''Easy'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

written, directed, edited and produced by

Joe Swanberg Joseph Swanberg (born August 31, 1981) is an American independent film director, producer, writer, and actor. Known for micro-budget films which make extensive use of improvisation, Swanberg is considered a major figure in the mumblecore film mo ...

. It consists of 25 half-hour episodes. The series is set in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The first season was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on September 22, 2016. In April 2017, Swanberg revealed the series had been renewed for a second season, which was released on December 1, 2017. In August 2018, the series was renewed for a third and final season that premiered on May 10, 2019.

Background

''Easy'' follows several individuals living in Chicago who are trying to navigate issues such as love, relationships, and general knowledge. A review described the series as a microscopic portrayal of the different varieties of modern love. It has an episodic anthology format, with standalone episodes that do not require previous ones to watch. The series does include recurring narratives such as the story of the married couple Kyle (Michael Chernus) and Andi (Elizabeth Reaser), which was first introduced in Season 1. The story was revisited in Season 2 and Season 3, with their respective episodes focusing on the development and effects of their decision to enter into an

open relationship An open relationship is an intimate relationship that is sexually non-monogamous. The term is distinct from polyamory, in that it generally indicates a relationship where there is a primary emotional and intimate relationship between two partner ...

. While some characters were created completely from scratch by the producers, others, such as Odinaka Malachi Ezeokoli,

Karley Sciortino Karley Sciortino is an American writer, television host, and producer. She is the founder of ''Slutever'', a website that focuses on sex and sexuality, and executive producer and host of the ''Viceland'' documentary series Slutever (TV series), o ...

, and Jane Adams's characters in Season 2, are based on the real-life personas, personalities, and/or jobs of the individuals cast in the roles.

Cast

* Jane Adams as Annabelle Jones (season 1–3) *

Zazie Beetz Zazie Olivia Beetz ( ; ; born June 1, 1991) is a American actress. She stars in the FX comedy-drama series ''Atlanta'' (2016–22), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy ...

as Noelle (season 1–3) *

Michael Chernus Michael Louis Chernus (born August 8, 1977) is an American actor. He has acted on film, television, and the stage. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cal Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013 ...

as Kyle (season 1–3) *

Kiersey Clemons Kiersey Nicole Clemons (born December 17, 1993) is an American actress. She is known for her role in the 2015 comedy-drama film '' Dope'', playing Cassandra "Diggy" Andrews. Subsequently, she went on to co-star in '' Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising ...

as Chase (season 1–3) *

Aya Cash Aya Rachel Cash is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Gretchen Cutler in the FX/FXX dark comedy series ''You're the Worst'' (2014–2019), as Stormfront in the Amazon Prime Video superhero drama series '' The Boys'' (2020–2 ...

as Sherri (season 1–3) *

Megan Ferguson Megan Ferguson is an American actress. In 2011, Ferguson married fellow actor Nico Evers-Swindell Nico Thomas Evers-Swindell is a New Zealand actor who portrayed Prince William in the 2011 Lifetime original film '' William & Kate''. Previous r ...

as Samantha (season 2–3) *

Dave Franco David John Franco (born June 12, 1985) is an American actor. He began his career with small roles in films such as ''Superbad'' (2007) and '' Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010). Following a starring role in the ninth season of the comedy series '' Scru ...

as Jeff (season 1–3) * Stephen George as Stephen (season 1–2) *

Evan Jonigkeit Evan Jonigkeit (; born February 18, 1983) is an American actor known for his roles in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', ''Bone Tomahawk'', and '' Easy''. He currently stars as Captain Chesterfield in Discovery Canada's '' Frontier''. Early life ...

as Matt (season 1–3) *

Danielle Macdonald Danielle Louise Macdonald (born 19 May 1991) is an Australian actress, known for her lead roles as Patricia "Patti" Dombrowski in the drama film ''Patti Cake$'' (2017), and Willowdean Dickson in ''Dumplin (2018). She is also known for her ro ...

as Grace (season 2–3) *

Marc Maron Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than forty ...

as Jacob Malco (season 1–3) *

Kate Micucci Kate Micucci ( ; born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian and musician who is half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates. Some of her roles include Stephanie Gooch in '' Scrubs'', Ally in '' 'Til Death'', Shelley in ''Raisin ...

as Annie (season 1–3) *

Elizabeth Reaser Elizabeth Ann Reaser (born July 2, 1975) is an American film, television, and stage actress. Her work includes the films ''Stay'', ''The Family Stone'', '' Sweet Land'', '' Against the Current'', '' The Twilight Saga'', ''Young Adult'', and '' Ou ...

as Andi (season 1–3) *

Jacqueline Toboni Jacqueline Rose Driscoll Toboni (born February 18, 1992) is an American actress, known for her role as Theresa Rubel "Trubel" in ''Grimm'' (2014-2017). Early life and education Toboni is the youngest of five children. Her sister Gianna Toboni is ...

as Jo (season 1–3) *

Jaz Sinclair Jasmine Sinclair is an American film and television actress. She is known for playing Angela in ''Paper Towns'', Anna in '' When the Bough Breaks'' and Rosalind "Roz" Walker in the Netflix series ''Chilling Adventures of Sabrina''. She will star ...

as Amber (season 1–3) * Marz Timms as Van Howard (season 1–2) *

Jake Johnson Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger (born May 28, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, film producer and screenwriter best known for his role as Nick Miller in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'' (2011–2018), for which he was nominated for the Critics' C ...

as Andrew (season 1, 3) *

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw (; born 21 April 1983) is a British actress who is known for her performances on stage and screen. In 2017 she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama ...

as Sophie (season 1, 3) * Aislinn Derbez as Gabi (season 1–2) * Rebecca Spence as Cheryl (season 1, 3)

Guest

Season 1

* Suzanne Adent as Penny *

Malin Åkerman Malin Maria Åkerman (born 12 May 1978) is a Swedish actress. In the early 2000s, she had several small television and film parts in both Canadian and American productions, including '' The Utopian Society'' (2003) and ''Harold & Kumar Go to Wh ...

as Lucy *

Andrew Bachelor Andrew Byron Bachelor (born June 26, 1988), also known as King Bach is a Canadian-American Internet personality and actor who rose to fame on the now-defunct video sharing service Vine, where he had 16.2 million followers, making him the most fol ...

as Andrew * Orlando Bloom as Tom * Hannibal Buress as Jason * Raúl Castillo as Bernie * Noah Hopkins as Russ *

Mauricio Ochmann Mauricio Ochmann (born November 16, 1977) is an American-born, Mexican actor best known for his roles in telenovelas, such as ''Amarte Asi'', where he starred as Ignacio "Nacho" Reyes. He also appeared in Kevin Costner's film '' Message in a Bott ...

as Martin *

Emily Ratajkowski Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski (, ; born June 7, 1991) is an American model and actress. Born in London to American parents and raised in Encinitas, California, Ratajkowski began acting as a child before she gained a recurring role on the Nickelodeon ...

as Allison Lizowska * Lucas Von Kampen as Allan *

Jake Weber Jake T. Weber (born 12 March 1963) is an English actor, known in film for his role as Michael in '' Dawn of the Dead'' and for his role as Drew in '' Meet Joe Black''. On television, he is best-known for playing Joe DuBois, the sleep-deprived ...

as Wally *

Arthur Agee Arthur "Man" Agee Jr. (; born October 22, 1972) is a former high school basketball player from Chicago. Agee was one of two Chicago-area basketball players whose lives were chronicled in the 1994 documentary ''Hoop Dreams''. Early life Agee is ...

as himself

Season 2

Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began her career performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. She starred as April Ludgate on the NBC sitcom '' Par ...

as Lindsay *

Lawrence Michael Levine Lawrence Michael Levine (born 1976) is an American actor, writer, and filmmaker, best known for writing and directing the films ''Gabi on the Roof in July'', '' Wild Canaries'', and ''Black Bear''. Career In 2005, Levine wrote, produced, and dir ...

as Harrison *

Joe Lo Truglio Joseph Vincent Lo Truglio (; born December 2, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. Best known for his role as Charles Boyle on the Fox/NBC sitcom '' Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', he also was a cast member on the television series ' ...

as Mike *

Michaela Watkins Michaela Suzanne Watkins (born December 14, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for starring on the Hulu series '' Casual'' and on the short-lived sitcoms '' The Unicorn'' and ''Trophy Wife'', as well as being a cast memb ...

as Karen Treska *

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...

as Gretchen *

Danny Masterson Daniel Peter Masterson (born March 13, 1976) Most sources give birth date March 13, 1976. FilmReference.com gives March 3, 1976. is an American actor. He played the roles of Steven Hyde in '' That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), Milo Foster in ''Men ...

as Annie's boyfriend *

Kate Berlant Kate Elizabeth Méndez Berlant (born 1987) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. Her stand-up comedy and improvisational work are often surrealist and absurdist. Early life Kate Elizabeth Méndez Berlant was born in Los Angeles in 1987 ...

as Lauren *

as Sally * Jennifer Kim as Annie *

Lindsay Burdge Lindsay Michelle Burdge (born July 27, 1984) is an American actress and producer known for her roles in independent films such as ''A Teacher'' (2013), '' Wild Canaries'' (2014), '' The Midnight Swim'' (2014), '' The Invitation'' (2015), and ''6 Y ...

as Amy * Odinaka Ezeokoli as himself *

Alex Ross Perry Alex Ross Perry (born July 14, 1984) is an American filmmaker and actor. Early life Perry was born to a Jewish family in 1984 and raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where he worked on a local television news program during high school.Renninger, ...

as Mr. Pope *

Parker Sawyers Parker Sawyers (born May 24, 1984) is an American actor. Career His first leading film role was starring as a young Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th presid ...

as Jason *

Kate Lyn Sheil Kate Lyn Sheil (born June 13, 1985) is an American actress. She is primarily known for her roles in independent films '' You're Next'', ''V/H/S'', '' The Color Wheel'', '' The Sacrament'', and the award-winning Netflix series '' House of Cards ...

as Annie's roommate *

Timothy Simons Timothy Charles Simons (born June 12, 1978) is an American actor and comedian best known for his role as Jonah Ryan on the HBO television series ''Veep'', for which he has received five nominations and one win for the Screen Actors Guild Award ...

as Chris Whitman * Craig Butta as Frank Bruno

Season 3

* Lydia House as Lydia *

Sophia Bush Sophia Anna Bush Hughes (born July 8, 1982) is an American actress. She starred as Brooke Davis in The WB/ CW drama series ''One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012), and as Erin Lindsay in the NBC police procedural drama series ''Chicago P.D.'' (2014� ...

as Alexandria * John Gallagher Jr. as Lucas *

Melanie Lynskey Melanie Jayne Lynskey ( ; born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress widely known for her portrayals of complex women in several independent films and television shows and also known for her command of American dialects. Lynskey is the recipi ...

as Beth * Kali Skrap as Skrap *

Kris Swanberg Kris Swanberg (born Kristin Williams, November 11, 1980) is an American businesswoman, filmmaker, actress and former high school teacher living in Chicago, Illinois. She has been credited at various times as Kris Williams, Kris Swanberg and Kris ...

as Kris * Nicky Excitement as Hugh * Cliff Chamberlain as Ryan

Production

In March 2016, it was announced

had ordered a season of eight episodes, with

writing and directing the series, with

, Jane Adams, Hannibal Buress,

, Orlando Bloom, and

starring.

Episodes

Some characters appear in one or more episodes as the protagonist, and in other episodes as background characters.

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2017)

Season 3 (2019)

Reception

The first season of ''Easy'' received positive reviews from film critics. It holds an 85% approval rating on review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 7.53/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the season holds a rating of 72 out of 100, based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The show's second season received similar reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an 86% approval rating based on 14 critical reviews, with an average rating of 9/10.

References

External links

* * {{Netflix original ended series (2012–2018) 2010s American LGBT-related comedy television series 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American sex comedy television series 2016 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings 2010s American anthology television series Lesbian-related television shows English-language Netflix original programming Spanish-language television programming in the United States Television shows filmed in Illinois Television shows set in Chicago Spanish-language Netflix original programming