Seth Rogen’s ‘Platonic’ Is a Show You Should Be More Than Friends With

Can a man and a woman be friends and spend a lot of time together without sexual desire?

This question was covered in “When Harry Met Sally” but the new Apple TV+ show “Platonic” succeeds because its two stars are credible as friends, or possibly more, and the actors nail the humorous and the serious moments.

“This is the least Jewish I’ve ever felt,” Will says after dying his hair platinum and being fed macaroni and cheese in the fifth episode.  It’s not clear why he says this as neither action is prohibited according to Jewish law.

He also says he misses his golden chai necklace and believes his entire life went downhill when his necklace was thrown away..

Seth Rogen stars as Will, 40, who owns 24.5% of a bar called “Lucky Penny.” He is reeling from divorcing Audrey, who has announced she’s moved in with a new man on Instagram.  Rose Bryne stars as Sylvia, his best friend who warned him not to marry Audrey (Alisha Wainright) and they haven’t been friends for the past five years. Sylvia, who is married to a lawyer named Charlie, (Luke Macfarlane) begins hanging out with Will, like they used to. When she looks at renovated an assisted living center to be a new home, he helps her have the chutzpah to nix it. Will helps her with toilet problems and she takes his lizard named Gandalf.

Will wears strange hats and is moody. At his divorce party, his friends tell him to get things off his chest. There is a great chemistry between Rogen and Bryne and their dialogue is delivered in a natural way as if the actors have really been friends for years.

“For me, the future, is baldness, testicular cancer and then I die,” Will says, in an effort to convince Sylvia to join him and his friends at a strip club. When something Sylvia takes is not pure cocaine, a problem develops.

Sylvia, who has three children, has more responsibilities than Will and she envies his freedom while he envies her stability.

Charlie sets up a possibility for Sylvia to be an active lawyer again after a 13-year hiatus to raise children and at first, she is too nervous to even make the call.

Rogen gave one of his best performances in Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” as a man whose affair ruined a marriage. Here it looks like his character’s morals will stop him from ruining another. Or maybe not.

In one scene Will is hooking up with a woman when we hear the theme of “Succession” and he stop and advises the woman to watch the finale with her roommate. When Charlie sees his wife giving Will a makeover, he is jealous, even though he doesn’t think they’re having an affair.

Charlie invites will to a Dodgers game and a friend says he is going to get beaten up there.

The scene where they bowl throwing kegs is a bit much as is Charlie’s rendition of “Danny Boy” but the show is oodles of fun, especially when people at the bar show their secret skills, like Will doing the dance on the bar from “Coyote Ugly.”

Sylvia seems jealous when she finds out Will is sleeping with a woman named Peyton. Things get a bit bloody, and Will is afraid his life could be in danger.

It is sad that people abandon friends once they get married but there is simply less free time when one has a spouse and children. Sylvia’s friend tells her she had a best friend named Oren, who she had sex with once and they never spoke again.

There are some great zingers, like when Sylvia tells Will he looks like a 90os grunge clown. When Will’s ex shows up at his bar with a bearded guy he calls him a Nazi and when they guy explains he is from Norway, Will tells him: “Don’t pretend that your family likes Jews.” He also calls him Leni Riefenstahl’s key grip. That joke will go over most people’s heads. Riefenstahl was  a German director, most famous for helming the propaganda film, “Triumph Of The Will” in which Hitler was displayed nearly as a deity.

The show would not work with most actresses, but Bryne is able to go toe to toe with Rogan with proper timing. She even correctly pronounces the “Ch” in Chai before Will tells her that Mel Gibson doesn’t talk to Jewish people.

The episodes have a decent amount of laughs and while it will likely resonate more with those over 35, Gen Z will still be entertained and it might make them want to marry sooner, rather than later-but only if it’s the right person.

“Platonic” mocks both that which is boring and overly stimulating and will likely make you nostalgic and yearn for something you don’t have or appreciate what you do have. Put it on your list of shows to watch.