The New Disney+ Comedy Series To Dive Into This Week
There’s been a plethora of great dramas available on Disney+ in 2022, like Candy, The Dropout and The Bear, and another show that’s just started on the service looks to join its ranks. Fleishman Is In Trouble started on 17th November, with its first two episodes releasing, and stars Jesse Eisenberg, Lizzy Caplan and Claire Danes in the central roles. It deals with a messy divorce and the world of dating apps, so read on if you’re intrigued and haven’t started the show yet.
The miniseries is based on the 2019 novel of the same name, written by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who also created this new adaptation. Eisenberg plays Toby Fleishman, a recently divorced man in his 40s who’s trying to adjust to the world of app-based dating and finds himself having more success than he did when he was in his youth. He also reconnects with two old friends, Libby (Lizzy Caplan) and Seth (Adam Brody). After his ex-wife Rachel (Danes), who leads a successful life as an NYC talent agent, drops off their children at his house, he suddenly finds that she has disappeared without a trace. Rather than immediately assuming that something’s up, Toby instead assumes Rachel has instead deliberately ghosted him to make his life difficult.
Now having to look after the kids full time, he struggles to balance parenting, his work at a hospital in Manhattan and his relationships with women. Libby, meanwhile, begins to feel envious of Toby’s newfound freedom and self-discovery since she’s still in a happy marriage. The original novel and the adaptation deal with themes of gender roles, marriage and mid-life crisis, and both have received good reviews, particularly for the honesty of the writing and story as well as the flawed characters. The series also stars Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother), Michael Gaston (Prison Break) and Christian Slater (Mr Robot) in recurring roles.
Most of the eight episodes of the show are written by Brodesser-Akner, and several episodes are directed by directors who are a real-life married couple: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who got an Oscar nomination for their film American Splendour, and Valerie Faris and Johnathan Dayton, the married team behind the also Oscar-nominated Little Miss Sunshine. The show makes sure to show the perspectives and narratives of both Toby and Rachel in order for you to get both sides of the story, creating an interesting dynamic when it comes to rooting for one or the other. The first two episodes of the show are available now, and the rest will arrive weekly on Thursdays until 29th December.
Fleishman Is In Trouble is streaming on Disney+ now
