Friends from College
Friends from College is an American comedy streaming television series created by Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller.[1] The series was greenlit for Netflix as an original on March 11, 2016. The first season consists of eight half-hour episodes, and premiered on Netflix on July 14, 2017.[2][3] On August 21, 2017, Netflix renewed the series for a second season of eight episodes, which was released on January 11, 2019.[4][5] The series[6] was canceled on February 18, 2019.[7]
| Friends from College | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Michael Andrews |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 16 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Cinematography | John Guleserian |
| Editors |
|
| Running time | 26–34 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Distributor | Netflix |
| Release | |
| Original network | Netflix |
| Original release | July 14, 2017 – January 11, 2019 |
Plot
The series irreverently depicts the tragicomic misadventures of a close-knit group of Harvard alumni in their 40s as they navigate their ambitious yet clumsy and romantically intertwined lives in New York City.
Cast and characters
Main
- Keegan-Michael Key as Ethan Turner, Lisa's husband, a respected but financially struggling writer[8]
- Cobie Smulders as Lisa Turner, a hedge fund lawyer[8]
- Annie Parisse as Samantha "Sam" Delmonico, a Manhattan interior designer with whom Ethan has been having an on-and-off affair since college[8]
- Nat Faxon as Nick Ames, an unemployed, aging party boy with a trust fund[8]
- Fred Savage as Max Adler, a gay literary agent[8]
- Jae Suh Park as Marianne, a hippie yoga instructor[8] and an unemployed actress
Recurring
- Billy Eichner as Dr. Felix Forzenheim, Max's fiancé[9]
- Greg Germann as Jon Spurling, Sam's wealthy husband[10]
- Sarah Chalke as Merill Morgan (season 2), a former Harvard classmate who begins dating Nick
- Zack Robidas as Charlie (season 2), Lisa's new boyfriend
Guest
- Ike Barinholtz as Degrasso, an obnoxious coworker at Lisa's hedge fund[11][12]
- Billy Magnussen as Sean, Shawna's attractive kept man[13]
- Kate McKinnon as Shawna, an eccentric YA author[11]
- Seth Rogen as Paul "Party Dog" Dobkin, college classmate of the group, Sam's ex-boyfriend and Ethan's rival/frenemy during their college days[11]
- Chris Elliott as the Mentalist[11]
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | July 14, 2017 | |||
| 2 | 8 | January 11, 2019 | |||
Season 1 (2017)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Welcome to New York" | Nicholas Stoller | Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller | July 14, 2017 |
| 2 | 2 | "Connecticut House" | Nicholas Stoller | Ron Weiner | July 14, 2017 |
| 3 | 3 | "All-Nighter" | Nicholas Stoller | Andrew Gurland | July 14, 2017 |
| 4 | 4 | "Mission Impossible" | Nicholas Stoller | Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller | July 14, 2017 |
| 5 | 5 | "Party Bus" | Nicholas Stoller | Justin Nowell | July 14, 2017 |
| 6 | 6 | "Second Wedding" | Nicholas Stoller | Colleen McGuinness | July 14, 2017 |
| 7 | 7 | "Grand Cayman" | Nicholas Stoller | Ron Weiner | July 14, 2017 |
| 8 | 8 | "A Night of Surprises" | Nicholas Stoller | Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller | July 14, 2017 |
Season 2 (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "The Engagement Party" | Nicholas Stoller | Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller | January 11, 2019 |
| 10 | 2 | "Storage Unit" | Nicholas Stoller | Andrew Gurland | January 11, 2019 |
| 11 | 3 | "Out All Night" | Nicholas Stoller | Guy Endore-Kaiser | January 11, 2019 |
| 12 | 4 | "The Bachelor Party" | Andrew Gurland | Justin Nowell | January 11, 2019 |
| 13 | 5 | "Old Habits" | Andrew Gurland | Ian Edwards | January 11, 2019 |
| 14 | 6 | "Free Fall" | Nicholas Stoller | Alexandra Rushfield | January 11, 2019 |
| 15 | 7 | "Fireworks" | Francesca Delbanco | Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller | January 11, 2019 |
| 16 | 8 | "The Wedding" | Nicholas Stoller | Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller | January 11, 2019 |
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 24% based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 4.78/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Even a cast of talented comedic actors can't keep Friends from College from being anything but underwhelming."[14] On Metacritic, the series has a score of 44 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[15]
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly gave the first season a C− rating, writing that the series wastes the talents of its cast members.[16] Tim Dowling of The Guardian writes, "Each character may be unpleasant in his or her own right, but the sheer charmlessness of the group is hard to overstate. If they were sitting at a table near you, you'd leave the restaurant."[17]
References
- Littleton, Cynthia (August 22, 2016). "Netflix Orders 'Friends From College' Starring Keegan-Michael Key, Cobie Smulders". Variety. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- White, James (August 22, 2016). "Cobie Smulders, Keegan-Michael Key and more join Friends From College". Empire. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- "Exclusive photos: Eclectic cast makes Netflix's 'Friends from College'". USA Today. May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
- Andreeva, Nellie (August 21, 2017). "Friends From College' Renewed For Season 2 By Netflix". Deadline Hollywood.
- Petski, Denise (2018-10-26). "'Friends From College' Gets Season 2 Premiere Date On Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
- Heritage, Stuart (2019-01-14). "Friends from College: has TV's most hateable show become … good?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
- Ausiello, Michael (February 18, 2019). "Friends From College Cancelled After 2 Seasons at Netflix". TVLine.
- Andreeva, Nellie (August 22, 2016). "Keegan-Michael Key, Cobie Smulders & Fred Savage Lead Cast of Nick Stoller Netflix Series 'Friends From College'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- Lincoln, Ross A. (October 27, 2016). "Billy Eichner Joins Netflix Comedy 'Friends From College' As Recurring". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- Gilbert, Sophie (July 16, 2017). "Friends From College Is a Tragedy of Arrested Development". Atlantic.com. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- Surette, Tim (July 14, 2017). "Friends From College Isn't Good, but Four of Its Guest Stars Are Great". TVguide.com. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- "Friends from College". IMDb.com. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- "'Friends From College' is a waste of the cast's talent — and the audience's time". Mic.com. July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- "Friends from College: Season 1 (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
- "Friends from College: Season 1 reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- Jensen, Jeff (July 12, 2017). "Netflix's Friends From College squanders its excellent cast". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
- Dowling, Tim. "Friends from College review – an ensemble piece populated entirely by terrible people". The Guardian. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
