Madeline
Please Like Me show came to me after watching Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. The shows were created by the same people and therefore have the same light and funny feel. Each show is equally entertaining yet, also, not going to win show of the year any time soon. The dark comedic aspect of these shows kept me coming back for more.
Premise of Please Like Me
With four seasons, it is difficult to summarize it all, but Please Like Me all centers around Josh. In the first episode of the first season, Josh’s girlfriend, Claire, breaks up with him and tells him he is gay. Although he denies it at first, he quickly finds himself in the gay community and exploring dating other men. This beginning makes it seem like this show is all about Josh exploring his new sexuality. But by the end of the first season, we have fully moved on from this topic and moved on to the stories of the other characters.
Tom is Josh’s heterosexual best friend and roommate. He goes through various girlfriends throughout the show. He clearly enjoys them, yet has a hard time being faithful. Always coming back to Claire, who has turned from Josh’s girlfriend to a recurring character and third best friend to the pair.
The group of young Australians who come in and out of this house are creative and a bit strange, doing things like building a city out of cardboard and filming their sweet dog to destroy it. Or killing off their noisy roster so that no one else does. Or having a bunny funeral for a bunny they only had for two weeks. But what do you say about an animal you only had for two weeks?
The main stories surround Tom and Josh’s house, but Josh’s divorced parents also help carry the storyline further. Josh’s father is wealthy and is dating a young Thai girl who is also the mother of his child. Josh’s mother is manic depressive and spends the entire second season in a mental hospital, where she meets Ginger, a spicy and loud women, and Hannah, a masculine lesbian with deep and dark issues. Although Ginger quickly is removed from the series with an unfortunate suicide, Hannah turns into Josh’s mother’s companion and best friend.
Final Thoughts
Please Like Me show is a dark comedy based in Australia. These eclectic young people bring humor to the darkness that life has brought them. There is death of pets, dealing with mental illnesses, and infidelity. Although this show is not of the likes of Dexter or Breaking Bad, it is worth the watch for anyone who likes dark comedies.
