User reviews

I really liked some of the jokes about modern romance, which hit home far better than most shows can manage. The writers on this show are clearly skilled in their craft. But I can't give this show the great reviews everybody else is throwing around.

Casual provides drama where it doesn't need to be, and it does so every time, overtime.

A little predictable at times, most of the characters are far too selfish to really enjoy watching past the first few episodes. They never really engage in dialogue with other people, nor are any of them capable of actual introspection. What we're left with are a bunch of sex crazed morons, smashing apart every chance they have with happiness or personal growth. They just blithely do their own thing regardless of the consequences. That's likely the whole point, but after a while this isn't entertaining, anymore than I suppose watching a candy lover self-destruct themselves into getting a root canal.

Valerie (Michaela Watkins) is a tired therapist divorcing her husband Drew who is going with a younger woman. She and her teenage daughter Laura Meyers (Tara Lynne Barr) are living at her single brother Alex Cole (Tommy Dewey). Alex created a dating app but his own program cannot find him a real match. Valerie decides to have an one night stand with Leon (Nyasha Hatendi). Instead, Alex befriends Leon as his own permanent friend. Leia (Julie Berman) is Valerie's secretary.

I love the humor of Michaela Watkins. The brother is a bit of a hit and miss. His self-destructive jerkiness can be annoying but his lack of a dating profile match is utterly heart-breaking. It's a great poetic surprise reveal. The daughter is doing the rebel teen thing with her deadpan delivery. It's both adorable and frustrating. The whole self-destructive dysfunctional family can be both adorable and frustrating. Maybe my best take is that this is casually humorous.

I will never understand what posessed me to stick with a show that starts out with three selfish, neurotically cynical and sexually dysfunctional leads, but I did and it really paid off. Casual is a beautifully written series, aside from great dialog and storytelling, the character arcs, both within each season and overall are masterful. The show's direction is nicely cohesive, with each episode's director clearly chosen for that particular episode according to style, emphasis & content. The cast has teriffic chemistry, particularly between the three principals.

I watched all four seasons of Casual over the course of a few weeks, finishing about a month ago. I've been surprised to find the characters (even the ones I still don't like) and their stories have stuck with me like a beloved novel. I can't say that about many shows or even films. Bravo!

Just finished the final episode on Amazon. Found myself genuinely moved, have grown to really like the characters and be interested in how things turned out. I guess the point about such polarising reviews is that you either like something or you don't. And that's ok. Just strongly suggest you give it a try and see which camp you fall into.

The first season of this show was pretty funny and I devoured it. Eventually it kinda fades into the typical dysfunctional family drama but I still enjoyed the characters. Decent show.

Shows centered around dating are generally problematic because it's hard to empathize with the trials and tribulations of good-looking actors who have highly active sex lives.

This show got my attention in the first two episodes by bucking that trend in a manner I can buy. The protagonist, Valerie (arguably SNL's biggest firing mistake in history in Michaela Watkins) is an attractive divorcée in her late 30's with a sincere lack of confidence in herself. Sure, sex and dating are theoretically easy (her career is a successful psychiatrist proves that point) and obtainable for a woman who's willing to go out to a bar and take the first steps in propositioning a guy but if intimacy is a psychological problem, it can be more difficult in practice. Valerie's discomfort is just visceral which makes her lows relatable and will make her eventual highs (if she gets over her hang-ups) well-earned.

Her adult brother, Alex (Tommy Dewey), is equally filled with psychological hang-ups. He's been more successful in dating than his sister but he has a certain psychological distance from the whole thing. A good move on the show's part is to strip Alex of misogynist vibes: As a guy who wrote the algorithms of the dating site he's using, Alex simply feels that both men and women are overly predictable and that he's gamed the system. The pilot contains a double date (done in secret as Alex and Valerie are carpooling) which contains some relatable and truthful moments while also adding a whiff of comedy (lots of mileage to be mined out of Jill Latiano's fitness freak).

The relationship between Alex and Valerie is one of the stronger sibling portrayals on television at the moment.

Like many Jason Reitman films, this is a film with a blurred line between comedy and drama which isn't so bad considering the show portrays truth to it. One of the few shows centering on romance that's worth watching.

In the pilot episode, he condescendingly a woman for whom dating and sex isn't easy

The main reason why you should watch this, if it suits you, is the style of humour about this Hulu sponsored mayhem that is godsend.

Disclaimer - This is not a spoiler, but an overview of the plot and a review of it.

Self deprecation, insecurities, imperfection - the themes that concern reality as is, portrayed subtly - mocking their own problems, mocking each other, psychoanalyzing each other - and finding comfort in each others' "issues" -- this TV series is a departure from the usual "safe-categories" of themes that producers often invest in.

Bankable for producers? Maybe not. But maybe yes, as well.

The character played by Tommy Dewey - "Alex" and his relationship with his Shrink of a sister, and the interaction of their idiosyncrasies is what got me loving this stuff.

Single mom raising a teen daughter -- Probing the fine line between an intrinsic need for independence and bohemian recklessness("California- here we came?") - almost as if no one "needs to be told" how to live their life -- this TV series with its subtle and "casual"ness about every aspect of a "kind" of life( what a kind), drives home the point and also attempts to predict with an alarming certainty, the future of interpersonal relationships between siblings and between parents and their children.

10/ 10 -- Can't wait for the new episodes. -- Only request the producers and writers to keep up humor intact, tight 'n fresh.

Casual stars Michaela Watkins and Tommy Dewey as Valerie and Alex, two adult siblings and Tara Lynne Barr as Valarie's daughter. All three actors are excellent in their respective roles and the writing is top notch. What I think is throwing some off, myself included, is the fact that the characters are not that nice. They are selfish, sometimes arrogant, and superficial, but along the way, we learn to forgive them because they are so damaged. Explanation of plot and characters would be irrelevant as it is a multi story-line arc, so just watch the show.

I loved the first season which I would have rated an 8. The rating had to come down though for the remaining seasons - the decline was slow but real. I loved each of the three main characters to begin with, but Alex just started to drive me crazy and become really unlikeable in the subsequent seasons, esp 3 and 4. I was not rooting for him at all. Talk about an attention seeking narcissist! Similarly the daughter became as dull as dishwater as the series progressed. What made me see it all through until the end was the wonderful Michaela Watkins. I find her performances are always nuanced and her timing is fantastic (I know a lot of comic timing may be down to directors/editors etc, but I'm giving her credit). In conclusion, while I was watching the series finale, I was really itching for the episode to end so that I could leave the series behind me, a series which was only a shadow of its original self.

I stumbled upon this show in a desperate attempt to find something entertaining and exciting to watch but also saw a familiar face, actor Tommy Dewey, who I also recognized as Mindy Lahiri's ex-boyfriend from The Mindy Project, also part of the main cast. I will admit that the pilot initially threw me off, leaving me a bit confused as to what the show was all about. I then followed this with seeing what IMDb had to say and stumbled on a negative review which made me write-off this show... until now. Having watched all five current episodes, it wasn't until I finished the second episode that I immediately disposed of my original thoughts and found out that this show was everything I was hoping it would be...Just needs some time to get used to in my case.

I don't know what its like to be a divorced single mother, or a misogynistic brother, or even a 16 year old high school girl. But what I can relate to is the journey through online dating and all the happenings revolved around it that I find myself smile and laugh when scenes cause flashbacks into my own dating past... of memories I've tucked away into the back of my brain hoping they never resurface. But hey, that's what makes this show special.

The comedy is tasteful and sincere, the actors and story-line are believable, and together the three main characters have a great dynamic together. Simply, an unexpected surprise.

Thought I had reviewed this before? Well if not now I'm like 3 seasons in and these people are the the most unlikable soul suckers I've ever seen. They're toxic! I feel the brother is an idiot and the sister thinks he needs her, isn't functional but he completely is ( he birthed a multi million dollar company for crying out loud! They're all obnoxious takers that need therapy( tho funny the lead's a therapist). Tho it is watchable ( tho a train wreck) Why Leon keeps coming at their beckon call tho is a joke. I'm not sure i'll continue if I find something worth while.. Oh. And I think there's genetic sexual attraction going on here as well...

This had a very weeds feel to it! Very warm and inviting comedy drama. It gets a little /shameless like but definitely a wonderful 4 seasons. A must watch.

People who live cookie cutter lives will most likely automatically dislike this show. Life gets messy and Casual is a perfect representation of how life can become complicated and hard to understand. People who are giving this show bad reviews almost all have one thing in common to say: life isn't actually like this, these characters are crazy. I highly appreciate the abnormal chaos depicted in Casual and hope for many more seasons to come. It's fresh, unique, and highly relatable. The humor is dark and the characters Valerie (Michaela Watkins) and Laura Meyers (Tara Lynne Barr) perfectly portray the reality of how strained mother-daughter relationships can be. Laura is a blunt and cynical teenager and Valerie is a somewhat self-absorbed yet loving mother. Alex Cole (Tommy Dewey), brother to Valerie, offers his home to Valerie and Laura after Valerie divorces her husband because of his infidelity. The three of them living together creates an interesting and captivating dynamic. If you like dark humor and quirky characters mixed with an anarchic plot line, I'd suggest giving this show a go.

This was one of my favorite shows until season 4. Don't throw in politics. Ruined it completely for me.

I had this show on my to-watch list for a long time however i avoided it because i thought it would be typical and boy was a wrong. Great show with great characters that all have their own story and that is different from the others. So sad to have finally finished it because it truly was a great ride

There are good moments in Casual, especially series 1. After this I found it patchy at best. The characters are often unlikeable. Valerie's neurosis is particularly painful to watch. And she's a therapist. The irony!

Also, I'm for female empowerment but the idea that Valerie just gets to have every guy that crosses her path with zero accountability gets old (and cringey) very fast. The concept of modern dating and / or modern women are not treated that kindly here. It's all a bit shallow at times. But hey, maybe that was the idea. The male characters are more or less portrayed as bunch of bozos with little going for them. In season 3 when Alex takes the IT job and is constantly berated & belittled by the millennial kick-ass women... seeing the pattern here? Sadly, a lot of good shows are being ruined by this trope.

I think I'm done with this show...

Most guys just wanna be Leon.. hanging out, waiting on the sidelines until beautiful women are brought to their doorstep time and again. It's overall a pretty good show.. casting, acting (luv Eliza Coupe), script writing, production values all very good. And it feels nothing like your average half-hour Hollywood sitcom. This one gets most all right.. that's not to say it will be around a long time, because guarantees are the exception when it comes to American audiences. Some stuff runs for years that by all rights isn't worth much.. while at the same time shows like this one struggle to gain popularity. Best just to enjoy it while we can and hope it stays around for an extended run beyond the announced 13 episode second season.

Want to see the worse in humanity? This show "casually" dishes it out as it was normal ... Their foils aren't even interesting -- just pathetic. However, the dramatic enactment is engagement, but only up to a point. Specifically, up to episode 10 of season 1. There's only so much you can watch people behave like ignorant self-absorbed sub-humans, then it doesn't matter how good the acting or drama is. Somehow, every single character is disrespectable, even the teacher (who makes adult decisions, but really mistreats people unnecessarily in doing so).

Rare to see a show start off slow and get significantly better in seasons 3 and 4. The funny one liners kept me watching initially since the story landed as superficial and cliche. But the actors, funny one liners, and unique scenes kept improving over time. They found some kind of perfect formula in seasons 3 and 4.

The first 3 season are okayish but the 4 one is bad enough that i will strongly recommend not to watch the show entirely.