Credit to my friend, Amy: While out for drinks this summer, her mouth dropped upon learning that I had yet to watch Platonic. The Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen-led Apple TV+ show is all about chemistry—but the friendship variety. Cue a more modern (and less polished) take on ye olde When Harry Met Sally debate: Can a pair of old college friends in their 40s be friends without benefits? Or does it make things weird? Less rom-com and more buddy comedy, this series—which debuted its second season this fall—says it’s fine.
I Can’t Stop Binging ‘Platonic’ (and, Yes, I’m Late to the Party)
Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are binge-worthy best friends
•
Published Jan 1, 2026
Apple TV+
Apple TV+
But that’s what makes this series especially binge-worthy. Even though it offers a different take on the potential for a man, Will (Rogen), and a woman, Sylvia (Byrne), to maintain an adult friendship, that doesn’t mean that things aren’t complicated and confusing to the outside world. For example, when Sylvia’s husband (played by Luke Macfarlane) tries to understand her natural bond with Will or when Will’s fiancée tries to turn Sylvia and her husband into couple friends. Things get tricky, fast.
Apple TV+
Still, that’s the beauty—and hilarity—of the series: How seemingly harmless situations quickly go off the rails. But the result isn’t too slapstick or surface-level, rather Will and Sylvia’s relationship (and the various characters that swirl around it) deliver true-to-life nuance and depth. In other words, most episodes read like familiar (and awkward) social situations we’ve all encountered—or at least read about in the group chat—in one form or another.
More than anything, the lack of sexual tension gives way to a really enjoyable series about a no-holds-barred type of friendship and one that crosses a line in other ways (like when Sylvia, in season two, prioritizes Will’s needs to the point that it gets in the way of her husband’s appearance on Jeopardy). The result cues up plenty more questions about the social dilemmas that exist, regardless of gender, in a friendship. (Is it OK to prioritize the pal over the partner, for example? Sylvia’s husband is often surprisingly cool.)
I’ll add that my friend’s suggestion to watch comes on the heels of my recent binge of The Studio, another Apple TV+ series starring Rogen. His character in Platonic may skew a bit stoner at times, but he’s a recent favorite for sure—and next to Rose Byrne, he’s an absolute star.
Did I mention season three is coming? There’s no better moment to catch up.
