''Easy'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

written, directed, edited and produced by

Joe Swanberg Joe Swanberg is an American independent filmmaker. Known for micro-budget films which make extensive use of improvisation, Swanberg is considered a major figure in the mumblecore film movement. His films often focus on relationships, sex, tech ...

. It consists of 25 half-hour episodes. The series is set in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The first season was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on September 22, 2016. In April 2017, Swanberg revealed the series had been renewed for a second season, which was released on December 1, 2017. In August 2018, the series was renewed for a third and final season that premiered on May 10, 2019.

Background

''Easy'' follows several individuals living in Chicago who are trying to navigate issues such as love, relationships, and general knowledge. A review described the series as a microscopic portrayal of the different varieties of modern love. It has an episodic anthology format, with standalone episodes that do not require previous ones to watch. The series does include recurring narratives such as the story of the married couple Kyle (

Michael Chernus Michael Louis Chernus (born August 8, 1977) is an American actor who has acted on film, television, and the stage. He is best known for his role as Cal Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019) ...

) and Andi (

Elizabeth Reaser Elizabeth Ann Reaser (born July 2, 1975) is an American film, television, and stage actress. Her work includes the films '' Stay'', '' The Family Stone'', '' Sweet Land'', '' Against the Current'', '' The Twilight Saga'', ''Young Adult'', and '' ...

), which was first introduced in Season 1. The story was revisited in Season 2 and Season 3, with their respective episodes focusing on the development and effects of their decision to enter into an

open relationship An open relationship is an intimate relationship that is sexually or romantically non-monogamous. An open relationship generally indicates a relationship where there is a primary emotional and intimate relationship between partners, who agree to ...

. While some characters were created completely from scratch by the producers, others, such as Odinaka Malachi Ezeokoli, Karley Sciortino, and Jane Adams's characters in Season 2, are based on the real-life personas, personalities, and/or jobs of the individuals cast in the roles.

Cast

* Jane Adams as Annabelle Jones (season 1–3) *

Zazie Beetz Zazie Olivia Beetz ( ; ; born June 1, 1991) is a German-American actress. She is known for her role in the FX (TV channel), FX comedy-drama series ''Atlanta (TV series), Atlanta'' (2016–2022), for which she received a nomination for the Primet ...

as Noelle (season 1–3) *

Aya Cash Aya Cash (born July 13, 1982) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Gretchen Cutler in the FX/ FXX dark comedy series ''You're the Worst'' (2014–2019), as Stormfront in the Amazon Prime Video superhero drama series '' The Bo ...

as Sherri (season 1–3) *

as Kyle (season 1–3) * Kiersey Clemons as Chase (season 1–3) *

Dave Franco David John Franco (born June 12, 1985) is an American actor and filmmaker. He began his career with small roles in films such as '' Superbad'' (2007) and '' Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010). Following a starring role in the final season of the comed ...

as Jeff (season 1–3) * Evan Jonigkeit as Matt (season 1–3) *

Marc Maron Marc David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and appeared more than forty times ...

as Jacob Malco (season 1–3) *

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw, MBE (; born 21 April 1983) is an English actress. She began acting at the National Youth Music Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and gained acclaim for her roles as Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet'' and O ...

as Sophie (season 1-3) *

Kate Micucci Kate Micucci ( ; born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and musician who is half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates with Riki Lindhome. Some of her roles include Stephanie Gooch in '' Scrubs'', Ally in '' 'Til Death' ...

as Annie (season 1–3) *

as Andi (season 1–3) * Jaz Sinclair as Amber (season 1–3) * Jacqueline Toboni as Jo (season 1–3)

Guest

Introduced in Season 1

* Suzanne Adent as Penny (season 1-3) *

Arthur Agee Arthur Agee Jr. (; born October 22, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He was one of two Chicago-area basketball players whose lives were chronicled in the 1994 documentary '' Hoop Dreams''. Agee played college basketball ...

as himself *

Malin Åkerman Malin Maria Åkerman (born 12 May 1978), often anglicised to Malin Akerman, is a Swedish actress. She first appeared in smaller parts in both Canadian and American productions, including '' The Utopian Society'' (2003) and '' Harold & Kumar Go ...

as Lucy * Andrew Bachelor as Andrew *

Orlando Bloom Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series (2001–03). He reprised his r ...

as Tom *

Hannibal Buress Hannibal Amir Buress ( ; born February 4, 1983) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He started performing comedy in 2002 while attending Southern Illinois University. He starred on Adult Swim's '' The Eric Andre Show'' from 20 ...

as Jason * Raúl Castillo as Bernie * Aislinn Derbez as Gabi (season 1-2) * Peter Gwinn as Andy (season 1-3) * Noah Hopkins as Russ (season 1-3) *

Jake Johnson Mark Jake Johnson Weinberger (born May 28, 1978) is an American actor. He has starred as Nick Miller in the Fox sitcom '' New Girl'' (2011–2018), for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Come ...

as Andrew (season 1, 3) *

Mauricio Ochmann Mauricio Ochmann (born November 16, 1977) is an American and Mexican actor best known for his roles in telenovelas, such as ''Amarte Asi'', where he starred as Ignacio "Nacho" Reyes. He also appeared in Kevin Costner's film ''Message in a Bottle ...

as Martin *

Emily Ratajkowski Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski ( , ; born June 7, 1991) is an American model and actress. Born in London to American parents and raised in Encinitas, California, she signed to Ford Models at a young age. Her modeling debut was on the cover of the Mar ...

as Allison Lizowska * Rebecca Spence as Cheryl (season 1, 3) * Lucas Von Kampen as Allen (season 1-3) * Jake Weber as Wally

Introduced in Season 2

* Kate Berlant as Lauren * Lindsay Burdge as Amy (season 2-3) * Craig Butta as Frank Bruno * Dustin Guy Defa as Couples’ Therapist (season 2-3) * Odinaka Malachi Ezeokoli as himself (season 2-3) * Megan Ferguson as Samantha (season 2-3) *

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress who has appeared in Judy Greer filmography, a wide variety of films. She rose to prominence for ...

as Gretchen *

Tim Kazurinsky Timothy James Kazurinsky (born March 3, 1950) is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter best known as a cast member and writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' and for his role as Carl Sweetchuck in the ''Police Academy'' films. Early life Kazu ...

as Father Timothy * Jennifer Kim as Annie * Lawrence Michael Levine as Harrison *

Joe Lo Truglio Joe Lo Truglio (; born December 2, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Best known for his role as Charles Boyle on the Fox/ NBC sitcom ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', he also was a cast member on the television series '' The State'' and '' Reno 91 ...

as Mike * Danielle Macdonald as Grace (season 2-3) *

Danny Masterson Daniel Peter Masterson (born March 13, 1976) Most sources give birth date March 13, 1976. FilmReference.com gives March 3, 1976. is an American actor. He portrayed Steven Hyde in ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), Milo Foster in ''Men at Work' ...

as Annie's boyfriend *

Aubrey Plaza Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She began performing Improvisational theatre, improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. After graduating from New York University ...

as Lindsay * Parker Sawyers as Jason * Karley Sciortino as Sally *

Kate Lyn Sheil Kate Lyn Sheil (born June 13, 1985) is an American actress. She has had roles in independent films like ''You're Next'', '' V/H/S'', '' The Color Wheel'', '' The Sacrament'', and ''House of Cards''. Early life Sheil was born and raised in Jers ...

as Annie's roommate (season 2-3) *

Timothy Simons Timothy Simons (born June 12, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Jonah Ryan on the HBO television series ''Veep'' (2012–2019) and the Netflix series '' Nobody Wants This'' (2024–present). Early life and ...

as Chris Whitman *

Michaela Watkins Michaela Watkins (born December 14, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. After several years performing with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Watkins achieved widespread attention for her brief stint as a featured player on th ...

as Karen Treska

Introduced in Season 3

Sophia Bush Sophia Anna Bush (born July 8, 1982) is an American actress. She starred as List of One Tree Hill characters#Brooke Davis, Brooke Davis in The WB/The CW, CW drama series ''One Tree Hill (TV series), One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012), and as Erin Li ...

as Alexandria * Cliff Chamberlain as Ryan * Marika Engelhardt as Det. Lindsay * Nicky Excitement as Hugh * Louis Frazier as Kool * John Gallagher Jr. as Lucas * Lydia House as Lydia *

Melanie Lynskey Melanie Jayne Lynskey ( ; born 16 May 1977) is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American accents, she works predominantly in independent films and television. She is the recipient of numerous ...

as Beth * Perry Myers as Perry * Kali Skrap as Skrap * Anthony Smith as Anthony

Production

In March 2016, it was announced

had ordered a season of eight episodes, with

writing and directing the series, with

, Jane Adams,

, Kiersey Clemons,

, and

starring.

Episodes

Some characters appear in one or more episodes as the protagonist, and in other episodes as background characters.

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2017)

Season 3 (2019)

Reception

The first season of ''Easy'' received positive reviews from film critics. It holds an 85% approval rating on review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 7.53/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the season holds a rating of 72 out of 100, based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The show's second season received similar reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an 86% approval rating based on 14 critical reviews, with an average rating of 9/10.

References

External links

* * {{Netflix original ended series (2012–2018) 2010s American LGBTQ-related comedy television series 2010s American LGBTQ-related drama television series 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American sex comedy television series 2016 American television series debuts 2019 American television series endings 2010s American anthology television series Lesbian-related television shows American English-language television shows Netflix television dramas Spanish-language television programming in the United States Television shows filmed in Illinois Television shows scored by Dan Romer Television shows set in Chicago Spanish-language television shows