Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
There are a lot of shows out there that revolve around white people having a hard time finding love in LA. It’s a premise that’s nothing new. However, there’s a sad authenticity to Hulu’s Casual that makes it stand just a bit higher than its competitors. That was true of Season One, and it certainly still remains true about the show’s second season.
Casual follows Valerie (Michaela Watkins), a recent divorcee and mother who moves in with her party boy brother as she looks for a new start. All of the ingredients are there to potentially make this show’s characters, especially Valerie, seem predictable. Val’s a therapist, but she can’t seem to get her life in order. She wants to get back out in the dating world but is overwhelmed by her brother’s app and modern dating practices as a whole. She balances between being a regular mom and a cool mom. However, under Watkins and director Jason Reitman’s masterful eye, neither Val nor any of the characters feel completely like something we’ve seen before. They are all vulnerable and self-hating certainly, but the one aspect that makes Casual stand out is love.
The irony isn’t lost on me. After all, this is a show that is named after casual sex. However, the love between the show’s three central characters, Val, he brother Alex (Tommy Dewey), and her daughter Laura (Tara Lynne Barr) makes this series worth watching. It’s rare to find an onscreen family that seems to actually enjoy and appreciate one another rather than using each other for snarky insult practice. In this way, Casual often feels like a lower stakes tonal incarnation of Showtime’s The United States of Tara.
Whereas Season One was largely about Valerie and Laura struggling to find a new familial normal after the divorce, for the most part Season Two sits stably in the trio’s new dynamic, which I find to be an improvement. These characters are best when they’re at peace, not war. Instead, most of the drama unfolds outside of the family unit in Season Two, with the characters running back to home base when they need to recharge. Don’t worry; this new season is still all about sex, but Casual also explores the complexities of another relationship that isn’t often discussed — the adult friend.
As Laura is changing schools and Val is slowly adjusting to unmarried life, there’s a point where both daughter and mother are looking for new friends. If you haven’t had to make a friend as an a adult lately, let me tell you it’s hard. You feel pathetic, vulnerable, and clingy because dear god this person would be so much fun to have in your life. Casual smartly captures the desperation of this relationship by equating it to dating.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There is drama throughout this season, especially around Episode Seven when things drastically change for Valerie. However, Season Two casually picks up right where Season One left off, and it’s just as intensely and surprisingly magnetic as ever.
Photos: Hulu
