As of this publishing date, the Writers’ Guild (WGA) and the actors’ guilds (SAG-AFTRA) are striking because studios and producers, including AppleTV, are not compensated fairly. I bring this up not only because I think it’s important to point out while we review tv shows and films through the strike but also because it puts a pause on future seasons of shows like PLATONIC. I fully support the unions, and I know it means some shows I enjoy may not come back for a couple of years, and others will not at all. I am absolutely okay with PLATONIC falling into the latter category. It was a fun, good/not great 10-episode run, and E10 wrapped it all up pretty nicely, should we never see the continued adventures of Will, Sylvia, and friends.
PLATONIC always had the potential to win me over like its AppleTV predecessor, SHRINKING did, but it never entirely succeeded. It skims the surface on some important subjects like re-entering the workforce in your 40s, life after divorce, starting a business, and, namely: Carrying on a lifelong platonic friendship between a straight man and a straight woman. In real life, this seems to be something very common (at least in my circles), but in movies & TV, these setups far too often lead to romance when it’s not always needed.
Unfortunately, PLATONIC never went any deeper than surface level while giving far too much screen time to both Will and Charlie’s unlikeable colleagues. The show could have kept many comedic bits but still gone deeper into Will and Sylvia’s attempts to find their place as they went through major life changes. E10 almost feels like PLATONIC knows it may not return. Characters moved on, and suddenly all of the messes created so far were cleaned up and put to rest. If the show returns for future seasons, I hope it finds a stronger focus point and gives us more than shallow quips about middle-aged life being hard.
PLATONIC S1 is streaming on AppleTV+ in its entirety.
