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. The series premiered on March 31, 2015, on TV Land and received generally positive reviews from critics. 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. On June 14, 2016, the show was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on June 28, 2017. On April 20, 2017, the show was renewed for a fifth season ahead of its fourth season premiere. The fifth season is set to premiere on June 5, 2018.
Video Younger (TV series)
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.
Maps Younger (TV series)
Cast and characters
Main
- Sutton Foster as Liza Miller: A shy, eager-to-please 40-years-old divorced mother and the show's protagonist. 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-years-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.
- Miriam Shor as Diana Trout: Liza's temperamental boss, who works as head of marketing at Empirical Press.
- Nico Tortorella as Josh: An intense, blowzy and friendly tattoo artist who owns his studio.
- Hilary Duff as Kelsey Peters: A beautiful, sophisticated, confident and ambitious 26-years-old book editor at Empirical Press who befriends Liza after they start working together.
- Molly Bernard as Lauren Heller: A fierce, snooty and funny 20-something completely immersed in social media-related stuff. Bernard was promoted to series regular in the second season.
- Peter Hermann as Charles Brooks: The eager-to-help, good-looking senior editor at Empirical Press. Hermann was promoted to series regular in the second season.
- Charles Michael Davis as Zane Anders (season 5; recurring season 4): An editor from Lachlan Flynn's publisher who starts a race with Kelsey to discover who's best. 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. Afterwards, Chad appeared and began to pursue Kelsey.
- Tessa Albertson as Caitlin Miller: Liza's funny and cold-living daughter.
- 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.
- Paul Fitzgerald as David Miller: Liza's ex-husband and Caitlin's father.
- 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.
- Noah Robbins as Bryce Reiger: A 20-something tech billionaire who is interested in investing in Empirical.
- Ben Rappaport as Max Horowitz: Lauren's ex-boyfriend.
- Jay Wilkison as Colin McNichol: A writer that infatuates Kelsey.
- Mather Zickel as Dr. Richard Caldwell: A doctor who starts a relationship with Diana.
- 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.
- Aasif Mandvi as Jay Malick: A man who discovers Liza's secret and befriends her.
- Burke Moses as Lachlan Flynn: A spy novelist who becomes the motive of Zane and Kelsey's quarrel.
- 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.
- Phoebe Dynevor as Clare: An Irish citizen who begins dating Josh after Liza's recommendation. She and Josh and then plan a green card marriage in Ireland.
Guest
- Martha Plimpton as Cheryl Sussman: A wicked woman who learns of Liza's secret and threatens to expose her.
- 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.
- Camryn Manheim as Dr. Jane Wray: A famous therapist who records a podcast which inspires a book called The Deciding Decade.
- 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.
Production
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. Patricia Field, who worked with Star on Sex and the City, is a costume consultant on the production. The pilot was picked up to series in April 2014 with a 12-episode order. 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.
Reception
Critical response
Younger has received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season a rating of 97% based on reviews from 35 critics and an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. The site's critical consensus states: "Darren Star's witty writing and Sutton Foster's charisma help elevate Younger above some of TV Land's previous sitcoms." Metacritic gives the first season a score of 75% based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Metacritic gave season 2 a score of 75%, based on reviews from 4 critics.
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."
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." 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."
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."
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."
Ratings
Awards and nominations
References
External links
- Official website
- Younger on IMDb
- Younger at TV.com
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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