s talk about the strengths of this season first.

The Sets: I made mention before of just how incredible the sets looked in Season 1, particularly the interior of the vaults. This time, much of the events take place in New Vegas, and again, the sets were breathtaking. Walking into Mr. House’s audience room at the top of the Lucky 38 was spot on. The nearness of the Ultra-Luxe and Gomorrah, all felt right. We even got to see the Strip before the bombs dropped, which was really cool.

The Acting: I can’t say enough things about the acting talent in this show, particularly Walton Goggins and Ella Purnell, who both shine like diamonds here. Kyle MacLachlan gets a lot more screen time this season, and he turns in a chilling performance, being both a loving father figure and ruthless villain at the same time. We even got some really great moments with Aaron Moten as Maximus, particularly when he suits up in the NCR power armor while we hear the Fallout main theme play. There are so many great moments that I can’t quite recount them all here.

Super Mutants:  When I first heard his voice, I knew it was Ron Perlman, the famous narrator of the earlier Fallout games. The super mutants that have retained their intelligence, like Fawkes and Erickson, have always been of interest to me. They’ve been exposed to the forced evolutionary virus, but they haven’t just turned into raging barbarians who collect gore bags and decorate in twisted metal. It sounds like they will be a major force against the Enclave next season, and I’m all for it.

NCR Power Armor: This gets its own listing. I have a love of power armor, in general, and Iron Man is one of my favorite superheroes. So, seeing the iconic NCR Ranger helmet adapted to power armor was pretty spectacular, particularly seeing all of its built-in weapons and abilities. It’s too bad it got trashed to the point where Maximus might simply abandon it. I would love it if he were to join the NCR and for this armor to become his signature power armor.

On the other side of the coin, there were some things that didn’t quite resonate with me. Again, I liked it overall, but these were the things that often didn’t work for me.

Trouble on the Homefront: The story arc that takes place in the vaults was one of the weakest threads this season. I do applaud the writers for bringing back the broken water chip. One of my critiques of Season 1 was that this was mentioned then never followed up on again. We get some more movement on that, but it’s just kind of bleh. I am glad we got to spend more time with Stephanie Harper, as there’s definitely more going on with her than is apparent. Overall, though, there just wasn’t enough screen time or compelling beats for this to land. And what was going on with her marrying Chet and not even telling him? Steph has just kind of co-opted him, but we’re not entirely sure why.

Norm and Bud’s Buds: A close second for last, Norm’s arc to spring himself from Vault 31 didn’t seem to go anywhere, and that’s a true shame. Last season, Norm investigating what was going on in the vaults was something I found compelling. Norm himself being physically weak but extremely smart and perceptive was something I enjoyed, and his dynamic with Chet was fantastic. This season, he’s separated from Chet, and that’s not great. The Bud’s Buds group was ultimately a nothing burger as they all get wiped out by radroaches, except for Norm’s friend and potential love interest. Convenient, that. Norm is too good of a character, and Moisés Arias too good of a talent, for arcs with no real substance. Let’s hope Norm gets his due next season.

Caesar’s Legion: This may have been more of a set design issue, but did it not look like someone could have snuck up that berm in the dead of the night to retrieve Caesar’s body? If it had been more separated, in full view of the other side so snipers are a constant risk, and more dead legionnaires who had tried and failed, I think I would have bought the scenario a bit more. But more than that, if no one knew what heir the original Caesar (Edward Sallow) had chosen, how did the two competing Caesar’s justify their taking up the mantle in the first place? And who put Sallow’s body out there and put barbed wire around it? That whole setup had me scratching my head. Having said that, seeing Macaulay Culkin as the new Caesar was pretty cool, and the fact that they want a “Caesar’s Palace” on the Vegas strip was a nice touch.

The Brotherhood of Steel: While it was interesting to see the different chapters of the Brotherhood assemble, and witness firsthand the differences between them, that part of the story ended early enough that I was surprised when we got the stinger at the end. I thought that was about all we were going to get of the Brotherhood for a while. Also, it’s a bit weird that Quintus had chosen Maximus as his champion, then openly insulted him in public, which clearly eroded Maximus’ loyalty. It’s also really weird that if the cold fusion diode were really the key to making unlimited fusion cores (which they established were rare) that it would be left entirely unguarded. It seems like multiple fire teams, each led by a trusted Star Paladin, all in power armor, would have been there to make sure one of the other chapters didn’t go in and seize it for themselves.

Also, the showrunners and Bethesda have had something of an allergy to establishing canon endings for Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4. The arrival of Xander Harkness from the Commonwealth chapter, however, would seem to imply that either the Minutemen or Brotherhood ending of Fallout 4 is canon, as the Institute and the Railroad endings see the Prydwen destroyed, and the Brotherhood almost entirely dismantled. Xander showing up was not as important for lore as, say, if Arthur Maxson had shown up on screen, but it does mean that the Brotherhood is still operating in sufficient force in the Commonwealth to still be a power.

Walking Back the Big Reveal: Last season gave us the jaw-dropping reveal that Vault-Tec might have been the ones responsible for launching the nukes that started the apocalyptic nuclear war. This was something completely new to the lore, which had previously left it ambiguous on whether the USA or China had launched first. This season, they moved away from that. Mr. House even says that it was ultimately “unclear.” We also see a seen where Siggi Wilzig from the Enclave instructs Barb that she should say that line in the meeting. All of the tension they established in that scene in Season 1 was largely undone in Season 2 with the rather vague reveal being “the surface was the experiment.” So, we’ll see where that goes, if they don’t walk that reveal back by next season.

The Tease of the Ghoul’s Family: I’m including this one for the fact that it was telegraphed in advance. For all the other cryopods we see, such as with Bud’s Buds, we can clearly see the figures inside them. Both Barb and Janey’s pods were opaque when we saw them, which told me that they were empty. So, no resolution there, but we do get a clue to lead the Ghoul/Coop on the next leg of his quest. Let’s hope there’s some resolution to this next season.

My Biggest Concerns: Really, I’m a little afraid Season 3 is going to be stretched too thin, especially if we’re only getting eight episodes per season. One of the main issues this season seemed to be that there wasn’t enough screentime to cover it all. More story arcs were opened than were resolved. If we take a look at what might be brewing for Season 3, we have:

• The Brotherhood civil war/Liberty Prime
• Caesar’s Legion vs. the NCR over control of the strip (along with Mr. House)
• The Ghoul going solo to Colorado to find his family
• The Enclave vs. the Super Mutants
• The Pre-War arc of Cooper Howard and his family
• The Vault-Tec/Enclave hidden control chips
• Vault 32’s uprising against Stephanie Harper
• Vault 33’s instability and water/food scarcity
• Norman and whatever he winds up doing

That’s a lot of ground to cover to say nothing of any new arcs they establish that we haven’t heard of yet. If we had 12-episode seasons, that would be one thing, but eight episodes feels like they will be hard pressed to move the plot forward in a satisfying way. I hope Season 3 will start giving us some resolution, so they can really focus down on the major characters and what’s important.

I’m also a bit concerned that the Ghoul is going off on his own. I think some of the best moments in the show are when Lucy and the Ghoul are on screen together. It doesn’t look like we will get much of that for a while since there’s about to be a lot of distance between them.

Final Thoughts

Even with my concerns, I am still onboard with this show. Fallout is one of my favorite game universes ever, and even with some of the flaws and missed opportunities, this team and these actors, are (in my opinion) able to do it justice.

I’m curious to see where they go from here.

Thanks for reading!

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If you’re looking forward to spending more time with the characters in “Nobody Wants This” without worrying whether Joanne (Kristen Bell) will convert or whether Noah (Adam Brody) will love her regardless, I have bad news for you. The will-she-or-won’t-she become Jewish question powers season two, and as in the first season, it’s a stagnant problem that’s not particularly engrossing.

And if you’re hoping for more of that electric connection the two shared in their pre-get-together episodes, I have more bad news for you. There’s nothing quite like that first dinner party or their first kiss in season two of “Nobody Wants This” (the closest we get is a flashback montage). There’s a reason so many love stories are about the initial courtship—it makes for good drama in a way the work of making relationships function just doesn’t.

But the show can carry on without that initial heat, giving us a look into the (mostly) grown-up lives of two beautiful people, while tweaking its formula for the better. This season, there’s less of Joanne asking inane questions about Judaism, like she’s never so much as heard of it before (even though she grew up in Los Angeles, and as we learn this season, had Jewish girls in her circle as a kid). Instead, she’s more immersed in the culture, so we get a more in-depth look at Jewish holidays and rituals like Purim, with less explanation around them.

In the first season, it was clear why Joanne wants to be with Noah—she’s not just tired of dating, but also of having no guiding moral force. He invites her into a more purposeful existence, and she eats it up. Now in season two, we finally get to see some of why he values their relationship so much. Part of it is certainly her freedom; opposites do attract after all. But it’s more than that.

Noah is stuck performing goodness—good manors, adherence to customs, and respectability. In season two, we see how that’s not serving him, how his act misled his past romantic partners, and how it’s now keeping him from dealing with the problems at hand. Joanne, with her lack of shame and lack of the ensuing need to hide or bury emotions, offers Noah a meaningful alternative. And this window into how she helps him grow is a very satisfying aspect of season two.

The show also gives us plenty of Justine Lupe’s Morgan, who continues to crackle on screen, a bolt of chaos and humor. This season, she’s tired of being jealous of Joanne’s relationship, so the taller sister goes and starts her own (with a slyly funny Arian Moayed as Dr. Andy). Their arc is both hilarious and insightful, reminding us that “Nobody Wants This” is at its best when it’s using humor to nudge its wonderfully flawed characters towards growth.

Fans of loser siblings should also rejoice because season two gives Sasha (Timothy Sans giving us heartfelt goof) plenty to do, opposite wife Esther (Jackie Thon, saddled with bangs). He’s just as charming as ever, while Esther moves beyond simply being an impediment to Joanne and Noah’s happiness. She becomes a full person, wrestling with her own problems even as she stays true to the prickly if fiercely loyal woman we met in season one.

The parents also continue to delight. As Sasha and Noah’s mom, Bina (Tovah Feldshuh), is a force of traditional Jewish culture and values. Her costuming is particularly evocative this season, reminding us of her generation’s values. While Joanne and Morgan’s mother, Lynn (Stephanie Faracy), is hardly the family rock, she still delivers beats both comedic and sincere.

Further rounding out the show’s universe, Leighton Meester, Seth Rogen, and Kate Berlant all make strong guest appearances, playing to their strengths.

Such a stacked supporting cast gives Joanne and Noah perhaps a little too much leeway to be boring. Yes, the central couple does some work on their communication and themselves, but they remain largely stuck. The final episode does promise a reset, but so did the finale of season one. Still, I’m hopeful about season three finally delivering what fans of this show have been waiting for.

In terms of plot and purpose, this installment is essentially a placeholder. But hanging out with these two families is still mostly fun, if sometimes a bit frustrating. And as long as you’re tuning in just to be with these people, to perhaps laugh at their escapades, to maybe learn a bit about Judaism if you’re a goy, then you’ll be satisfied. In its second season, “Nobody Wants This” remains a pleasure, if a flawed one, much like the characters it follows. Maybe that’s what it’s going for.

Season two is currently streaming on Netflix.

In the Taylor Sheridan Paramount+ universe of cozy genre shows aimed at the AARP set, “Tulsa King” has always been a bit of a breezy, accessible alternative to the dour militarism of shows like “Lioness” or the queasy pro-oil histrionics of “Landman.” (And, of course, “Yellowstone” is no longer on the air to prop up the whole empire.) Like a mafia family without its patriarch, the Sheridan shows have been vying for succession in this new post-Costner landscape, and it seems as if Sylvester Stallone‘s effervescent series (about a New York mafioso setting up his own criminal enterprise in Oklahoma) has become the heir apparent. Season 3 feels like an attempt to set up that position, with greater expansion of the cast and more than a little franchise-building in the shuffle. And it’s still fun, even if it can get easy to get lost, so to speak, in the weeds.

When last we left Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Stallone), he’d seemingly found his happy ending. He shook off the triple threats of rival businessman Thresher (Neal McDonough), the Chinese triad, and the encroachment of New York on his business in the form of antagonistic capo Bevilaqua (Frank Grillo), and had finally taken his illicit weed business legit. What’s more, he’d even found love in strong-willed businesswoman Margaret (Dana Delany). But in the closing moments of Season 2, his door gets beaten down by a tactical team and he’s blackbagged. “You work for us now,” an unseen voice bellowed.

As Season 3 opens, we find out exactly to whom that voice belongs: FBI Special Agent Russo (Kevin Pollak), who’s picked up on Dwight’s activity in the area and has decided to recruit him to be his eyes and ears in the region in exchange for protection. (Sidenote: Russo has a chip on his shoulder about Dwight killing an informant of his decades ago, so expect that to come up later.)

But that’s the least of Dwight and company’s problems, as the gang move from the weed business to the booze business: They get wrapped up in a bid to help Mitch’s (Garrett Hedlund) ex Cleo Montague (Bella Heathcote) rescue her dad’s bourbon distillery from unscrupulous magnate Jeremiah Dunmire (Robert Patrick, all gravel and scowl amid that withered face), who wants to buy it out from under her poor pop. Dwight tries to step in to outbid him; Dunmire responds by burning down the Montague estate, with pops inside.

This turf war, and the chaos that ensues, eats up most of the first half of “Tulsa King”‘s third season, with a few detours along the way to check in on Dwight’s guys, from Martin Starr‘s stoner slacker Bodhi to Jay Will’s Tyson Mitchell, who continue down their path to styling themselves as New York-style mafioso under Dwight’s command. These moments, alongside Sly’s typical wise-guy bristling at newfangled gadgets (there are darkly funny gags about Sly not knowing how to work a Tesla, or not liking the youthful hippity-hop music of *checks notes* fifty-two-year-old rap legend Nas), sometimes bounce the show on an unsteady tone between gritty mob drama and cartoonish “Get Shorty”-esque comedy. The latter works better than the former, I’ll admit; even when the gags are weaker, Sly can still deliver a joke, and Starr feels ever more like his “Party Down” character got plopped into a season of “The Sopranos.”

But even amid its shaky narrative, the nervous footing of its jokes, and the devil’s row of characters and dynamics we’re expected to keep track of, there’s something light and infectious about “Tulsa King”‘s particular way of being. Sure, you feel the absence of Season 1 showrunner Terrence Winter (“Boardwalk Empire”) and the fact that the first season actually shot in Tulsa; Seasons 2 and 3 have swapped that out for the more tax-friendly environs of Atlanta. Even in this watered-down version, though, the central juice of the show’s pinballing tone and appealing characters remains.

Part of it involves one of the Sheridan-verse’s cheaper delights: Getting older A-list movie stars the chance to strut their stuff in a nice, easy, watchable drama. While we’ve always had Stallone, it’s a delight to see people like Grillo, McDonough, Delany, Patrick, Pollak, and Hedlund saunter their way through scenes with a veteran’s ease. They’re clearly too classy for a thing like this, which paradoxically makes the whole thing more effective.

The addition of Patrick is particularly fun, as between this and “Peacemaker” he’s really cornered the market on acerbic patriarchs in tonally-flexible genre shows. (Scenes with him and Stallone feel like the ’90s kid version of the diner scene from “Heat.” Look, it’s Rambo versus the T-1000!) The Dunmire clan even feel like a dark mirror for Dwight’s gang, right down to Hedlund’s Mitch having an evil twin of sorts in Beau Knapp’s brutish Dunmire son Cole.

With only six episodes available for critics at time of review, there’s no telling how “Tulsa King” will shake out its varying plot threads. (We haven’t even seen Samuel L. Jackson‘s character yet, whom the latter half of the season will undoubtedly focus on so he can swan off to get that Paramount paycheck on his own spinoff, “NOLA King.”) But part of me says that the story’s never really been the show’s true appeal. It’s a vibes thing; it’s less about caring for the fate of, as Sly himself puts it, an “over the hill goomba” and his group of misfits. You’re there to watch Stallone put on a double-breasted suit, smoke a cigar, and complain about millennials and their namby-pamby electric cars and their yacht rock alongside other old fogeys enjoying their Sheridan-funded televisual pension. As long as the show nails that core appeal, “Tulsa King” remains watchable.

First six episodes screened for review. The new season of “Tulsa King” premieres on Paramount+ September 21st.

More than three years after the titular character appeared on our television screens, Season 2 of “Peacemaker” is finally here. Coming off his appearance in “The Suicide Squad,” the first season ended with Christopher Smith (John Cena) killing his white supremacist father, Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick), and destroying a deadly alien race that threatened to take over the world. The series boasted a comedic tone and a cast that had great chemistry. Still, underneath the surface, writer and director James Gunn created a superhero show that focused on a man who struggled to understand what it means to carry this mantle. Though it seemed like Season 2 would follow the same tone as the first, Gunn has doubled down on the small moments that made this series stand out, crafting a second season that almost feels like an entirely different show. 

From this season’s opening moments, there’s an unmistakable shift that has taken place in the world of “Peacemaker.” With his father dead, Chris now lives in his old house, roaming around its halls like a ghost. Too lazy to go outside to take his pet eagle, Eagly, for a walk, Chris instead opens the door to his father’s secret quantum unfolding storage area and lets Eagly go for a ride. He quickly notices the animal is drawn to a door that looks exactly like his own, and when he opens it, he’s greeted by his father’s doppelganger. Although Chris leaves this dimension in a hurry, he slowly becomes increasingly drawn to it, learning that in this universe, he and his father have a good relationship and are even celebrated as heroes of a crime-fighting trio. 

In the universe where he currently resides, Chris and his friends aren’t seen as serious heroes, despite defeating an alien race and saving the world. In an audition to be in the Justice Gang, shepherded by Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) and current members Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), the trio seems unimpressed with Chris’s resume. They ignore him when he answers their questions, and clearly see him as too volatile a hero for the work they do. Outside of the superhero realm and inside of it, Chris isn’t seen as good enough. With the mantle of Peacemaker weighing heavily over his head, he turns to alcohol and drugs to soothe his pain. 

There is nothing that will stop the weight of Chris’s grief, which he seems uninterested in discussing with his friends beyond a throwaway joke. Lonely and unable to figure out his purpose, his obsession with the quantum unfolding storage area threatens to consume him. It doesn’t matter that there is another version of himself that exists there; Chris will do whatever it takes to adopt the life that his doppelganger has. Everything Chris has ever wanted exists in this universe: fame, fortune, his father’s love, and even Emilia Harcourt’s (Jennifer Holland) affections. While Chris and his gang still hang out on rooftops and call each other for backup when something goes wrong, there has been a clear fracturing within their relationship as a group, as well as within their singular dynamics. 

Season 2 of “Peacemaker” is still filled with laughs, sometimes so rip-roaring that they overshadow the seriousness of the story at hand. Yet there’s a heaviness here that didn’t course through each storyline last season, as if it’s fused to the bodies each of these characters exists within. While Chris is dealing with his feelings of grief and regret, his comrades aren’t faring much better. Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) is now separated from her wife, and is desperate for more spy work; Harcourt has been blacklisted from every intelligence agency in the country; Economos’ (Steve Agee) new job as an A.R.G.U.S. agent threatens his place within the group; and Adrian’s (Freddie Stroma) desperation for Chris’ approval weights heavy upon his shoulders. Each of these core characters carries a broken soul, and the only people they seem to find solace in are each other. 

When they’re apart, they’re each desperately trying to fill that void, whether it be with bar fights with men twice their size or with fleeting business ventures that seem superficial. “Peacemaker” is always at its best when these five share the screen, and unfortunately, there’s not much of that within this season’s first five episodes. The characters themselves clearly long to be in each other’s presence again, and it’s impossible not to feel the same. Watching these characters embark on their respective paths is still entertaining, but the lack of a cohesive relationship between the core five is noticeable throughout. This isn’t to say that the show has lost its bite with Season 2, but it does lose some of the sincerity that pulsed through the foundations of its first season. 

Despite the lack of shared scenes between the 11th Street Kids, “Peacemaker” remains a standout in superhero television. Often, these shows are desperate to connect smaller stories to the bigger universes they exist within, abandoning any semblance of a contained plot along the way. It’s clear that the ideas surrounding different universes and dimensions are integral to the progression of the newly set-up DCU. Still, this series doesn’t stray away from its humble beginnings. Instead, Gunn continues to build upon these characters and their struggles, while bringing them to the forefront of a universe that is quickly expanding. With Season 2, it’s even clearer now that there are no better hands for these characters to be in, whether they exist within the story of “Peacemaker” or the broader extension of the on-screen DC universe. 

Five episodes were screened for review. Series premieres August 21st.

The logline for Netflix’s “Wednesday” is, fitting to its IP, strange, but not wholly without merit: Take one of pop culture’s more endearingly spooky family units, previously adapted from the Charles Addams comic strips into a popular ’60s sitcom and a couple of solid Barry Sonnenfeld movies (and one 2019 animated effort that, well, we often forget about) and slot its most meme-able member, Wednesday, into a suitably supernatural coming-of-age murder mystery. Think a macabre blend of “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and “Veronica Mars.” As lukewarm as I was on season one, the results speak for themselves: “Wednesday” became Netflix’s most-watched English-language series in its history, and catapulted Wednesday back into the cultural consciousness with dance crazes, TikToks, the whole shebang.

A second season was inevitable, and here it is, albeit split into two chunks to fit the vagaries of the Netflix algorithm. (They don’t want anybody signing up, binging the whole season, then canceling again.) And while I still have my hangups about how well the Addams Family fits into this kind of murder-mystery milieu, season 2 seems to have righted the ship and given Netflix’s latest mascot a more delicious meal to chew on…. so far.

One of the smartest moves by showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (alongside director Tim Burton, who’s back to direct the bulk of the season) was to find new ways to complicate Wednesday Addams’ (Jenna Ortega) outsiderdom in Nevermore Academy, a place already build for literal “Outcasts” (gorgons, sirens, werewolves, and other beasties). Her role in solving the crisis she faced her freshman year has made her a bit of a celebrity among the Nevermore faithful; what’s more, she’s been bit by the murder-solving bug, and has been spending her summer vacation tracking down serial killers with the help of the psychic abilities gifted to her by her ancestor, Moody (also Ortega), last season. But those abilities seem to be overloading her, and the more she uses them, the more psychic damage she takes.

Now she’s back at Nevermore for her sophomore year, and the school (as well as its nearby town of “normies,” Jericho) is still trying to rebuild and reinvent itself. Bubbly werewolf roomie Enid (Emma Myers) has found a new confidence; there’s a conniving new principal (Steve Buscemi) with a keen eye on fundraising for the flagging school; and what’s worse, the younger Addams child, young Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez), is finally enrolled at Nevermore. Wednesday, never one to conform, bristles against her newfound notoriety, especially as it draws her leagues of fans and stalkers eager to either help or be killed by her. And on top of all that, there’s a new mystery to solve: mysterious deaths seemingly caused by a literal murder of crows, led by a one-eyed bird that Wednesday sees in her visions.

Even in its first four episodes, “Wednesday” season 2 feels a little overstuffed, even as Burton and gang find some fiendish ways to keep the game cast occupied. In addition to the names I listed before, the rest of the Addams Family gets more screentime this season: Catherine Zeta-Jones‘ Morticia becomes a gala chair, Luis Guzman‘s Gomez pals around with the kids as a parental chaperone on field outings, and Thing remains the Watson to Wednesday’s Sherlock. (Fred Armisen also gets a lot of focus as Fester in the season’s fourth episode set in Willow Hill, the local funny farm—which, depending on how you feel about that performance, can be grating.) Lots of other big names pop up for some pleasantly consistent Netflix cash, like Joanna Lumley as Wednesday’s grandmother, Thandiwe Newton and Heather Matarazzo as doctors and therapists at Willow Hill, and Billie Piper even pops up as the crooning music teacher who will surely have a more significant role to play in Part 2.

Sometimes, the robust supporting cast threatens to overshadow the show’s focus on Wednesday herself, but blissfully, Ortega’s laser-focused command of the character wins out. Much ballyhoo has been made of Ortega’s protectiveness of Wednesday, right down to making script and direction changes on set while shooting, and I can’t help but feel it pays off in spades, especially in season two. Her Wednesday is more expertly calibrated between menacing and inquisitive, letting just enough peeks of empathy through to make her believably invested in stopping murder without letting her lose her mean streak. She stands out among other TV gumshoes in that she solves mysteries almost out of spite, or ego; it’s not about saving lives, but about solving her own personal riddles, or proving someone wrong. That’s a novel twist that helps to complicate the relationships with the characters around her.

Of course, the show’s macabre sense of humor remains intact, even as its pace suffers somewhat under the strain of the too-familiar Netflix hour-long runtime. A lot of wheels spin among a lot of different cars, whether it’s Enid’s love triangle between hunky fellow lycanthrope Bruno (Noah Taylor) and forlorn gorgon Ajax (Georgie Farmer), or Buscemi’s Principal Dort recruiting siren Bianca (Joy Sunday) to bamboozle Morticia into helping them raise money to keep the school going. (If I could cut one subplot, it’d be Pugsley’s attempts to raise a clockwork zombie from the dead; I mean, Slurp’s fun and all, but he kills the momentum brain-dead, and Ordonez feels a bit stiffer than the other young castmates.)

But at least unlike most Netflix seasons, each episode feels centered around a central premise: A trip to Camp Jericho to compete with a normie scout troupe (led by a sanctimonious Anthony Michael Hall channeling R. Lee Ermey in “Full Metal Jacket“), a jaunt inside Willow Hill to find more clues, a “Prank Day” that allows the kids to experience all kinds of dangers of dubious reality.

The problems that remain with “Wednesday” are part and parcel of the Netflix formula, more than anything specific to the premise or the excellent cast. The show’s still finding its way towards porting a horror sitcom family into the more procedural structure of a murder mystery, and some of the Gothic gags get a little one-note by the time each episode’s punishing length draws to a close. That said, perhaps it’s fitting that Wednesday wants our pleasure to be doused with a little bit of pain. That’d probably make her smirk in at least some delight. And Part I sets up the show gamely for a Part II that should, in a perfect world, stick the landing.

All four episodes of Part I screened for review. Part 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.

If Seth Rogen wants to dial the Meta Meter to 11, maybe we’ll see Rogen’s character of Will from “Platonic” crossing over to appear on an episode of “The Studio,” where he can host a premiere party at a brewery in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles for a new movie from Continental Studios, with Rogen’s character of Matt hosting. It’ll be the greatest pairing of its kind since Lisa Kudrow’s Ursula Buffay from “Mad About You” appeared with Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe Buffay, Ursula’s twin sister, on “Friends!”

Or maybe not.

For decades, Rogen has crafted an image of the ultimate laid-back pothead hipster who often projects an “I could give two s*****” attitude, but the dude has always worked hard as an actor/writer/director/producer. He’s riding one of the most prolific and productive streaks of his career in recent years, as an executive producer on Amazon Prime’s “The Boys” and Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy,” and a hyphenate force on the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ comedy hit “The Studio,” which tied the comedy record with 23 Emmy nominations in its first year, and “Platonic,” which also has its share of eeeesh moments but is a kinder and gentler brand comedy. Rogen and the invaluable Rose Byrne create a natural and easy chemistry as best friends who are always there for one another—except when they’re not, because they got into another big fight, or one of them has screwed up the other one’s life in epic and horrific (and hilarious) fashion.

The first season of “Platonic” ran from May to July 2023, ending with multiple notes of closure after Byrne’s Sylvia and Rogen’s Will had reconnected in early mid-life after an extended period of estrangement and become best friends again. There were no major cliffhangers and, frankly, there was no compelling reason for a second season; in fact, the show was originally intended as a one-off limited series. Still, thanks to the creative vision of showrunners and real-life married couple Nicholas Stoller and Francesca Delbanco (who also has a recurring role on the series as Diane, the real estate agent), the casually lived-in, best-friends rapport of Rogen and Byrne, and an outstanding supporting cast, Season 2 is classic 21st century comfort viewing. With this outing, “Ted Lasso,” “Shrinking,” “Loot,” “Palm Royale,” “Acapulco,” and the recently released “Stick,” Apple TV+ has become the industry leader in warm-hearted, feel-good comedies punctuated by the occasional dramatic beat.

Rogen and Byrne were terrific as a married couple in the Stoller-directed “Neighbors”(2014) and “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” (2016), but it’s refreshing to see them play truly platonic pals here; although Will and Sylvia are great together, they’re smart enough to know they’d be disastrous together-together; there’s never even a hint of a “When Harry Met Sally…” will they/won’t they dynamic.

Season 2 picks up with each of them ensconced in the next chapter of their lives. Will is now working as an exec for the Johnny 66 chain of gastropubs, which has unironically rebranded itself as J-6 after its founder was ousted, and he’s engaged to his boss, Jenna (Rachel Rosenbloom). This dovetails nicely with Sylvia’s nascent career as a party planner; naturally, she’s in charge of putting together all the attendant events for the nuptials. Of course, things aren’t exactly going swimmingly for either of them; if they were, we wouldn’t have a Season 2. Will is having serious misgivings about spending the rest of his life with Jenna, while Sylvia’s business is struggling, and her good-guy lawyer husband Charlie (Luke MacFarlane) is going through a mid-life crisis that has him contemplating leaving the firm and pursuing his dream of becoming the next Scott Turow.

With episode lengths ranging from 24 to 40 minutes, “Platonic” settles into an effortless single-camera comedy rhythm. Byrne and Rogen do most of the heavy lifting, but the supporting cast has game as well. MacFarlane has some superb showcase moments as Charlie, who is obsessed with “Jeopardy!” and dreams of landing a spot on the show, while Carla Gallo kills as Sylvia’s friend Katie, who has a “Boss Mama” podcast where she speaks with “vocal fry,” and sells merchandise “to raise awareness.” (When Sylvia says, “Raise awareness for what?”, Katie deadpans, “You name it.”) Andrew Lopez is a hoot as Will’s business partner Reggie, while “SNL” alums Aidy Bryant, Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney all have memorable guest star turns.

There’s a steady diet of pop culture references, from “Fatal Attraction” to a well-deserved shot at Russell Brand to “Avatar” to Dr. Melfi from “The Sopranos,” but the name- and title-drops never feel forced or overwritten. I also love the attention to detail, from Will’s thrift-store hipster wardrobe choices (he dresses like a 13-year-old’s idea of what a cool 43-year-old would wear), to little moments expressing Sylvia’s family dynamic, e.g., when she takes her three kids to school, and only the youngest one gives her an unprompted hug goodbye, because she’s still at that age of not being self-conscious about Mom. “Platonic” is sweet and light and makes for perfect late summer viewing.

All 10 episodes of Season Two were screened for review. The first two episodes of “Platonic” Season 2 premiere on Apple TV+ on August 6th, with a new episode each week after that.