Jon Hamm has done more than enough to shed his Don Draper skin. While he risked being typecast as the suave yet troubled ‘50s ad man (not a bad typecast to have), he managed to take on many roles since that have proven he’s more than a one-trick pony. But there’s arguably none so complex and philosophical as his role as Andrew Cooper in Apple TV+ original series Your Friends and Neighbors, which premieres its first two episodes on Friday, April 11, 2025.
At first glance, the series’ premise sounds almost comical: a wealthy businessman resorts to stealing from his swanky neighbors after getting fired from his job. But as you dive into the episodes, it becomes clear that the show cuts much deeper than that.
[Note: this review is based on episodes 1-6, which were provided for screening purposes]
What Is Your Friends and Neighbors About?
Over the years, Andrew has worked his way up in his job and done everything right: found a good woman, got married, got a good job. Had kids, bought a house, rose up the ranks at work. Bought a bigger house, built a portfolio at work, and bought an even bigger house. But then, disaster happens. Infidelity leads to the breakdown of his marriage. A year later, he is suddenly fired from his job for reasons that are completely unfair and that leave him unable to access funds tied up in the company. With a non-compete and several other clauses in a contract someone of his level of intelligence should never have signed, Andrew has hit a brick wall.
As he wonders how he got there, the internal narration guides you along his thought process. It’s like Dexter Morgan from Dexter or Joe Goldberg from You, except Andrew doesn’t yearn to kill. He does, however, desperately need to keep up appearances.
Not only is Andrew now flat broke, he’s a walking cliché. He has an ex-wife who cheated, two teenage kids he’s trying desperately to stay connected with, and a mentally unwell sister who relies on him. Oh yah, and in some way, shape or form, every single one of them costs him a heck of a lot of money he no longer has.
In a desperate position and unable to seek out gainful employment for at least 90 days (again, thanks to that terrible job contract he signed), Andrew is backed into a corner. As he walks around his neighbors’ home during a gathering, he comes to notice something. There are fancy wristwatches worth thousands sitting in cases the rich owner would probably never even notice was gone. Designer bags by the dozens that the ladies probably forgot they owned. Bottles of wine that cost obscene amounts of money lining wine fridges of homeowners who bought them on a whim. The list goes on.
A light bulb goes off. Andrew starts small by stealing a roll of cash. It was almost too easy. He knows exactly where these people are and when. He knows when they’re home and when they’re not. He’d never be a suspect. And let’s be honest, with so much crime in the city, would cops truly go out of their way to help some arrogant millionaire find his missing $100,000 Patek Philippe watch?
This Peter Pan-inspired idea of thieving from the rich to, well, fuel Coop’s own need to keep up with the Joneses is a perfect temporary solution. But it can get out of hand. Quickly. And it does. A ripple effect begins until everything comes crashing down for Andrew in ways no one saw coming, but in hindsight, was inevitable.
Your Friends and Neighbors Review
At the surface, Your Friends and Neighbors is about a man at the ripe age for a midlife crisis who finds himself in, well, actual crisis. In resorting to crime to maintain the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed (or rather to which those around him have become accustomed), he’s also discovering a lot of things about the Joneses that he was blind to when he was one of them. This includes the age-old tale that money doesn’t buy happiness. Through his late-night criminal acts, Andrew discovers all sorts of secrets and lies. As he commiserates with these very same people during the days and evenings, he starts to see more clearly how phony the façade really is.
At its heart, Your Friends and Neighbors is a scathing commentary on the absurdity of extreme wealth. Imagine spending what most people spend on a house on a bottle of wine to impress your friends at a party or a piece of jewelry you only wear on rare special occasions. Or dropping what some call a mortgage payment for a swanky catered party. It’s all relative, of course. But at some point, there’s a realization that it’s meaningless, no matter how big the dollar amount.
One particularly jarring monologue comes in Andrew’s internal narration as he observes the guys sipping expensive whiskey as they regale tales of their lives and learnings. He pegs the middle-aged male one-percenter mentality and life progression to a tee. It’s enough to make some who fall into this category stop, look around, and wonder if they’re headed on this same path and if there’s really any meaning or fulfillment to it.
You’ll have to let go of some of the more unbelievable aspects of the show, like Andrew’s argument that homeowners in his neighborhood let security slide because of where they live. Come on, guys, this is more reason to invest knowing you’ll be the target of outsiders! But that aside, there’s a lot to learn from the show.
Your Friends and Neighbors is a philosophical tale wrapped in an entertaining plot about a desperate man taking desperate measures to keep up the façade that he belongs. As Andrew grapples with his new reality, he starts to wonder why he needs to belong in the first place, and if the cost of doing so is worth it. In a twist of fate, he starts to resent the very lifestyle he’s trying to uphold.
I went into watching Your Friends and Neighbors thinking I’d check out the first episode to see what it’s all about and go from there. After a few episodes, it drew me in. Hamm has a presence I haven’t seen in any role since Mad Men. He plays the down-on-his-luck, confident yet insecure, charming characters so well. It’s when the actor does his best work. He just works as handsome and fractured.
If you love shows like Mad Men, The Perfect Couple, Big Little Lies, and The White Lotus, check out Your Friends and Neighbors. It’s not the best show you’ll have seen this year. But it’s addictive and compelling enough to keep you invested in the characters and the plot such that you’ll want to see it through.
Stream Your Friends and Neighbors on Apple TV+ starting April 11, 2025.