Casual (2015–2018) User Reviews

Predictable Cynicism

[dccvc · 7/10 · 28 July 2017]

I really liked some of the jokes about modern romance, which hit home far better than most shows can manage. The writers on this show are clearly skilled in their craft. But I can't give this show the great reviews everybody else is throwing around.

Casual provides drama where it doesn't need to be, and it does so every time, overtime.

A little predictable at times, most of the characters are far too selfish to really enjoy watching past the first few episodes. They never really engage in dialogue with other people, nor are any of them capable of actual introspection. What we're left with are a bunch of sex crazed morons, smashing apart every chance they have with happiness or personal growth. They just blithely do their own thing regardless of the consequences. That's likely the whole point, but after a while this isn't entertaining, anymore than I suppose watching a candy lover self-destruct themselves into getting a root canal.

It's Binge-worth...to a point.

[sfournier-13651 · 7/10 · 2 August 2018]

I like this show, and I confess I binged through the entire first season and i'm now about half way through the second...but there are things that really irk me so much that it took away stars.

It has his funny moments (and this is entirely dependent on your type of humor, I like quick and witty, sometimes dark/twisted). I can appreciate the extreme flaws and ironicism of each of the characters (ex. the therapist is by far the most unstable) and I think the cast is full of talented actors.

One thing I cannot stand is the mother that plays a 39 year old, but in reality i'd say she's closer to 50. It's not her age that bothers me, but why can't the creators of the show just let her be her real age? She's a woman that is newly divorced, struggling with her own shortcomings and mental issues while raising a dysfunctional daughter. She's a beautiful and healthy older woman - yes women age! Woman over 40 exist! They want sex too! The fact that the show constantly reminds us that she is "39" pisses me off throughout the entire show.

The second thing that really irks me is the amount of sex these characters have, it's really over the top. I'm pretty sure there is sex in every episode and I'd classify this series as soft porn - characters meet for the first time, say two sentences to each other and by the next scene they're in bed, or a chair, or a desk, or a school, or a car - you name it. I'm still waiting for the episode where someone caught an STD because statistically speaking, it's long overdue. Each character, including the 16 year old daughter has had hundreds of partners. Which is getting pretty dam gross.

I'll finish out the second season, but will not likely continue on unless there's more substance.

casually funny

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 4 March 2019]

Valerie (Michaela Watkins) is a tired therapist divorcing her husband Drew who is going with a younger woman. She and her teenage daughter Laura Meyers (Tara Lynne Barr) are living at her single brother Alex Cole (Tommy Dewey). Alex created a dating app but his own program cannot find him a real match. Valerie decides to have an one night stand with Leon (Nyasha Hatendi). Instead, Alex befriends Leon as his own permanent friend. Leia (Julie Berman) is Valerie's secretary.

I love the humor of Michaela Watkins. The brother is a bit of a hit and miss. His self-destructive jerkiness can be annoying but his lack of a dating profile match is utterly heart-breaking. It's a great poetic surprise reveal. The daughter is doing the rebel teen thing with her deadpan delivery. It's both adorable and frustrating. The whole self-destructive dysfunctional family can be both adorable and frustrating. Maybe my best take is that this is casually humorous.

Instincts paid off

[bettinagh-51115 · 9/10 · 25 August 2018]

I will never understand what posessed me to stick with a show that starts out with three selfish, neurotically cynical and sexually dysfunctional leads, but I did and it really paid off. Casual is a beautifully written series, aside from great dialog and storytelling, the character arcs, both within each season and overall are masterful. The show's direction is nicely cohesive, with each episode's director clearly chosen for that particular episode according to style, emphasis & content. The cast has teriffic chemistry, particularly between the three principals.

I watched all four seasons of Casual over the course of a few weeks, finishing about a month ago. I've been surprised to find the characters (even the ones I still don't like) and their stories have stuck with me like a beloved novel. I can't say that about many shows or even films. Bravo!

Loved it..

[simonperry-79281 · 9/10 · 4 August 2018]

Just finished the final episode on Amazon. Found myself genuinely moved, have grown to really like the characters and be interested in how things turned out. I guess the point about such polarising reviews is that you either like something or you don't. And that's ok. Just strongly suggest you give it a try and see which camp you fall into.

Fades

[bgar-80932 · 6/10 · 4 March 2021]

The first season of this show was pretty funny and I devoured it. Eventually it kinda fades into the typical dysfunctional family drama but I still enjoyed the characters. Decent show.

Lots of promise based on the first two episodes

[Okonh0wp · 9/10 · 11 October 2015]

Shows centered around dating are generally problematic because it's hard to empathize with the trials and tribulations of good-looking actors who have highly active sex lives.

This show got my attention in the first two episodes by bucking that trend in a manner I can buy. The protagonist, Valerie (arguably SNL's biggest firing mistake in history in Michaela Watkins) is an attractive divorcée in her late 30's with a sincere lack of confidence in herself. Sure, sex and dating are theoretically easy (her career is a successful psychiatrist proves that point) and obtainable for a woman who's willing to go out to a bar and take the first steps in propositioning a guy but if intimacy is a psychological problem, it can be more difficult in practice. Valerie's discomfort is just visceral which makes her lows relatable and will make her eventual highs (if she gets over her hang-ups) well-earned.

Her adult brother, Alex (Tommy Dewey), is equally filled with psychological hang-ups. He's been more successful in dating than his sister but he has a certain psychological distance from the whole thing. A good move on the show's part is to strip Alex of misogynist vibes: As a guy who wrote the algorithms of the dating site he's using, Alex simply feels that both men and women are overly predictable and that he's gamed the system. The pilot contains a double date (done in secret as Alex and Valerie are carpooling) which contains some relatable and truthful moments while also adding a whiff of comedy (lots of mileage to be mined out of Jill Latiano's fitness freak).

The relationship between Alex and Valerie is one of the stronger sibling portrayals on television at the moment.

Like many Jason Reitman films, this is a film with a blurred line between comedy and drama which isn't so bad considering the show portrays truth to it. One of the few shows centering on romance that's worth watching.

In the pilot episode, he condescendingly a woman for whom dating and sex isn't easy

Fantastic start but by the end of it all... A bit of a mess.

[brenswee · 6/10 · 8 August 2019]

I loved the first season which I would have rated an 8. The rating had to come down though for the remaining seasons - the decline was slow but real. I loved each of the three main characters to begin with, but Alex just started to drive me crazy and become really unlikeable in the subsequent seasons, esp 3 and 4. I was not rooting for him at all. Talk about an attention seeking narcissist! Similarly the daughter became as dull as dishwater as the series progressed. What made me see it all through until the end was the wonderful Michaela Watkins. I find her performances are always nuanced and her timing is fantastic (I know a lot of comic timing may be down to directors/editors etc, but I'm giving her credit). In conclusion, while I was watching the series finale, I was really itching for the episode to end so that I could leave the series behind me, a series which was only a shadow of its original self.

offbeat, about experimental lifestyles - self deprecation is godlike

[duke_nukemiac · 29 June 2016]

The main reason why you should watch this, if it suits you, is the style of humour about this Hulu sponsored mayhem that is godsend.

Disclaimer - This is not a spoiler, but an overview of the plot and a review of it.

Self deprecation, insecurities, imperfection - the themes that concern reality as is, portrayed subtly - mocking their own problems, mocking each other, psychoanalyzing each other - and finding comfort in each others' "issues" -- this TV series is a departure from the usual "safe-categories" of themes that producers often invest in.

Bankable for producers? Maybe not. But maybe yes, as well.

The character played by Tommy Dewey - "Alex" and his relationship with his Shrink of a sister, and the interaction of their idiosyncrasies is what got me loving this stuff.

Single mom raising a teen daughter -- Probing the fine line between an intrinsic need for independence and bohemian recklessness("California- here we came?") - almost as if no one "needs to be told" how to live their life -- this TV series with its subtle and "casual"ness about every aspect of a "kind" of life( what a kind), drives home the point and also attempts to predict with an alarming certainty, the future of interpersonal relationships between siblings and between parents and their children.

10/ 10 -- Can't wait for the new episodes. -- Only request the producers and writers to keep up humor intact, tight 'n fresh.

A good show you shouldn't miss.

[lunga · 8/10 · 11 July 2017]

Casual stars Michaela Watkins and Tommy Dewey as Valerie and Alex, two adult siblings and Tara Lynne Barr as Valarie's daughter. All three actors are excellent in their respective roles and the writing is top notch. What I think is throwing some off, myself included, is the fact that the characters are not that nice. They are selfish, sometimes arrogant, and superficial, but along the way, we learn to forgive them because they are so damaged. Explanation of plot and characters would be irrelevant as it is a multi story-line arc, so just watch the show.

Huh, so that's why I can't date anymore...

[Luluhalabaloo · 7/10 · 21 December 2015]

At first glance, the show is full of selfishness, narcissism, and psychopathy. The "selfie" generation. At a deeper level, it is a commentary on the state of parenting and socialization; actually, the lack thereof.

The show focuses on three characters, all of which deeply flawed. Alex and Valerie are children of "me" generation parents, which means that they had to contend with not being the center of attention at all times of their parents. Valerie compensates to a terrible degree, much like most of her generation, in raising her kid. Her kid is a disaster; she was given no boundaries by her mom in her desire to be loved by her child and afraid to lose the attention that she did not get from her own parents. The daughter acts in all kinds of narcissistic, borderline psychopathic ways, and mom, a therapist no less, lets her get away with it because again, her desire to be loved overshadows her requirement to be a responsible parent.

There is no growth in this expose of millennial dysfunction outside of Alex. Maybe because he never had kids he is able to focus on himself and the problems within. He travels from intense swinger without a care to sensitive brother to Mr. Lonely quickly and satisfactorily.

Valerie is a failure as a therapist, and an odd duck to boot. She seems a little mentally unstable altogether, like someone headed for a breakdown perhaps. She is not likable at all, really, she is essentially lousy at everything. She actually can commit, actually commitment doesn't seem to be a problem for any of these characters, but it is to what they commit that is so worrying.

The daughter - this girl is really in trouble mentally. She is so scathed I cannot see her coming out of this without intense therapy, if she isn't already a psychopath and beyond hope. This is through no fault of her own and she should have been actually raised, not liberated way before she matured. This is a real reflection of what these over-permissive parents are doing to their children today and why we are ending up with terribly disturbed kids doing terribly disturbed things, if they don't contract the red measles or pertussis first due to the non-vaxxers.

In terms of the production - the sets are nice and full of interest and very Californian. The acting is good all around. There is a sense of claustrophobia in every scene, not sure if that is a function of the camera work or intentional. No shaky cameras though, big plus. What I am on the fence about and where I cannot score higher is the gratuitously liberal use of swear words and dirty talk (I for one cannot imagine and know no one who would talk with their brother about what Valerie talks about so casually...but maybe I am out of touch?).

As an aside, now I get why I find dating today so disgusting. I don't know, it used to be so much fun getting to know someone and anticipating the "big" night! I feel bad for this whole generation that is missing out on romance and respect.

Unexpected Surprise!

[davidjabad · 8/10 · 3 November 2015]

I stumbled upon this show in a desperate attempt to find something entertaining and exciting to watch but also saw a familiar face, actor Tommy Dewey, who I also recognized as Mindy Lahiri's ex-boyfriend from The Mindy Project, also part of the main cast. I will admit that the pilot initially threw me off, leaving me a bit confused as to what the show was all about. I then followed this with seeing what IMDb had to say and stumbled on a negative review which made me write-off this show... until now. Having watched all five current episodes, it wasn't until I finished the second episode that I immediately disposed of my original thoughts and found out that this show was everything I was hoping it would be...Just needs some time to get used to in my case.

I don't know what its like to be a divorced single mother, or a misogynistic brother, or even a 16 year old high school girl. But what I can relate to is the journey through online dating and all the happenings revolved around it that I find myself smile and laugh when scenes cause flashbacks into my own dating past... of memories I've tucked away into the back of my brain hoping they never resurface. But hey, that's what makes this show special.

The comedy is tasteful and sincere, the actors and story-line are believable, and together the three main characters have a great dynamic together. Simply, an unexpected surprise.

I had

[Headturner1 · 6/10 · 10 August 2022]

Thought I had reviewed this before? Well if not now I'm like 3 seasons in and these people are the the most unlikable soul suckers I've ever seen. They're toxic! I feel the brother is an idiot and the sister thinks he needs her, isn't functional but he completely is ( he birthed a multi million dollar company for crying out loud! They're all obnoxious takers that need therapy( tho funny the lead's a therapist). Tho it is watchable ( tho a train wreck) Why Leon keeps coming at their beckon call tho is a joke. I'm not sure i'll continue if I find something worth while.. Oh. And I think there's genetic sexual attraction going on here as well...

The main character is mentally still a child

[bewerekitten · 5/10 · 28 November 2020]

She has all these wild expectations of the people around her like she is still a toddler mentally yet somehow she is a therapist who is supposed to be helping others...if her boyfriend who is struggling with sex addiction doesn't want to go to pound town in the middle of a house party she gets mad and thinks he doesn't love her?!?! I don't think she helps a single person the whole series... Unbelievably narcissistic and unlikeable...her poor daughter has to struggle to raise herself and her mother and her mother's bother at only 17 years old, she is the real star of the show but she doesn't get the screen time she deserves

Casual is not that casual, but IMO fails because of the unsympathetic actors.

[Dr_Sagan · 11 November 2015]

Casual is not that casual, but IMO fails because of the unsympathetic actors.

I'm tired seeing Michaela Watkins, who tries her luck in lots of blind dates in this show, to be considered as ...beautiful and having a wow-factor from her dates when they first seeing her.

The underage unsympathetic daughter tries to sleep with her teacher, like the daughter of Ray Donovan (and even more annoyingly), and she is having sex all the time (and recently filming it and uploaded it on the web) next room of her mother's and uncle's rooms.

Tommy Dewey is looking like teenwolf and his character is as shallow as it can be.

There are some jokes here and there but this is more like a dramatic series about the lives of bad, annoying people who searching for the one true love and (in my opinion) don't deserve it as they are mean to their dates and spouses.

Anyway, I don't think that this has an audience, judging by the fact that I couldn't find the current episode in the sites with TV shows that I follow, so...its days are numbered.

Highly underrated!

[chancenconnect · 10/10 · 10 July 2021]

This had a very weeds feel to it! Very warm and inviting comedy drama. It gets a little /shameless like but definitely a wonderful 4 seasons. A must watch.

For those who can appreciate the abnormalities of life

[leah-marie-zapp · 10/10 · 7 June 2016]

People who live cookie cutter lives will most likely automatically dislike this show. Life gets messy and Casual is a perfect representation of how life can become complicated and hard to understand. People who are giving this show bad reviews almost all have one thing in common to say: life isn't actually like this, these characters are crazy. I highly appreciate the abnormal chaos depicted in Casual and hope for many more seasons to come. It's fresh, unique, and highly relatable. The humor is dark and the characters Valerie (Michaela Watkins) and Laura Meyers (Tara Lynne Barr) perfectly portray the reality of how strained mother-daughter relationships can be. Laura is a blunt and cynical teenager and Valerie is a somewhat self-absorbed yet loving mother. Alex Cole (Tommy Dewey), brother to Valerie, offers his home to Valerie and Laura after Valerie divorces her husband because of his infidelity. The three of them living together creates an interesting and captivating dynamic. If you like dark humor and quirky characters mixed with an anarchic plot line, I'd suggest giving this show a go.

Loved it until season 4

[shannonadams · 6/10 · 12 September 2020]

This was one of my favorite shows until season 4. Don't throw in politics. Ruined it completely for me.

An Honest Human Show

[jp-33465 · 10/10 · 8 January 2019]

I had this show on my to-watch list for a long time however i avoided it because i thought it would be typical and boy was a wrong. Great show with great characters that all have their own story and that is different from the others. So sad to have finally finished it because it truly was a great ride

Has it's moments.

[jads70 · 6/10 · 11 July 2022]

There are good moments in Casual, especially series 1. After this I found it patchy at best. The characters are often unlikeable. Valerie's neurosis is particularly painful to watch. And she's a therapist. The irony!

Also, I'm for female empowerment but the idea that Valerie just gets to have every guy that crosses her path with zero accountability gets old (and cringey) very fast. The concept of modern dating and / or modern women are not treated that kindly here. It's all a bit shallow at times. But hey, maybe that was the idea. The male characters are more or less portrayed as bunch of bozos with little going for them. In season 3 when Alex takes the IT job and is constantly berated & belittled by the millennial kick-ass women... seeing the pattern here? Sadly, a lot of good shows are being ruined by this trope.

I think I'm done with this show...

The show that gets better from season 3

[davidbayjp · 8/10 · 16 May 2021]

Rare to see a show start off slow and get significantly better in seasons 3 and 4. The funny one liners kept me watching initially since the story landed as superficial and cliche. But the actors, funny one liners, and unique scenes kept improving over time. They found some kind of perfect formula in seasons 3 and 4.

Everybody in the show behaves like a train wreck

[andymhancock · 7/10 · 17 August 2022]

Want to see the worse in humanity? This show "casually" dishes it out as it was normal ... Their foils aren't even interesting -- just pathetic. However, the dramatic enactment is engagement, but only up to a point. Specifically, up to episode 10 of season 1. There's only so much you can watch people behave like ignorant self-absorbed sub-humans, then it doesn't matter how good the acting or drama is. Somehow, every single character is disrespectable, even the teacher (who makes adult decisions, but really mistreats people unnecessarily in doing so).

..it's good.. now lets just hope it gets the chance to stay around past S2

[bjarias · 8/10 · 2 December 2015]

Most guys just wanna be Leon.. hanging out, waiting on the sidelines until beautiful women are brought to their doorstep time and again. It's overall a pretty good show.. casting, acting (luv Eliza Coupe), script writing, production values all very good. And it feels nothing like your average half-hour Hollywood sitcom. This one gets most all right.. that's not to say it will be around a long time, because guarantees are the exception when it comes to American audiences. Some stuff runs for years that by all rights isn't worth much.. while at the same time shows like this one struggle to gain popularity. Best just to enjoy it while we can and hope it stays around for an extended run beyond the announced 13 episode second season.

Circular Emotional Oddysey

[mekjd · 7/10 · 10 December 2017]

Characters are very well portrayed and interestingly all the more enjoyable for having all their flaws front and center. A great rejoinder to hippies and yuppies who did not let having children interfere with their drugging and promiscuity, and yet who seemed to maintain their wealth and pomposity with nary a touch of shame. Son and daughter try to make some sense of life, with mixed results. Mostly looking for love in...you know the rest.

The problem that I have with this show is that the characters do not grow. They act out their hidden needs again and again. I mean, give us a break! Let someone emerge from existential hell and catch a breath of fresh air. It would make the show much better.

Season 4 is so bad that you just start to regret why you watched the first 3

[shreypathak-79540 · 1/10 · 4 November 2020]

The first 3 season are okayish but the 4 one is bad enough that i will strongly recommend not to watch the show entirely.