Younger (TV series)

Younger
Younger, written as cursive in a black ink style on a white background
Genre
Created by Darren Star
Based on Younger
by Pamela Redmond Satran
Starring
Composer(s) Chris Alan Lee
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 60 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Darren Star
  • Larry W. Jones
  • Keith Cox
  • Tony Hernandez
Production location(s) New York City, New York
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 20–25 minutes
Production company(s)
Release
Original network
Original release March 31, 2015 (2015-03-31) – present (present)
External links
Website

Younger is an American comedy-drama television series created and produced by Darren Star, based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Pamela Redmond Satran. The single-camera series stars Sutton Foster as the lead character, with Hilary Duff, Debi Mazar, Miriam Shor, Nico Tortorella, Molly Bernard and Peter Hermann co-starring in other main roles.[1] The series premiered on March 31, 2015, on TV Land and received generally positive reviews from critics.[2][3] It was renewed for a 12-episode second season in April 2015, and before the premiere of the second season on January 13, 2016, it was renewed for a third season, which began airing on September 28, 2016.[4] On June 14, 2016, the show was renewed for a fourth season,[5] which premiered on June 28, 2017.[6] On April 20, 2017, the show was renewed for a fifth season ahead of its fourth season premiere.[7] The fifth season premiered on June 5, 2018.[8] On June 4, 2018, the show was renewed for a sixth season.[9]

On September 5, 2018, Viacom announced that the series would move from TV Land to Paramount Network from its sixth season onward starting in 2019.[10]

Premise

Liza Miller (Sutton Foster) is a recently divorced 40-year-old mother. As her teenage daughter, Caitlin (Tessa Albertson), studies abroad in India, Liza has to figure out a way to support herself and her daughter since her ex-husband's gambling addiction has left them in a financial hole, losing all their savings and their house. Following her ambitions from college, Liza attempts to get a job in publishing, but has to start at the bottom, which proves difficult for a woman of her age. During her hunt, she meets Josh (Nico Tortorella), a 26-year-old tattoo artist who thinks that they are about the same age. Maggie (Debi Mazar), Liza's best friend, comes up with the idea of giving Liza a makeover in order to pass her off as a 26-year-old. Ultimately, she becomes an assistant to Diana Trout (Miriam Shor), at the publishing firm Empirical Press, where she befriends Kelsey Peters (Hilary Duff), her 20-something co-worker.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
112March 31, 2015 (2015-03-31)June 9, 2015 (2015-06-09)
212January 13, 2016 (2016-01-13)March 23, 2016 (2016-03-23)
312September 28, 2016 (2016-09-28)December 14, 2016 (2016-12-14)
412June 28, 2017 (2017-06-28)September 13, 2017 (2017-09-13)
512June 5, 2018 (2018-06-05)August 28, 2018 (2018-08-28)[11]

Cast and characters

Main

  • Sutton Foster as Leslie "Liza" Miller: A shy, eager-to-please 40-year-old divorced mother and the show's protagonist.[12] Liza was married to David Miller, who cheated on her with a younger woman; the marriage's result is their only daughter Caitlin. In the first season, Liza encounters Josh in a pub and she gets surprised when Josh doesn't realize that she is older than she looks; that way, Liza passes off as a 26-year-old along with a makeover done by Maggie. Armed with confidence, Liza lands a job as an assistant to Diana Trout at Empirical Press. Liza quickly befriends co-worker Kelsey Peters, despite lying to everyone about her actual age.
  • Debi Mazar as Maggie Amato: Liza's old-fashioned, artsy, sharp-tongued lesbian best friend and roommate.[13]
  • Miriam Shor as Diana Trout: Liza's temperamental boss, who works as head of marketing at Empirical Press.[14]
  • Nico Tortorella as Josh: An intense, blowzy and friendly tattoo artist who owns his studio.[15]
  • Hilary Duff as Kelsey Peters: A beautiful, sophisticated, confident and ambitious 26-year-old book editor at Empirical Press who befriends Liza after they start working together.[16]
  • Molly Bernard as Lauren Heller (season 2–present; recurring season 1): A fierce, snooty and funny 20-something completely immersed in social media-related stuff. Bernard was promoted to series regular in the second season.[17]
  • Peter Hermann as Charles Brooks (season 2–present; recurring season 1): The eager-to-help, good-looking head of the company at Empirical Press. Hermann was promoted to series regular in the second season.[18]
  • Charles Michael Davis as Zane Anders (season 5; recurring season 4):[19] An editor from Lachlan Flynn's publisher who starts a race with Kelsey to discover who's best.[20] They soon begin dating; after, Zane is hired by Charles to work at Empirical Press, side by side with Kelsey.

Recurring

  • Dan Amboyer as Thad and Chad Weber: Twin brothers with estranged behavior. Thad was Kelsey's boyfriend, until his death.[21] Afterwards, Chad appeared and began to pursue Kelsey.
  • Tessa Albertson as Caitlin Miller: Liza's funny and cold-living daughter.[22]
  • Thorbjørn Harr as Anton Björnberg: A Swedish writer who got his book signed at Empirical Press. He and Kelsey were having an affair while Kelsey was working on his book.[23]
  • Paul Fitzgerald as David Taylor: Liza's ex-husband and Caitlin's father.[24]
  • Jon Gabrus as Gabe: One of Josh's nerdy friends.
  • Kathy Najimy as Denise Heller: Lauren's mother.
  • Michael Urie as Redmond: A flamboyant author manager and social media icon.[25]
  • Noah Robbins as Bryce Reiger: A 20-something tech billionaire who is interested in investing in Empirical.[26]
  • Ben Rappaport as Max Horowitz: Lauren's ex-boyfriend.[27]
  • Jay Wilkison as Colin McNichol: A writer that infatuates Kelsey.[28]
  • Mather Zickel as Dr. Richard Caldwell: A doctor who starts a relationship with Diana.[28]
  • Meredith Hagner as Montana Goldberg / Amy: A barista friend of Maggie. She starts working as Maggie's assistant and hooking up with Josh, but he soon discovers that she was copying Maggie's arts.[20]
  • Aasif Mandvi as Jay Malick: A man who discovers Liza's secret and befriends her.[29]
  • Burke Moses as Lachlan Flynn: A spy novelist who becomes the motive of Zane and Kelsey's quarrel.[20]
  • Jennifer Westfeldt as Pauline Turner-Brooks: Charles' ex-wife, with whom he has two daughters, and who naively believes that they can get back together.[30]
  • Phoebe Dynevor as Clare: An Irish citizen who begins dating Josh after Liza's recommendation. She and Josh then plan a green card marriage in Ireland.[31]

Guest

  • Martha Plimpton as Cheryl Sussman: A wicked woman who learns of Liza's secret and threatens to expose her.[32]
  • Richard Masur as Edward L.L. Moore: The writer of Crown of Kings, one of Empirical Press' biggest-selling novel series, which is a homage to George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. The character himself is a homage to Martin, having similarity to Martin's physical traits.[21]
  • Camryn Manheim as Dr. Jane Wray: A famous therapist who records a podcast which inspires a book called The Deciding Decade.[33]
  • Lois Smith as Belinda Lacroix: A romance novelist, one of Empirical Press' oldest members. After decades of successful works, she dies during a launch with Liza.[34]

Production

Development and casting

The series is based on the Pamela Redmond Satran novel of the same name. In October 2013, TV Land ordered the pilot from creator and executive producer Darren Star.[35] Patricia Field, who worked with Star on Sex and the City, is a costume consultant on the production.[36] The pilot was picked up to series in April 2014 with a 12-episode order.[1] On April 21, 2015, Younger was renewed for a second season of 12 episodes, which premiered January 13, 2016. After a recurring role in the first season, Molly Bernard was added to the main cast.[37][18]

On March 14, 2018, it was announced that Christian Borle would appear in the fifth season in a guest starring role playing the journalist Don Ridley in two episodes.[38] On May 4, 2018, it was confirmed that Laura Benanti would appear in two episodes playing a self-made billionaire named Quinn.[39]

On September 5, 2018, it was announced that the series would be moved to Paramount Network.[40]

Release

In June 2018, the series showed a first look at the second episode of the fifth season, as well as a panel discussion with creator and executive producer Darren Star and cast members during the opening night screening at the annual ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas.[41]

Lately, the book "Marriage vacation" mentioned in TV series, was launched in real life, published by Simon & Schuster. In the series, the author of the book is Pauline Turner Brooks (Jennifer Westfeldt).[42][43][44]

Reception

Critical response

Younger has received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season an approval rating of 97% based on 35 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Darren Star's witty writing and Sutton Foster's charisma help elevate Younger above some of TV Land's previous sitcoms."[45] Metacritic gives the first season a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[46]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 100% based on 7 reviews, and an average rating of 7.1/10.[47] Metacritic gave the season a score of 74 out of 100, based on reviews from 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[48]

Brian Lowry of Variety gave the series a mostly positive review, describing it as "not perfect but highly watchable" and pointing out that "inevitably, there are stereotypical aspects on both sides of the age gap — from the flakiness of Kelsey's contemporaries to Diana too often coming across as a bitter scold — but the series seldom pitches so far across those lines as to be unable to find its way back."[49]

On the New York magazine website Vulture.com, Margaret Lyons also gave a mostly positive review, describing "a sweetness to the series, an almost admiration for the various crummy behaviors [of the characters]." She went on to say that she wished the show "had a longer first season not just because I liked it, but more because it's featherweight, and as its current run stands, might have been better off as a feature-length rom-com."[50] Megan Garber reviewed the show for The Atlantic saying, "Younger, a fairy tale fit for basic cable, is a treacly confection of a show: witty but not wise, delightful but not deep. And yet—like its creator Darren Star’s previous exploration of age and sexuality and identity in a tumultuous time, Sex and the City—it offers, almost in spite of itself, deep insights into the culture of the moment."[51]

Tom Conroy of Media Life Magazine criticized the show mainly for portraying Sutton Foster's character Liza with "early-middle-age cluelessness", featuring "particularly silly" publishing-industry details and presenting "a relationship between an educated 40-year-old mother and a 26-year-old college dropout" that, in his belief, "has nowhere to go."[52]

But Jonathan Alexander writes in the Los Angeles Review of Books that "Younger works in part because it plays to both millennials, who are often portrayed as hip and hardworking, creative and generous, as well as to late Gen-Xers who are facing a corporate and consumer world that’s seemingly forgotten them in its drive to cater to the needs, tastes, and interests of a younger (and numerically larger) generation."[53]

Darcie Wilder of Vice wrote in her review: "Younger is unexpectedly addictive, nothing short of extremely soothing and pleasurable to watch. It's a bedtime story that's supposed to lull but is too engaging to ever actually let you doze off. Usually when I binge, there's a hard out when I finally get caught up to real time, entering the headspace of its regular audience and eventually losing interest—but that hasn't happened with Younger, not yet."[54]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2015 MTV Fandom Award Best New Fandom Younger Nominated [55]
Teen Choice Awards Choice Breakout TV Show Nominated [56][57]
Online Film & Television Association Best Actress in a Comedy Series Sutton Foster Nominated [58]
Adweek Hot List Television Awards Best New Comedy Series Younger Won [59]
2016 People's Choice Awards Favorite Cable TV Actress Hilary Duff Nominated [60]
Women's Image Network Award Best Actress in a Comedy Series Sutton Foster Nominated [61]
Best Writing in a Comedy Series Alison Brown Nominated
Hollywood Music in Media Awards Best Musical Supervision- Television Robin Urdang Nominated [62]
2017 People's Choice Awards Favorite Cable TV Comedy Younger Nominated [63]
Favorite Cable TV Actress Hilary Duff Nominated
Women's Image Network Award Best Actress in a Comedy Series Sutton Foster Nominated [64][65]
Best Comedy Series Younger Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer TV Actress Hilary Duff Nominated [66][67]
2018 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Actress in a Comedy Series Sutton Foster Nominated [68][69]
People's Choice Awards The Bingeworthy Show of 2018 Younger Longlisted [70]

Remakes

South Korean television network JTBC plans to broadcast the Korean adaptation of Younger in early 2019. It will be directed by Kim Seong-yoon as his first project under JTBC after leaving his longtime home network, KBS.[71]

References

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