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When Emmy winners Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller announced Apple TV’s “Your Friends & Neighbors” was a nominee for outstanding drama series, my Variety colleagues’ jaws hit the floor (with some on the internet agreeing).
However, I, a champion of the Jonathan Tropper series starring Jon Hamm since its debut, felt a level of gloating vindication that I haven’t felt in quite some time. As I sat preening like a peacock — having just selected “Your Friends & Neighbors” for my best TV of the year so far list — I decided it was best to address why the series is so exemplary. Now, admittedly, I would categorize “Your Friends & Neighbors” as a dark comedy, so seeing it nominated alongside bonafide dramas like “The Pitt,” “The Gilded Age” and “Paradise” does make it feel a bit out of place. However, I would argue that the story itself and the characters, along with the actors who bring them to life, truly highlight the delusion of American exceptionalism while depicting the horrors of late-stage capitalism. As a result, the series has never been more timely. “Your Friends & Neighbors” follows an entitled former hedge fund manager, Andrew “Coop” Cooper (Hamm), whose world is upended when he’s fired from his prestigious firm at the beginning of Season 1. Blacklisted from the finance industry, Coop resorts to stealing luxury items from his affluent neighbors to keep himself and his family afloat. Moreover, though Coop and those orbiting him are among the most toxic and unlikeable people depicted on television today, the series also manages to give them dimension without turning them into caricatures. Even in its second season, with the introduction of Coop’s new billionaire neighbor, Owen Ashe (a perfectly cast James Marsden), there is no attempt to empathize with Westmont Village’s newest and wealthiest resident. Despite his Cary Grant-like looks, there is a menacing edge to him that Coop and the audience can spot from the beginning. He is vicious, sinister and conniving, and his actions immediately showcase how he was able — through criminality and the exploitation of others — to amass such a fortune. After all, there are no innocent billionaires. Particularly in its second season, “Your Friends & Neighbors” juxtaposes the wealth and affluence these people have with the misery so many of them experience, despite having every advantage. Still lifting watches and Hermès bags from the safes and closets of his community members, Coop becomes increasingly disillusioned with those around him, especially when his beloved father dies. Moreover, his ex-wife Mel (Amanda Peet), amid a terrible breakup and the never-ending symptoms of perimenopause, finds herself alienated from her teenage daughter, Tori (Isabel Gravitt), who can barely stomach being in her mother’s presence. The series has a knack for honing in on how the most devastating aspects of humanity will reach us all, no matter how much money we have in our bank accounts. Season 2 also does an excellent job of addressing how little regard the 1% has for ordinary, everyday people. Coop has perfected his burglarizing scheme thanks to trusted house cleaner Elaina (Aimee Carrero), who provides him with the intel he needs to enter homes undetected. Yet he has no qualms about inconveniencing her and leaving her cash-strapped in the most dire situations. She is, after all, a means to an end for him instead of a person with her own hopes and money problems. So, while my colleagues and some aggravated people on social media may have hoped for nods for “Euphoria” or “Stranger Things,” it’s always been clear to me that Trooper and Hamm have something distinct on their hands. Yes, it often appears as satire, but the show also says the quiet part out loud about the state of our unsustainable, consumerist society. The “Your Friends & Neighbors” drama nomination — its only one — is just one of Apple TV’s 87 noms at this year’s Emmys. In showcasing the erroneous illusion of the American Dream as it continues to fester and crumble for everyone across socioeconomic backgrounds, the series has never been more deserving of its place. More than that, it proves that I’ve been right all along.
