Seth Rogen is batting a thousand with his Apple TV+ content. His satirical comedy The Studio, released earlier this year, received rave reviews. There’s also the 2023 comedy Platonic, which earned the same. The latter is back for its second season more than two years after season one ended. It brings Rogen and Rose Byrne together again as a new Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore-like comedic dynamic duo. The show, about two lifelong best friends who reconnect following a life change for one of them, is typical Rogen silliness to a tee.
Platonic Season 1 Recap
In season 1, Sylvia (Byrne) learns that Will (Rogen), her former best friend from college, is getting divorced, and she feels awful for him. They haven’t spoken in years, largely because she didn’t like his ex and spoke out about her feelings. She tries to reconnect without revealing that she knows about the failure of his marriage. While it’s off to a rocky start, they make up and get back to their old ways.
The pair have always been nothing more than platonic best friends, but their closeness results in Sylvia’s husband Charlie (Luke Macfarlane) getting jealous because of all the time they’re spending together. It isn’t so much romantic jealousy as it is jealousy of someone who happens to be of the opposite gender knowing the other person better than anyone else could. Sylvia, however, is enjoying this carefree new existence after spending years raising three kids as a stay-at-home mom. She also misses working and feels like she has lost part of herself that Will is now helping reawaken.
Will is navigating a new relationship with a much younger girlfriend Peyton (Emily Kimball) and trying to make something of his life. Sylvia is considering getting back into the working world in her 40s, reevaluating where she is in her life outside of being a wife and a mom. The two lean on one another through all their struggles. But often, that means they also feed off one another, which gets them into trouble.
By the end, Will has managed to score a job at a major corporation where the newly minted CEO has taken a liking to him. The story fast forwards to a year later by the end. Sylvia is working as an event planner while Will visits to reveal that he and Jenna (Rachel Rosenbloom) are engaged.
Platonic Season 2 Review
The series picks up as Will and Jenna are planning their wedding, Sylvia as their wedding planner. Jenna is tremendously wealthy, introducing Will to a life for which he is not accustomed. This makes him question whether he belongs at all, of course seeking the advice of his bestie along the way.
History repeats itself as Sylvia can’t help but express her opinions while Will seems to be prone to self-sabotage. While the duo has grown to become somewhat co-dependent, it’s refreshing to see a purely platonic duo on television. Will views his long-time female friend the same way he would one of his “bros” and Sylvia fits right in with that dynamic. But their relationship still impacts outside ones. How could a potential romantic partner ever possibly compete with someone who has so much history with the other person, after all? That idea, however, fades to the background as the season focuses on the pair of friends and how knowing one another so well can both help and hurt them.
Rogen and Byrne sell it well, their chemistry off the charts which explains why they continue to collaborate with one another. Both are tremendous comedic talents with their own styles who play off one another beautifully. The supporting characters get their own stories this season, too. This includes a hilarious midlife identity crisis storyline for Charlie and sarcastic hijinks for Sylvia’s Katie (Carla Gallo), the stereotypical quirky friend. Several others join the cast this season as well in equally funny roles, including Saturday Night Live alums Aidy Bryant, Beck Bennett, and Kyle Mooney.
Following the reunion of the two long-time friends in season one, Platonic needs to find new directions for season two. It does take the story in many different places for both Sylvia and Will, and views how their lives intersect (and often interfere) with one another. But it’s also largely about both finding themselves. Will has always wanted to pursue his dream of owning his own business. Sylvia has felt stuck for so many years, yearning for something more. But that takes drive and ambition, and sometimes, Sylvia’s appreciation for routine makes it challenging to get herself out of that.
The story is relatable when it comes to the realities of getting older as well. The episode about Will’s bachelor party will leave many of you who are 40+ nodding your heads at the situation. There’s that awkwardness of trying to relive who you used to be when time, aging, life, and circumstance simply doesn’t allow you to do so, despite every desire to pretend.
Platonic also dives into the monotony of life, the feeling that you’re on a hamster wheel that’s perpetually spinning. You ache to jump off, shake things up, and try something new. But you’re terrified, have too many obligations, and can’t bring yourself to make the change. So, we keep running and spinning until the wheel breaks. Platonic approaches this reality with humor, however, with people who can’t quite seem to figure out how to get where they want to go without messing it all up in the process.
Rogen uses the series to skewer some Hollywood and corporate types more subtly than he did in The Studio, including non-sensical product slogans, arrogant celebrities, a misogynist culture, and dirty business tactics. He can’t help but roast the hand that feeds him, but we’re all for it.
Should You Watch Platonic Season 2?
It goes without saying that if you want to watch Platonic season 2, you should check out season 1 first if you haven’t already. With 10 episodes each season (season 2 episodes are released weekly, the first two out August 6, 2025), you have plenty of time to catch up. The episodes are short, with run times from 27 to 32 minutes each, so it’s a quick and easy binge and a perfect watch for the summer.
The show is funniest to those who are in their 40s and older, who can relate to the characters in a meaningful way, even if their core stories are unique. It’s in the same vein as other Rogen comedies, minus the excess raunch. So, if you’re a fan of his work, you’ll appreciate Platonic. It’s not quite as fantastic as The Studio but it’s a different kind of show that’s just as silly and fun to watch.
There are moments when you will laugh out loud, others when you might feel like the joke is going on too long. But for the most part, it’s a feel-good season with a story that weaves in several different directions, admittedly at times as though the writers are grasping at straws to find viable storylines.
It ends in a way that suggests a third season is inevitable, and I’d be all for it. Platonic isn’t the best show you’ll see this year. But it’s a great in-between show, something to watch when there isn’t a new episode or season of your favourite show out yet and you’re sick of re-watching the same movie for the thousandth time.
It’ll make you want more of Rogen and Byrne, arguably this generation’s Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Referencing a joke from one episode of the show this season, these two characters, are “clinically proven to function.” You’ll get it after watching the season, bitch.