I loved this show. I can't believe it got canceled.
296 Reviews
Brilliant
mikeiskorn25 January 2020
I don't understand the hate
pledgerock23 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Friends from College is filled with a stellar cast and mostly great comedy mixed in with quite a bit of cringe. Maybe that's not everybody's thing? I don't understand anyone who watched this series and didn't laugh. There's so much humor in this and so much of it is because of the brilliance of Keegan Michael Key. Faxon and Colbie are great too. However, these people are all pretty awful and the show is very frustrating to watch some times. I think the thing with the rowdy guys from the law firm was way over the top to the point of ridiculous. It's hard to invest in the characters until the end when some of them seem to start doing the right thing. A few loose ends are tied in the end and the dramatic moments were very well done. I'd see a second season, definitely. MVP of the show is obviously Key and honestly maybe if he wasn't in it my score would be a little lower. FFF isn't perfect, but if you're in the mood to laugh at some terrible people (and Key's weird goofy voices...which killed me) then binge away.
Simply refreshing
user-166-69795514 July 2017
Watched it in one sitting and boy what can I say ? It sure doesn't seem like the most original concept at first but nothing is these days is it?I admit I've been trying to find a show in this particular genre for some time and nothing has quite caught my attention but I would definitely recommend Friends from College over any other recent "pieces" of TV I've seen. The execution is perfect, the cast just clicks and my only complain would be how fast it ended. Can't wait for more of this - Enjoy.
Easy watch
gallagherkellie26 July 2017
People keep saying the characters aren't likable...but neither are a lot of people in real life. When you think about it, we all know a cheater or someone who refuses to grow up. It's an easy to watch show, with a few giggles and some tears. I got through it quickly so I must have thought it was decent enough to entertain me for a few hours. I'm even looking forward to another season. Not the best show but I didn't expect it to be.
Hilarious
anthonydapiii6 February 2021
Although it's extremely immoral, this is a funny, funny comedy and drama. Maybe that was the point in all of it.
The cast in this was stellar and I truly enjoyed keeping up with the chaos of each character and their relationships.
A classic, and underrated, comedy and drama.
The cast in this was stellar and I truly enjoyed keeping up with the chaos of each character and their relationships.
A classic, and underrated, comedy and drama.
Top end comedy drama
real_daniel_craig13 January 2019
I struggle to understand why critics don't enjoy this comedy as much as I do. One criticism I've heard is that none of the characters are nice people and are therefore unlikable. I disagree, there isn't a character in it I don't like, yes most of them do questionable things, make bad decisions or act inappropriately, but it makes the great television. If they were all nice people we'd end up with something annoyingly sickly sweet like This Is Us.
The comedy is dry/dark but I love this programme and I really hope the more people watch it and it gets a third series
The world doesn't need this
csm-2215 July 2017
The world doesn't need another show about Ivy League alums living in unrealistically big homes in and around New York City. Although I appreciated the skilled acting from most of the cast, and definitely laughed out loud a few times, this show's just so out of touch.
I didn't get the friend chemistry or understand how a group of people who are all so mean to each other could have kept their "friend group" going so long. I also didn't appreciate how the married characters take center stage while their apparently pathetic single friends are basically mere doormats who lend a helping hand (or drugs or fold-out couch) when needed.
The writers just missed so many opportunities to be relevant here, and settled for a slightly raunchier, darker spin on well-worn ground. It's reasonably funny, well-acted, some somewhat clever, but watching it just feels like a waste of time when there is much fresher material available in this Golden Age of TV.
I didn't get the friend chemistry or understand how a group of people who are all so mean to each other could have kept their "friend group" going so long. I also didn't appreciate how the married characters take center stage while their apparently pathetic single friends are basically mere doormats who lend a helping hand (or drugs or fold-out couch) when needed.
The writers just missed so many opportunities to be relevant here, and settled for a slightly raunchier, darker spin on well-worn ground. It's reasonably funny, well-acted, some somewhat clever, but watching it just feels like a waste of time when there is much fresher material available in this Golden Age of TV.
Season 2 is a SMASH
sarah_fonseca12 January 2019
Lovely
crickettscoach25 July 2017
I loved it and devoured it in one day! There were laughs and tears sometimes a bit of cheesiness but overalls great depiction of mid life crisis! I found the characters being stuck in their college days a bit overdone at times. Some of the friends had children and corporate jobs and still were most excited when riding a party bus for wine tasting. That part of the show saved it from a 10 - too much reliance on laughter of never growing up.
Dont Understand The Appeal
jakep37 February 2019
This is not a show about a group of friends, it's the Keegan-Michael Key show. If you like watching him in other things, you may like this. I might even hop on board with you except his character is morally bankrupt and unlikeable. And not in a hyperbolic (and actually funny) Always Sunny kind of way.
A good portion of the cast feels like pure window dressing (I'm looking at you, Marianne and Nick). You don't have to recreate Friends, but at least in that show everyone had their own narrative, things they wanted and didn't want, etc. Half the people in this show just feel like props in Ethan's life, which just makes the whole thing ring hollow for me. The further you get from his immediate circle of interest, the less round and substantive the characters are, which is a sign of bad writing.
If you can squeeze a laugh out of Melissa McCarthy saying one over the top thing after another, you might find the humour in this show funny. One of the only parts that made me laugh was the comments about Ethan's book because they were similar to how I felt watching the show. Boring. I hate it sooo much.
A good portion of the cast feels like pure window dressing (I'm looking at you, Marianne and Nick). You don't have to recreate Friends, but at least in that show everyone had their own narrative, things they wanted and didn't want, etc. Half the people in this show just feel like props in Ethan's life, which just makes the whole thing ring hollow for me. The further you get from his immediate circle of interest, the less round and substantive the characters are, which is a sign of bad writing.
If you can squeeze a laugh out of Melissa McCarthy saying one over the top thing after another, you might find the humour in this show funny. One of the only parts that made me laugh was the comments about Ethan's book because they were similar to how I felt watching the show. Boring. I hate it sooo much.
Loved it!
hajermiller-9119512 January 2019
Uneven but mostly great
lisamariegeorge21 January 2019
This show can be wildly entertaining and clever. It can also be straight up dumb. Kudos to the set designers, location scouts and costumers. I want their clothes. I want to visit their places. I want to live in their dwellings (except Ethan's gross apartment and Nick's "funboy" sign of course). The acting and comedic timing is generally spot-on, although Keegan can be annoying. Fred Savage and Billy Eichner are stellar. At first I was thinking that casting Eichner as the "straight man" was a waste, but there's actually something brilliant about this decision to cast against type. He doesn't play the dead-pan shouting guy that he usually does. His performance is understated and still hilarious. The whole cast give stellar performances and gel together. The character actors are all super funny and talented. The one thing that was uneven and somewhat distracting in the first season was the writing. It could veer into ridiculousness. But when the writing is on, it's ON and SO funny! The send-up of WASPY types with Sarah Chalke was lol-funny. The whole episode had a Woody Allen feel to it. It was a Merrill and Morgan fest!
Although some elements could be tweaked, I would recommend this show.
Although some elements could be tweaked, I would recommend this show.
Terrible characters
Calicodreamin17 July 2020
It was hard to get invested in this show when all of the main characters were such terrible people. The acting was fairly good but the storylines felt repetitive. The humor was there in most episodes, but was overshadowed by the attempt at being an emotionless drama .
Characters that feel real and are funny at the same time
richard-fieldhouse25 January 2019
A group of friends who went to Havard together are followed through their entangled lives. The fact is that this group hasn't drifted apart as most would over the twenty years since leaving college, instead they have become so close-knit that others from outside can feel excluded.
We mostly follow Ethan, a writer who starts out with accolades, but not so many readers, his long-suffering agent, Max, his childless wife Lisa, and his long-term, on-off mistress, Samantha (Sam). All these are from the college group, together with womanising Nick and hippy Marianne. The characters are well-drawn and well acted, with quirks and flaws. A few episodes in and you start to feel you know how they should react to a situation and how they feel.
There are also partners and spouses from outside the central group. They mostly come and go - it's probably fair to say that all these resent how close the Havard types have become.
As things start out, Ethan's publishers are applying a great deal of pressure for him to transition to something a little more commercial, like young adult (YA) fiction, while Ethan and Sam feel rather uncomfortable with both now living in New York. They're right under the noses of Lisa and Sam's insanely wealthy and slightly boring husband, Jon.
Unlike most others here, I preferred the first series to the second. A few episodes in the second series started to feel to me too much that events and characters were being manipulated to fit into a plot that had been planned out for them in a group workshop. The kind of session that Max and Ethan have when Max is offering rather more support than an agent would normally give.
We mostly follow Ethan, a writer who starts out with accolades, but not so many readers, his long-suffering agent, Max, his childless wife Lisa, and his long-term, on-off mistress, Samantha (Sam). All these are from the college group, together with womanising Nick and hippy Marianne. The characters are well-drawn and well acted, with quirks and flaws. A few episodes in and you start to feel you know how they should react to a situation and how they feel.
There are also partners and spouses from outside the central group. They mostly come and go - it's probably fair to say that all these resent how close the Havard types have become.
As things start out, Ethan's publishers are applying a great deal of pressure for him to transition to something a little more commercial, like young adult (YA) fiction, while Ethan and Sam feel rather uncomfortable with both now living in New York. They're right under the noses of Lisa and Sam's insanely wealthy and slightly boring husband, Jon.
Unlike most others here, I preferred the first series to the second. A few episodes in the second series started to feel to me too much that events and characters were being manipulated to fit into a plot that had been planned out for them in a group workshop. The kind of session that Max and Ethan have when Max is offering rather more support than an agent would normally give.
Felt compelled to write a review
ife2123 February 2019
A realistic funny friend dynamic
ShannelysCosmeRivera19 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
We all behave a little differently when we get reunited with friends from college. Now this show presents very uncomfortable scenes, adultery and betrayal. Embarrassing moments are at the top of the list. I felt a little off sometimes because it got hard to watch whenever they wanted to make the most horrible embarrassing, hurtful scenes. They got real vulnerable in different times, it has a cringe factor very present within the story. Marriages crumble apart from it, attempts at getting pregnant get very descriptive and brutal. The relationships are presented in their raw imperfections without filter. Could be considered refreshing but it's also left a bad feeling in me, as it ends with conformism and even thought that is a common respond to the dynamic presented, it's just very cold and ugly.
What "Friends" Would Have REALLY Been Like
amandasweird10 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Finally, a show that doesn't paint a rosy picture of old friends and the 'fresh new face' of 40. X'ers and X/Y cusps are hitting a time of change where they're dealing with a very different 40's than their parents, major choices being made later in life due to hard knocks from the failing economy, dot-bomb, and recession; and trying to weather this "40 is the new 20" crap. Many people are saying that these friends are hard to relate to because they went to Harvard. I went to my 10 year high school reunion. It was like this. It was both shameful and hilarious at the same time. "Friends" was what we wanted our long term friends aka "framily" to be. "Friends From College" is the dirty reality of it. They're messy and flawed and have the same fears many of us do - finally ready to have kids and can't, outgrowing marriages, delusions about long term 'crushes' and how childish that can be, etc. Nostalgia can be helpful, but also devastating to real life and sometimes you need to realize you've outgrown people. Seeing them struggle with a new decade in their lives, new challenges, and their immaturity is kind of refreshing. I'm SO sick of seeing perfect friendships. And women who've been friends for longer than 10 years who miraculously don't secretly hate each other or have a hidden jealousy. Yeah right. Also interesting...I know 5 people who have trashed this show...they are just like the people in the show. There are some great comedic scenes in here and I think the cast is pretty darn great. Seeing Fred Savage's character celebrating his 40th birthday...that one stung a little and heightened the point of the show. We're a generation upset about getting older, running out of time, or both. While I did not attend a private college, it was still easy to map their experiences over to something I can relate to, and I can say that they act out feelings I keep inside and I laugh at their consequences. I think it has potential and everyone needs to lighten up.
mildly amusing, mildly annoying
cherold18 August 2017
I don't have really strong feelings about this series after one episode, but I know I'm not interested in watching it anymore. I laughed some, but not a lot. And the characters didn't seem especially interesting.
For me a big issue was the series focusing on two of the character's affair. This seems like a possibility for a drama, but in a comedy it seems a little creepy. Their having an affair, they're doing it under their loving spouses noses, and they're friends with those spouses so they're lying to them to. Either get a divorce and marry each other or knock it off. What's wrong with you people?!
I don't know why this bothers me so much. I understand the power of sexual desire, I don't have as strong a moral revulsion to cheating than most of the people I know, and yet, a show trying to get laughs out of this sort of deceit seems just kind of awful to me.
For me a big issue was the series focusing on two of the character's affair. This seems like a possibility for a drama, but in a comedy it seems a little creepy. Their having an affair, they're doing it under their loving spouses noses, and they're friends with those spouses so they're lying to them to. Either get a divorce and marry each other or knock it off. What's wrong with you people?!
I don't know why this bothers me so much. I understand the power of sexual desire, I don't have as strong a moral revulsion to cheating than most of the people I know, and yet, a show trying to get laughs out of this sort of deceit seems just kind of awful to me.
Hilarious
BurberryGal12 January 2019
wacky and funny
bambi-abraham7 February 2019
Adults DO NOT Behave Like This!
SweetTea74218 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The premise of this show is what made me want to watch this tv series. Old friends from college that stayed in touch over 20 years. They're grown folks with grown folks problems and they have each other to sort it out.
I did not want to watch anything close to "Friends" and this is certainly not cheesy, happy go lucky Friends. What this is is a bunch of 40 something year olds that act like over the top, cliche', immature and irresponsible, offbeat Millennials.
The characters are irritating and unlikable. They do foolish things over and over again without motivation and you just cannot root for anyone in particular. They are vile, nasty and deceitful and they handle adult situations like petulant teens but pass it off as offbeat humour.
If you like over the top, goofball sexual humour (American Pie esque), unmotivated and unexplained infidelity, adults behaving like whiny children, bizarre comedic timing and open ended conclusions then this one is for you.
I wanted to give this a 2 but I cannot lie, the story is just too bad. The only thing that works is the cinematography is clear and clean, good lighting and audio.
I wouldn't waste my time!
I did not want to watch anything close to "Friends" and this is certainly not cheesy, happy go lucky Friends. What this is is a bunch of 40 something year olds that act like over the top, cliche', immature and irresponsible, offbeat Millennials.
The characters are irritating and unlikable. They do foolish things over and over again without motivation and you just cannot root for anyone in particular. They are vile, nasty and deceitful and they handle adult situations like petulant teens but pass it off as offbeat humour.
If you like over the top, goofball sexual humour (American Pie esque), unmotivated and unexplained infidelity, adults behaving like whiny children, bizarre comedic timing and open ended conclusions then this one is for you.
I wanted to give this a 2 but I cannot lie, the story is just too bad. The only thing that works is the cinematography is clear and clean, good lighting and audio.
I wouldn't waste my time!
Please bring us future seasons.
notealicious28 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I really, really loved this show. In fact, I watched all 8 episodes in one sitting and am craving more! I may just watch it all over again. I have read the poor reviews and I just do not know what people want. Honestly, I was able to relate to these characters even though I didn't go to an IVY league school, don't live in NY, and don't hang out with my old crew. I relate to these characters because they are flawed and real. They fantasize and make mistakes. They struggle with getting older. Middle age is such a weird time and I love that they are kind of caught between their younger years and the advanced years where, typically, people are expected to give up on their desires and fantasies and just accept what they have built for themselves. I mean, who says you have to do it that way? People should dictate how their own life will play out. You've only got one, and that is what makes the relationship between Sam & Ethan so complicated and sad. The "what ifs" are so strongly felt and time feels like it is running out for them. There are awkward moments in the show, but that is also a part of life. I have moments in my own life where I said or did the most inappropriate or awkward thing and I still cringe when I think back to it. I relate to those moments that make me cringe in the show for that very reason. Like the unperformed Monica play in the finale - I've been there. I've planned something out and then scrapped it out of nervousness or fear or just not thinking it would go over well, just like the writers did with that scene. When I read that people don't "like" the characters, I am so perplexed. Do you have to think you would be best friends with a character to like a show? That seems like a small-minded way to judge a show and I think it would severely limit your viewing options. I like all of the characters. Are they annoying sometimes? Yes. That makes them like every other human being - including you.
Loved season 2!
danyberdiap20 January 2019
I enjoyed season 1, while all the characters seem to be assholes, it was quite entertaining. Season 2 redeems the characters slightly, but now they kind of remind us of our own flawed selves. I laughed a lot and I wish this season had been longer!
Truly terrible
burchrandy5 February 2019
This show started kind of good. That lasted about 5 minutes before descending into juvenile over the top situations that were totally without humour. The acting was terrible especially Keegan Michael- whose idea of comedy is mugging for the camera. All the characters except those of Fred Savage and Gregg Germann were extremely unlikeable. They can act but have such little to work with. Must be an embarrassment for them.
My wife said it best , "This is just annoying". One review said they couldn't understand the critics negative reviews - I cannot understand the positive reviews here. For once I agree w the critics. Spare the world a 3rd season.
We deleted this turkey from My List in Netflix and went on to The Kominsky Method and found a clever, subtly funny and well acted series.
Nat Faxon's teeth ruin the show
tonybeva14 January 2019
Not that there is much to like about this 30 minute comedy-drama to begin with, but every scene that Nat Faxon's character is in completely takes me out of the moment with his disgusting and disfigured chompers. It's bad enough that he is cast as one of the main characters but to have him as the token player of the group is completely asinine. Who in their right mind would go near that mouth? I keep cringing when he goes in for a kiss thinking he's going to hook on to someone's lip.
Admittedly, the second season is marginally better than the first and although I initially thought this show should have been cancelled after the first season I'm glad it stuck around for a second season.
Admittedly, the second season is marginally better than the first and although I initially thought this show should have been cancelled after the first season I'm glad it stuck around for a second season.
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