An Easy Look at Modern Relationships

Review: Easy

Comedies that skewer contemporary relationships and how they may be complicated by technology are a crowded genre. The Netflix anthology Easy manages to address this subject matter in a way that manages to avoid trite clichés about spending too much time on our phones, delivering a deeper look at the way human beings interact.

Easy manages a strong, star-studded cast. Watching an episode is a game of spotting these, with the likes of James Franco, Aubrey Plaza, Malin Akerman, and Orlando Bloom showing up.

The odd recurring characters return throughout the three seasons, their storyline threads reintroduced well enough that they’re easy to pick up at any point. With Easy set entirely in Chicago, the show has these characters move in and out of one another’s lives, each taking turns in the spotlight.

While it would be easy to classify this show as a sex comedy, it encompasses so much more in its subject matter. The three seasons’ ongoing stories include a couple working to keep their marriage together, a pair of brothers who drift apart as a result of their joint venture in a craft brewery, a self-obsessed professor whose work blurs the boundaries of privacy, and an actress who leaves her long-term boyfriend to pursue success in Hollywood.

In all of this, Easy manages to feel contemporary and explore relevant social issues without ever coming across as trying too hard to achieve this or being gratuitous.

Much like fellow Netflix comedy Sex Education, Easy manages its material with maturity and nuance, but there is a disclaimer that Insights must add: If the idea of a raunchy comedy does not appeal to you, this is likely to be the show to change that. For those who might find this appealing, however, the show has much more to discuss. With Netflix recently announcing that season three is Easy’s finale, the show has a complete arc to offer.

All three seasons of Easy are now streaming on Netflix

Jonathan Foye is Insights’ Editor