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 ...
television series created and produced by Darren Star. It is based on the 2005 novel of the same title by Pamela Redmond Satran. The single-camera series premiered on TV Land on March 31, 2015, and has since received generally positive reviews from critics. Ahead of the fifth season's premiere, it was renewed for a sixth season, which premiered on June 12, 2019. In July 2019, TV Land renewed the series for a seventh and final season, making it the longest running original series in the network's history.
Sutton Foster
Sutton Lenore Foster (born March 18, 1975) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice, in 2002 for her role as Millie Dill ...
stars as Liza Miller, a 40-year-old divorcee who has to manage her career in a publishing company having faked her identity as a younger woman to get her job, while her romantic and professional lives are measured against up-and-comings.
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her acti ...
,
Debi Mazar
Deborah Anne Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality, known for playing sharp-tongued women. She began her career with supporting roles in ''Goodfellas'' (1990), '' Little Man Tate'' (1991) and '' ...
,
Miriam Shor
Miriam Shor (born July 25, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her performance in the rock musical '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' and in the 2001 film adaptation of the same name. She later starred in a number of short-lived televisio ...
, and
Nico Tortorella
Nico Tortorella (born July 30, 1988) is an American actor and model, known for roles in filmsincluding ''Scream 4'', the Fox crime drama series ''The Following'' (2013–2015), and the TV Land comedy-drama series '' Younger'' (2015–2021). Fro ...
co-star in major supporting roles in the first season, with
Molly Bernard
Molly Kate Bernard (born April 10, 1988) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lauren Heller on the television series '' Younger''.
Life and career
Molly Bernard began her career in 2000 in the drama ''Pay It Forward'' bes ...
and Peter Hermann in recurring roles. For the second season, Bernard and Hermann were promoted to series regulars.
Charles Michael Davis
Charles Michael Davis (born December 1, 1984) is an American actor, model, producer, and director. He is best known for his roles as Marcel Gerard on The CW television drama '' The Originals'' (2013–2018) and Zane Anders on the TV Land original ...
had a recurring role in the fourth season and was promoted to the main cast for the fifth season. However, for the seventh and final season, Shor and Davis were downgraded to recurring guest stars, as they each appeared in only one episode of the season.
The series moved from TV Land to Paramount+ and Hulu for its seventh and final season, which premiered on April 15, 2021, and concluded on June 10, 2021. The seventh season was later aired on TV Land.
Synopsis
Set in New York City, the story follows the personal and professional life of Liza Miller, who is now single and all alone in her 40s following a contentious divorce from her gambling-addicted husband, and learning that her only daughter decided to live in India full time. After a run in with a 26 year old tattoo artist, Josh, who believes he and Liza are the same age, she devises a plan to pass herself off as a 20-something in order to re-enter the world of publishing, which has gotten rather
ageist
Ageism, also spelled agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. Butler defi ...
over the years, and becomes assistant to the head of Empirical Press Marketing Chief Diana Trout while befriending Kelsey Peters, her coworker. She finds it hard to live the best of both worlds as she has to balance her old middle age life with her renewed 20s.
Cast and characters
Main
*
Sutton Foster
Sutton Lenore Foster (born March 18, 1975) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice, in 2002 for her role as Millie Dill ...
as Liza Miller, a 40-year-old divorced mother
*
Debi Mazar
Deborah Anne Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality, known for playing sharp-tongued women. She began her career with supporting roles in ''Goodfellas'' (1990), '' Little Man Tate'' (1991) and '' ...
as Maggie Amato, Liza's lesbian artist best friend and roommate
*
Miriam Shor
Miriam Shor (born July 25, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her performance in the rock musical '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' and in the 2001 film adaptation of the same name. She later starred in a number of short-lived televisio ...
as Diana Trout, Liza's temperamental boss, who works as head of marketing at Empirical Press (seasons 1–6; guest season 7)
*
Nico Tortorella
Nico Tortorella (born July 30, 1988) is an American actor and model, known for roles in filmsincluding ''Scream 4'', the Fox crime drama series ''The Following'' (2013–2015), and the TV Land comedy-drama series '' Younger'' (2015–2021). Fro ...
as Josh, a 26-year-old tattoo artist who owns his studio
*
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her acti ...
as Kelsey Peters, a 26-year-old
book editor
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
at Empirical Press who befriends Liza after they start working together
*
Molly Bernard
Molly Kate Bernard (born April 10, 1988) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lauren Heller on the television series '' Younger''.
Life and career
Molly Bernard began her career in 2000 in the drama ''Pay It Forward'' bes ...
as Lauren Heller, Kelsey's 20-something friend (seasons 2–7; recurring season 1)
* Peter Hermann as Charles Brooks, head and heir of Empirical Press (season 2–7; recurring season 1)
*
Charles Michael Davis
Charles Michael Davis (born December 1, 1984) is an American actor, model, producer, and director. He is best known for his roles as Marcel Gerard on The CW television drama '' The Originals'' (2013–2018) and Zane Anders on the TV Land original ...
as Zane Anders, an editor at Rivington who competes with Kelsey to discover who's best (seasons 5–6; recurring season 4; guest season 7)
Recurring
*
Dan Amboyer
Dan Amboyer (born December 28, 1985) is an American actor, known for his starring roles on the Darren Star series '' Younger'' and the NBC spin-off series '' The Blacklist: Redemption'', and for starring as Prince William of Wales in the televisio ...
as Thad and Chad Weber, twin brothers with strange behavior. Thad was Kelsey's boyfriend, until his death. Afterwards, Chad appeared and began to pursue Kelsey.
* Tessa Albertson as Caitlin Miller, Liza's college-age daughter
*
Thorbjørn Harr
Thorbjørn Harr (born 24 May 1974) is a Norwegian actor.
Background
Harr was discovered in a schoolyard by NRK people who were scouting for actors for youth series.
Career
He soon became a familiar face on programs like ''Blikkbåx'' and '' ...
as Anton Björnberg, a Swedish writer who got his book signed at Empirical Press. He and Kelsey were having an affair while Kelsey was working on his book.
* Paul Fitzgerald as David Taylor, Liza's ex-husband and Caitlin's father
*
Jon Gabrus
Jon Gabrus (born January 31, 1982) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his work on ''Guy Code'', the podcast ''Comedy Bang! Bang!'', and TVLand's '' Younger''. He is a performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and hosts th ...
as Gabe, one of Josh's nerdy friends
*
Kathy Najimy
Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...
as Denise Heller, Lauren's mother
*
Michael Urie
Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC dramedy television series ''Ugly Betty''. He can be heard as Bobby Kerns in ''As the Curtain Rises'', an original podca ...
as Redmond, an agent and social media icon
*
Noah Robbins
Noah Robbins is an American actor.
Background
Robbins is a native of Washington, D.C. and graduated from Georgetown Day School
Georgetown Day School (GDS) is an independent coeducational PK-12 school located in Washington, D.C. The school e ...
as Bryce Reiger, a 20-something tech billionaire who is interested in investing in Empirical
*
Ben Rappaport
Ben Rappaport (born ) is an American actor. He played the role of Todd Dempsy in the NBC sitcom '' Outsourced'', which aired during the 2010–11 television season. The series marked Rappaport's debut acting role on screen.
Life and career
Rapp ...
as Max Horowitz, Lauren's ex-boyfriend
* Jay Wilkison as Colin McNichol, a writer who infatuates Kelsey
*
Mather Zickel
Mather Zickel (born ) is an American actor, mainly known for comedy roles, as well as the character Kieran in ''Rachel Getting Married''. A native of New York City, he has worked in both film and television since the late 1990s. He graduated from t ...
as Dr. Richard Caldwell, a doctor who starts a relationship with Diana
*
Meredith Hagner
Meredith Kathleen Hagner (born May 31, 1987) is an American actress. She began her career portraying Liberty Ciccone on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' (2008–2010), which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Y ...
as Montana Goldberg / Amy, a barista friend of Maggie. She starts working as Maggie's assistant and hooking up with Josh, but he soon discovers that she was copying Maggie's arts.
*
Aasif Mandvi
Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the ...
as Jay Malic, A man who discovers Liza's secret and befriends her
*
Burke Moses
Burke William Moses (born December 10, 1959, New York City) is an American actor. His older brother is actor Mark Moses.
Career
Moses attended Boston University and Carnegie Mellon University.
*
Jennifer Westfeldt
Jennifer Westfeldt (born February 2, 1970) is an American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She is best known for co-writing, co-producing, and starring in the 2002 indie film ''Kissing Jessica Stein'', for which she received an I ...
as Pauline Turner-Brooks, Charles' ex-wife, with whom he has two daughters, and who naively believes that they can get back together
*
Chris Tardio
Chris Tardio is an American actor known for his roles in ''The Sopranos'', ''Ray Donovan
''Ray Donovan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The twelve-episode first season premiered on June 30 ...
as Enzo, Diana's plumber boyfriend
*
Phoebe Dynevor
Phoebe Harriet Dynevor (; born 17 April 1995) is an English actress. Dynevor is known for her role as Daphne, the fourth Bridgerton child, in the Netflix period drama ''Bridgerton'' (2020–present).
She began her career as a child actress, ...
as Clare, an Irish citizen who begins dating Josh after Liza's recommendation. She and Josh then plan a
green card marriage
A sham marriage or fake marriage is a marriage of convenience entered into without intending to create a real marital relationship. This is usually for the purpose of gaining an advantage from the marriage.
Definitions of sham marriage vary by ...
in Ireland.
* Laura Benanti as Quinn Tyler (seasons 5–7), a businesswoman and author who purchases Empirical Press and makes Kelsey the head publisher of Millennial. She later dates Charles.
* Janeane Garofalo as Cass Dekenessey (season 7), the dean of a local art school who hires Maggie as an Artist in Residence
Guest
* Martha Plimpton as Cheryl Sussman, a rival publisher who knew Liza early in her career and threatens to expose her
*
Richard Masur
Richard Masur is an American character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films. From 1995 to 1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). He is best known for Nick Lobo on ''Rhoda'' (1974-1977), Stanley Uris in th ...
as Edward L.L. Moore, the writer of ''Crown of Kings'', one of Empirical Press' biggest-selling novel series, which is a homage to
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
's ''
A Song of Ice and Fire
''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
''. The character himself is a homage to Martin, having similarity to Martin's physical traits.
*
Camryn Manheim
Debra Frances "Camryn" Manheim (born March 8, 1961) is an American actress known for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's ''The Practice'', Delia Banks on CBS's ''Ghost Whisperer'', Gladys Presley in the 2005 miniseries ''Elvis'', and ...
as Dr. Jane Wray, a famous therapist who records a podcast which inspires a book called ''The Deciding Decade''
* Lois Smith as Belinda Lacroix, a romance novelist, one of Empirical Press' oldest members. After decades of successful works, she dies during a lunch with Liza, Charles and Diana.
* Jesse James Keitel as Tam, Lauren's personal assistant
Episodes
Production
Development
The series is based on the Pamela Redmond Satran's novel of the same name. In October 2013, TV Land ordered the pilot from creator and executive producer Darren Star.
Patricia Field
Patricia Field (born February 12, 1942) is an American costume designer, stylist and fashion designer.
Early life
Field was born in 1942 in New York City to an Armenian father and a Greek mother, who emigrated from Plomari, Lesbos, Greece. F ...
, who worked with Star on '' Sex and the City'', is a costume consultant on the production. The pilot was picked up to series in April 2014, with a 12-episode order. On April 21, 2015, ''Younger'' was renewed for a second season of 12 episodes, which premiered on January 13, 2016. Ahead of the fifth season's premiere, it was renewed for a sixth season, which premiered on June 12, 2019. On July 24, 2019, TV Land renewed the series for a seventh season, making it the longest running original series in the network's history. The series moved from TV Land to Paramount+ and Hulu with the seventh and final season which premiered on April 15, 2021 with the first 4 episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis.
Casting
Sutton Foster
Sutton Lenore Foster (born March 18, 1975) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice, in 2002 for her role as Millie Dill ...
was cast in the lead role of Liza Miller in December 2013.
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her acti ...
and
Miriam Shor
Miriam Shor (born July 25, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her performance in the rock musical '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' and in the 2001 film adaptation of the same name. She later starred in a number of short-lived televisio ...
joined the main cast in the following month.
Debi Mazar
Deborah Anne Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality, known for playing sharp-tongued women. She began her career with supporting roles in ''Goodfellas'' (1990), '' Little Man Tate'' (1991) and '' ...
was cast in February 2014. After a recurring role in the first season,
Molly Bernard
Molly Kate Bernard (born April 10, 1988) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lauren Heller on the television series '' Younger''.
Life and career
Molly Bernard began her career in 2000 in the drama ''Pay It Forward'' bes ...
was added to the main cast from the second season onward. In February 2018, it was announced that
Charles Michael Davis
Charles Michael Davis (born December 1, 1984) is an American actor, model, producer, and director. He is best known for his roles as Marcel Gerard on The CW television drama '' The Originals'' (2013–2018) and Zane Anders on the TV Land original ...
had been promoted to
series regular
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, in ...
, after appearing in a recurring capacity in the fourth season. On March 14, 2018, it was announced that
Christian Borle
Christian Dominique Borle (born October 1, 1973) is an American actor and singer. He is a two-time Tony Award winner for his roles as Black Stache in ''Peter and the Starcatcher'' and as William Shakespeare in ''Something Rotten!''. Borle also ...
would appear in the fifth season in a guest starring role playing the journalist Don Ridley in two episodes. On May 4, 2018, it was confirmed that Laura Benanti would appear in the fifth season, playing a self-made billionaire named Quinn. On March 17, 2021, it was announced that Miriam Shor and Charles Michael Davis have been demoted to recurring guest stars for the seventh and final season. In April 2021, Janeane Garofalo was cast in a recurring role for the final season.
Release
Broadcast
The series aired on NickMom from September 16 to September 27 2015, On September 5, 2018, it was announced that the series would be moved to Paramount Network from the sixth season onward; however, it was announced on April 3, 2019 that the series would stay on TV Land. Broadcasters carrying ''Younger'' include M3, E!, and
CTV 2
CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional cab ...
in Canada; and
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
and
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
in the United Kingdom.
Marketing
In June 2018, during the opening night screening at the annual
ATX Television Festival
ATX Television Festival is an annual event based in Austin, Texas, that celebrates and showcases the past, present, and future of the television industry. Screenings, Q&As, cast reunions, and industry panel discussions take place over four days a ...
in Austin, Texas, a first look at the second episode of the fifth season was showcased, whilst a panel discussion with Darren Star and cast members took place. That same month, the book ''Marriage Vacation,'' mentioned in the series, was launched in real life by
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...
. In June 2019, the sixth-season premiere was also screened at the ATX Television Festival, followed by an interview with cast member Debi Mazar and writers Sarah Choi and Joe Murphy.
Reception
Ratings
Critical response
''Younger'' has received critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes gives the first season an approval rating of 97% based on 37 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Darren Star's witty writing and Sutton Foster's charisma help elevate ''Younger'' above some of TV Land's previous sitcoms."Metacritic gives the first season a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 100% based on 8 reviews, and an average rating of 7.1/10. Metacritic gave the season a score of 74 out of 100, based on reviews from 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Brian Lowry of ''Variety'' gave the series a mostly positive review, describing it as "not perfect but highly watchable" and pointing out that "inevitably, there are stereotypical aspects on both sides of the age gap—from the flakiness of Kelsey's contemporaries to Diana too often coming across as a bitter scold—but the series seldom pitches so far across those lines as to be unable to find its way back."
On the ''New York'' magazine website
Vulture.com
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...
, Margaret Lyons gave a mostly positive review, describing "a sweetness to the series, an almost admiration for the various crummy behaviors f the characters" She went on to say that she wished the show "had a longer first season not just because I liked it, but more because it's featherweight, and as its current run stands, might have been better off as a feature-length rom-com." Megan Garber reviewed the show for '' The Atlantic'' saying, "''Younger'', a fairy tale fit for basic cable, is a treacly confection of a show: witty but not wise, delightful but not deep. And yet—like its creator Darren Star’s previous exploration of age and sexuality and identity in a tumultuous time, ''Sex and the City''—it offers, almost in spite of itself, deep insights into the culture of the moment."
Tom Conroy of ''
Media Life Magazine
''Media Life Magazine'' was an online publication that was started in May 1999 by Gene Ely. The publication covered all aspects of the media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or d ...
'' criticized the show mainly for portraying Sutton Foster's character Liza with "early-middle-age cluelessness", featuring "particularly silly" publishing-industry details and presenting "a relationship between an educated 40-year-old mother and a 26-year-old college dropout" that, in his belief, "has nowhere to go."
But Jonathan Alexander writes in the Los Angeles Review of Books that "''Younger'' works in part because it plays to both millennials, who are often portrayed as hip and hardworking, creative and generous, as well as to late Gen-Xers who are facing a corporate and consumer world that's seemingly forgotten them in its drive to cater to the needs, tastes, and interests of a younger (and numerically larger) generation."
Darcie Wilder of ''
Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tr ...
'' wrote in her review: "''Younger'' is unexpectedly addictive, nothing short of extremely soothing and pleasurable to watch. It's a bedtime story that's supposed to lull but is too engaging to ever actually let you doze off. Usually when I binge, there's a hard out when I finally get caught up to real time, entering the headspace of its regular audience and eventually losing interest—but that hasn't happened with ''Younger'', not yet."
The seventh and final season of ''Younger'' had good reviews from critics and mixed reviews from fans. Nicole Galluci of ''
Mashable
Mashable is a digital media platform, news website and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005.
History
Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2005. Early iterations of the site were a ...
'' wrote in a review "Ultimately, the episodes are engaging as ever, and though it's rare with final seasons, I find myself struggling to squash the belief that this show still has so much left to give." Fan reacted to the final season with "mixed feelings," according to multiple reports.
Awards and nominations
Cancelled ''Kelsey'' Spin-off
It was reported in May 2020 that ViacomCBS and Darren Star have partnered to develop a spin-off series which would revolve around Kelsey Peters, with Hilary Duff starring. However, on June 10, 2021, following the series’ conclusion, it has been revealed that the spin-off is no longer in the works, due to Duff being cast on the '' How I Met Your Mother'' spin-off, ''
How I Met Your Father
''How I Met Your Father'' is an American sitcom created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger which premiered on Hulu on January 18, 2022. It is a spin-off of ''How I Met Your Mother''. The series, which stars Hilary Duff, Christopher Lowell, ...
''. According to creator Darren Star, he stated that the ''Kelsey'' spin-off has been resolved after the series finale, regardless of any notion of one. Star also stated that "it was always going to end with Kelsey doing her own thing, alone, heading to Los Angeles".
International adaptations
South Korean television network
JTBC
JTBC (shortened from ''Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company'' (; stylized as jtbc) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on 1 December 2011. JTBC ...
plans to broadcast the Korean adaptation of ''Younger''. It will be directed by Kim Seong-yoon as his first project under JTBC after leaving his longtime home network, KBS.
The series is being adapted in China by Endemol Shine China and Huace Group. It is being remade as a 40-part series in Mandarin with episodes of 45 minutes.