‘Uncoupled’ Is Surprisingly Delightful and Worth a Watch

I grew up in a house of Sex and the City fans, so we were all very excited when Darren Star announced his new project, Emily in Paris. But upon sitting down to watch, all we got was a shallow, materialistic romp through a shiny, plastic version of Paris, fronted by fake and morally questionable people who seem to never face any realistic consequences.

A downer, to be sure, but then we got another announcement: And Just Like That…, a sequel of sorts to Sex and the City, starring the original cast … minus Samantha, for, you know, reasons. And nobody really expected it to be great, but I don’t know that I was expecting it to be as awkward and flimsy as it ended up being.

So, if you were like us (and chances are you were), you probably also had low expectations for Star’s newest project, Uncoupled—a short series about a forty-something gay man who finds himself in the dating pool for the first time in 17 years. I went into it thinking it was going to be yet another oblivious, boring look into the lives of the hollow and affluent upper-echelon of New York.

Imagine my surprise, then, while during the last episode, I found myself clutching my heart in emotion. My dog gave me a quizzical look, and I, so moved by what was happening onscreen, could only murmur to her, “Good god, I love friendship.”

What a silly thing to say, right? But my point is that this show is surprisingly full of heart and earnest intent. Yes, there are moments when Star tries to poke fun at the changing times and only ends up poking his narrative in the eye—enough “they/them” jokes, dude, it’s cringy at best—but for the most part, this series really hooked me in a way that I didn’t think it would.

I binged it in pretty much one night, with only eight episodes that last about 25 minutes each. It honestly flew right by, with enough having been built up for a compelling second season (yet to be announced). And as of right now, I can pretty heartily recommend it to anyone who might find the subject matter interesting.

The Gist

Neil Patrick Harris stars as Michael, a real estate agent with a motor-mouth, who starts off the series planning his longterm boyfriend Colin’s (played by Tuc Watkins) 50th birthday party. The party is meant to be a surprise, and therefore Colin thinks that they’re just going to have an intimate dinner out. But as he’s walking up to the venue, he drops some heavy news on his beau: He wants to break up.

The rest of the party is a tense disaster, but the men play it off successfully, much to Michael’s heartache. He can’t even get a straight answer out of Colin, who refuses to give any other reason than You take up too much space and I need to figure out my life. Um, mid-life crisis much? Come on, babe, you’re a little old to be playing the f***boy card.

Understandably, Michael’s world is thrown upside down. He has no idea what to do with himself, now that he’s single for the first time in so long, and the gay dating market has changed so much. But he’s got a great group of friends, all played by the perfect cast (Tisha Campbell, Emerson Brooks, and Brooks Ashmanskas), and I’ve gotta admit, NPH really sells this character as someone you want to root for. He’s hurting, and he isn’t shy about it, but he’s honest about what he wants and who he is, a very difficult thing to pull off when you’re freshly on the market.

And while I can’t claim to understand what it’s like to date as a gay man, from what I understand, it’s uh … complicated, to say the least. Michael wants a connection, not a meat market, but his first attempt to establish such a connection results in being blocked for not having a dick pic on-hand. Oops?

In many ways, this show—and I say this as very, very high praise—reminded me of Michael Henry’s sketches for their brutal, yet lighthearted way of depicting modern gay love. The “Dumpster Queens” series in particular came to mind:

But this one especially felt topical:

Now, this doesn’t mean that Uncoupled is entirely lighthearted and humorous. It certainly has its moments of stark emotion that make you wince with how real it all feels. It’s like a less-graphic version of Looking, to draw comparisons to a similar sort of show. That doesn’t mean it’s sexless, it’s just … well, it’s on Netflix, not HBO.

Wrapping It Up

If you’re still wondering whether or not this show will do away with some of Star’s less-savory tropes, then I’ll be frank and say that it still plays a little into them. These New Yorkers are pretty well-off, and they hang around with well-off people. Michael has his own apartment that he’s eventually able to buy. Like, okay, that’s normal. And while the treatment of POC isn’t as wildly uncomfortable and weird as it was in And Just Like That… and Emily, I still questioned whether or not the main female friend, Suzanne, was written with stereotypes in mind or genuine intent.

But I will say, for those who are still holding out for a show with the same watchable joy that Sex and the City had: You will probably enjoy Uncoupled. It genuinely feels like Star’s attempt to write better, more modern content, things that come from the heart instead of an idealized American fever-dream. At the very least, even if I couldn’t relate to the displays of opulence, I found that this was a better breakup story than anything I’d seen recently, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Michael handles what comes next.

(featured image: Netflix)