Your Friends and Neighbours: Jon Hamm stars in 'frothily fun' black comedy
Crime caper about a hedge fund manager who resorts to burgling his 'obnoxious' neighbours after losing his job

"Mad Men"'s Jon Hamm goes "from Don Draper to crime caper" in this "frothily fun" black comedy from Apple TV+, said Michael Hogan in The Guardian.
The actor brings his "slippery good looks" to the role of Andrew "Coop" Cooper, a divorced hedge fund CEO who has recently lost his job for workplace impropriety. With alimony payments to meet, he's desperate to maintain his "megabucks Ivy Leaguer lifestyle", and to keep his "spoilt" family in the style to which they've become accustomed. So he resorts to robbing his rich neighbours in upstate New York, only to discover that "what happens behind those white picket fences is even murkier than he imagined". The likeable Coop is essentially "Robin Hood in a Ralph Lauren cap", who retains our sympathy even as he pilfers luxury goods from the drawers of his "minted and smugly punchable" victims. The question is: for how long can he get away with it?
The show is in no hurry to let us know, said Dan Einav in the Financial Times. Subplots abound, and while those featuring Coop's "rueful" ex-wife Mel (Amanda Peet) enrich the narrative, others are "unnecessary" and sometimes turn a "promising" premise into a "lethargic" slog.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's all a little formulaic, repeating "familiar tropes" about obnoxious rich people from shows such as "Big Little Lies" and "The White Lotus", said Benji Wilson in The Telegraph. Still, Hamm is "superb" as Coop, and it's all deftly scripted. It may not be "entirely original", but "Your Friends and Neighbors" is "more than sharp enough to get away with it".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Experts are split on the findings in RFK Jr.'s 'MAHA' report
In the Spotlight The HHS secretary's report targeted processed foods and vaccines, among other things
-
Jony Ive changed the world with the iPhone. Can he do it again with OpenAI?
Talking Points Ive is joining OpenAI, hoping to create another transformative piece of personal technology. Can lightning strike twice?
-
Elon Musk says he's 'done enough' political spending. What does that really mean?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The world's richest man predicted he'd do 'a lot less' electoral financing moving forward. Has Washington seen the last of the tech titan?
-
6 lounge-ready homes with conversation pits
Feature Featuring a terrazzo-flanked pit in California and a fire-side pit in Nevada
-
Is a River Alive?: a 'powerful synthesis of literature, activism and ethics'
The Week Recommends Robert Macfarlane's latest book centres on his journeys to four river systems around the world
-
Good One: an 'intensely compelling' coming-of-age tale
The Week Recommends India Donaldson's 'quietly devastating' debut feature about a teenage girl's life-changing camping trip
-
The best lemon pepper wings in Atlanta
Feature Marinated turkey wings, a Korean barbecue sauce combo and an off-menu staple
-
Film reviews: Friendship and Fight or Flight
Feature An awkward dad unravels after he's unfriended and Josh Hartnett attempts a John Wick sidestep
-
Art review: Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei
Feature Seattle Art Museum, through Sept. 7
-
Book reviews: 'Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age' and 'Mark Twain'
Feature Navigating pregnancy in the digital age and an exploration of Mark Twain's private life
-
Richard Bausch's 6 favorite books that are worth rereading
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and more