Your Friends & Neighbors (2025) - Season 1

Edwin Tan

08 Feb 2026 — 1 min read

Score: 7 / 10
Category: TV Series
Platform: Apple TV+

One-line verdict

A polished, morally grey suburban drama held together by strong performances, but weighed down by too many unresolved subplots.

What worked

This is my first series entry for Jan 2026, and overall, I enjoyed it.

I like the family-drama setup. I like the narrative perspective of the main character. And casting-wise, this show is stacked — almost everyone looks good, polished, and very “Apple TV+”.

Performance-wise, Amanda Peet surprised me. She pulled off several strong scenes, especially in moments that required emotional restraint rather than theatrics.

The show lives comfortably in morally grey territory, which is interesting, even if it runs against some of my own principles. Among all the characters, Jon Hamm’s character is the most consistent: level-headed, non-violent, patient, and grounded. Watching him navigate chaos without escalating it was genuinely satisfying.

Where it broke

The biggest issue is bloat.

Nine episodes felt like too much because the show introduced too many subplots and then failed to resolve them properly:

the kids’ arcs
the sister
Ali
the wealth manager character (and why renovation stress hit him so hard)
the art thief storyline
Christian’s arc, which simply disappears
Lu being “okay again” after beating Andrew up, despite being one of the core problem-makers

These threads don’t converge — they just fade out. That made the show feel less intentional than it wanted to be.

The section below discusses structure and resolution.

Why this lands at a 7

Despite the flaws, I was satisfied.

Apple TV+ has this very specific posh, polished tone — hard to define, but easy to feel — and this series fits that mold perfectly. I enjoyed the atmosphere, the performances, and especially the payoff of watching Jon Hamm’s character endure everything with patience and composure and still come out on top.

Structurally, this could have been tighter. Fewer subplots, clearer resolutions, and more discipline would have elevated it.

Still, the enjoyment outweighed the frustration.

7 / 10 — flawed but genuinely satisfying.

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