Sharon Horgan
A new show has hit the airwaves from creator Sharon Horgan, the mind behind Divorce and other amazing shows. Starring as the lead character, Alex , Youth follows Alex’s foray back into the dating world whilst continuing to advance through middle age. Dating itself certainly is never easy, especially as a woman, and even more so while being worried about your age. The first two episodes have aired, and we have a lot to discuss! But only after the trailer.
Ep. 01: Lockjaw
We open with quite the voice-over about aging and then getting inundated with the constant social media barrage of what’s wrong with us as women. You know, bodies changing, plastic surgery, and just the overwhelming notion that no matter what you do as a woman, you’re probably doing it wrong; and then sometimes we drop our phones on our faces. It happens. Ending up late to a meeting at work, Alex is in discussions over a new book for editing and publishing with Damien Lewis when her jaw locks up. Ouch. Really not her day, and I feel like we’ve all been there. “No more blow jobs for you.” I feel like a lot of women would appreciate having a doctor’s note in this regard. Sorry, honey, literally can’t go down on you; the doctor said so!
Aran Murphy
Meanwhile, her son Ruari (Aran Murphy) is graduating high school and getting ready for uni. He stages a protest stunt at the event and then acts out at supper after. Truly curious what’s going on with him. Is this an attempt to be alternative or just to get attention? Or is perhaps the opposite, and his desire to drive everyone away from him? I’m not entirely sure, but it feels very borderline personality disorder. His father, Lorcan (Owen McDonnell), is divorced from Alex and doesn’t have much to add in assistance since he’s bounding off to Canada to be in a new sci-fi television series. His whole vibe screams as someone who never really had success acting, so he’s expecting this ONE gig to suddenly be his break. Something tells me it isn’t going to work out like that. Just a hunch.
Sharlene Whyte & Sharon Horgan
So, Alex is desperate to get back into dating, though, and looking for any and all opportunities. She even gets flirty with an ex, Patrick (Rupert Friend), while at a bar launch for her boss/best friend Sam’s (Sharlene Whyte) husband. He’s clearly vibing her, despite being at the event with someone much younger. But it’s the dynamic of having your best friend as your boss that worries me most. It’s just a dangerous line to walk, having your best friend be responsible for your livelihood. And as someone who has worked with a friend before, it can get messy quickly. But like I said, she’ll take what she can get, so she agrees for Sam to fix her up with someone.
That someone ends up being much older than Alex expected, and it’s clear that not only is she uncomfortable, but she’s also just struggling to figure out how to make pleasant conversation. The answer is to get drunk, and I mean, no judgment; it’s just not the best way to make decisions, in my humble opinion. The two end up back at his place to hook up, but she’s drunk and upset and can’t really reciprocate on the fellatio, so she ends up returning home, sadly dropping a burger on the bus on the way. Talk about adding insult to injury. She’s drunk enough to text Patrick, though… “You spelled horny wrong.” But don’t you dare call it a booty call! The mood is much better than with the first guy, but it all comes crashing down when Ruari returns in the wee hours of the morning. You just went off to uni, brother. What the hell happened that fast? We may not have answers yet, but at the end of the day sometimes you just need to be in bed with your mom for everything to feel better.
Ep. 02: Wagon Burner
Sam and Alex are at another book meeting, though this one is much raunchier than they really want. The daughter of the elderly writer expects to be taking over soon, but she’s not thrilled with how much of a cut this publishing house gets. She wants them to work for it. Given the tidbit we get later, Alex is right to say a lot of their work truly comes down to editing the book for print. Because raunchy squaws are just not going to fly in this day and age. But the boss is shutting her down about other projects. She apologizes later, but this is what I mean: it’s dangerous to work for your best friend. Emotions are going to get complicated.
Owen McDonnell
Meanwhile, Ruari is adamant he wants to drop out. Um, what the hell happened? You’d literally been gone less than a week, and you’re running away already? Have classes even started yet? Something must have happened, and I’m dying to know. Being a stand-up comedian is going to take years of work, dude. We all love Mitch Hedberg, but that’s not a field you can go into and just assume you’ll find success. And also it’s clear that Dad doesn’t want you to move to Canada with him, though he’s too chicken shit to say so himself and expects Alex to deal.
Rupert Friend & Sharon Horgan
Alex is getting into fitness for herself and trying to just be better about self-care, whether it’s yoga or a stationary bike or some kind of complicated workout unit. Good for her! Investing in yourself and your happiness is always the best call. I can certainly attest to that from my own experience. Pat wants more, but can she emotionally handle it? Her mom ends up in the hospital from complications with diabetes and ends up having toes removed. They get Ruari back to university, but all his stuff’s been bagged up; he’s getting cryptic texts about being a sex offender, and when Alex questions the girls on his floor, they call him a pervert. What the hell happened? It’s not a surprise Alex ends up crying on her date with Patrick. Things are just all too much, and I cannot wait to see what’s going to happen next…
This HBO Original comedy series premiered with the first two episodes on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 at 10:00 pm ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max. New episodes of the 8-episode season will debut weekly on Sundays at the same time, concluding with the season finale on Sunday, November 1.
