''Forever'' is an American
comedy-drama streaming television
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...
series created by
Alan Yang
Alan Michael Yang (born August 22, 1983) is an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. He was a writer and producer for the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received his first Emmy nomination. With Aziz Ansari, Yang ...
and
Matt Hubbard that premiered on September 14, 2018 on
Amazon Prime Video. It stars
Fred Armisen
Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series '' Portlandia''. ...
and
Maya Rudolph, both of whom also executive produce alongside Yang, Hubbard, Dave Becky, and
Tim Sarkes. On July 27, 2019, the series was cancelled after one season.
Premise
''Forever'' follows married couple Oscar and June who live a comfortable but predictable life in suburban
Riverside, California. For 12 years they’ve had the same conversations, eaten the same meals and taken pleasant vacations at the same lake house. After June talks Oscar into shaking things up with a ski trip, the pair find themselves in unfamiliar territory.
Cast and characters
Main
*
Fred Armisen
Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series '' Portlandia''. ...
as Oscar Hoffman, a dentist and June's husband who dies after skiing into a tree. Content with living with an average and uneventful existence, he does not realize how restless his wife has become in their humdrum life.
*
Maya Rudolph as June Hoffman, an employee of a timeshare company and Oscar's wife, who chokes to death on a macadamia nut about one year after Oscar's death. While in the afterlife, June realizes how unhappy she had been in her marriage and decides to seek something else.
Recurring
*
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
as Kase, a former government employee who moves to Riverside after being hit by a truck. Severely dissatisfied with her previous life, she sees the afterlife as a potential new start.
*
Noah Robbins
Noah Robbins is an American actor.
Background
Robbins is a native of Washington, D.C. and graduated from Georgetown Day School in 2009. Robbins made his Broadway debut in the 2009 production of ''Brighton Beach Memoirs
''Brighton Beach Me ...
as Mark Erickson, a teenage boy who died in a car accident in the 1970s and lives in Riverside. He befriends Oscar and helps him navigate the afterlife.
* Sharon Omi as Mrs. Nakajima, an elderly woman who lives in Riverside and attempts to comfort Oscar after June leaves him.
*
Kym Whitley
Kym Elizabeth Whitley is an American comedian and actress. She is best known for her roles on television sitcoms, such as '' My Brother and Me'', '' Sparks'', ''Animal Practice'', '' The Boondocks'', ''Young & Hungry'', ''The Parkers'', ...
as Sharon, a friend of June's who attempts to help her move on after Oscar's death.
* Charles Emmett as Jim, a man who lives in Riverside who is constantly seen mowing his lawn.
* Cooper Friedman as Josiah, a young boy who lives in Riverside and who apparently has been dead the longest and knows the most about the afterlife.
*
Peter Weller as The Traveler, a mysterious man who leads others to Oceanside and prevents others from leaving.
*
Julia Ormond
Julia Karin Ormond (born 4 January 1965) is an English actress. She rose to prominence by appearing in ''The Baby of Mâcon'' (1993), '' Legends of the Fall'' (1994), '' First Knight'' (1995), '' Sabrina'' (1995), '' Smilla's Sense of Snow'' (1 ...
as Marisol, a woman who lives in Oceanside.
*
Obba Babatundé
Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time ...
as Gregory, a man who lives in Oceanside.
Guest
*
Amir M. Korangy as Dr. Mohammed ("Together Forever"), a fellow dentist who works with Oscar.
*
Patricia Belcher
Patricia Belcher (born 1954) is an American film, stage and television actress, known for her roles as Ms. Dabney in the Disney Channel sitcom ''Good Luck Charlie'', and as United States Attorney Caroline Julian in the FOX crime procedural c ...
as Ellen ("June"), an employee at the timeshare company who offers June the position she wants in Hawaii.
*
Rheagan Wallace
Courtney Rheagan Wallace (born June 9, 1987) is an American actress who had a brief recurring role as Georgia Huffington on the television series '' 7th Heaven''. Her other television credits include ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', ''Devious Maids'' ...
as Isabella ("June"), a clothing store employee who assists June in buying a new wardrobe for her move to Hawaii.
*
Elizabeth Ho as Melanie Park ("The Lake House"), a woman who buys the lake house Oscar and June go to every year.
*
Nancy Lenehan
Nancy Lenehan (born April 26, 1953) is an American actress who has appeared in film and television since the 1980s. She is best known for Audrey in ''Grace Under Fire'' (1993-1998), Kay Hickey in ''My Name Is Earl'' (2005-2008), and Angela in ' ...
as Heather Jacoby ("Another Place"), a woman whom Mark knew in high school who died many years later. He endeavors to start a relationship with her until she reveals that she is waiting for the arrival of her husband of forty years.
*
Hong Chau
Hong Chau (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress who gained recognition for her supporting role in the 2017 film '' Downsizing'', in which she played the character Ngoc Lan Tran. For her performance, she was nominated for several supporting ...
as Sarah ("Andre and Sarah"), a real estate agent, attempting to sell a house near Riverside, engaged in an ongoing affair.
*
Jason Mitchell as Andre ("Andre and Sarah"), a real estate agent, attempting to sell a house near Riverside, engaged in an ongoing affair.
*
Jesse D. Goins as 60 Year Old Andre ("Andre and Sarah"), an older Andre who goes back to the house that he and Sarah attempted to sell over the years to see her again. He is distraught when informed that she has recently died.
Episodes
Production
Development
On September 8, 2017, it was announced that Amazon had given the production a straight-to-series order consisting of one season. The series was created by
Alan Yang
Alan Michael Yang (born August 22, 1983) is an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. He was a writer and producer for the NBC sitcom ''Parks and Recreation'', for which he received his first Emmy nomination. With Aziz Ansari, Yang ...
and
Matt Hubbard who are set to executive produce the series alongside
Fred Armisen
Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series '' Portlandia''. ...
,
Maya Rudolph, Dave Becky, and
Tim Sarkes. Production companies expected to be involved with the series included
Universal Television
Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...
. On December 21, 2017, it was reported that the series was expected to debut in 2018. On August 2, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on September 14, 2018.
Casting
Alongside the initial series announcement, it was reported that Armisen and Rudolph were cast in the series' lead roles. On December 1, 2017, it was announced that
Catherine Keener
Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...
had joined the series in a recurring role.
Release
On August 2, 2018, the first trailer and poster for the series were released.
Reception
Critical response
The series has been met with a positive response from critics upon its premiere. On the
review aggregation
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
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 ...
, the first season holds a 94% approval rating, with an average rating of 7.65 out of 10 based on 36 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Forever'' is a gently harrowing and mirthful dive into the ennui of matrimony, elevated by Maya Rudolph's dazzling turn of not-so-quiet desperation."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that 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 average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 77 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
Awards and nominations
References
External links
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{{Amazon Video original series
2010s American comedy-drama television series
2018 American television series debuts
2018 American television series endings
English-language television shows
Amazon Prime Video original programming
Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment
Television series by Universal Television
Television series by Amazon Studios
Television shows about death
Fiction about the afterlife
Television shows set in California