You know, this is the second show in a short amount of time that really impressed me because of how well they represented a good friendship. And a male friendship at that! In the first, and hopefully not last, season of Everyone is Doing Great, we see to men in their late twenties really just learning to grow up. This show came as a recommendation that I was a little hesitant to watch but found that I really, really enjoyed it!
Seth and Jeremy used to be on the very popular vampire show, Eternal, about five years ago, but have since struggled to move forward with their careers and even their lives. That’s not to say Seth isn’t trying. Although he keeps coming up short, or getting really strange and uncomfortable auditions. Jeremy has been hanging back ever since the show ended and doesn’t really want to put himself out there again. Both guys are also struggling in the relationship department, as Seth keeps awkwardly running into his ex-girlfriend that he can’t get over, and Jeremy’s wife files for divorce by the end of the first episode!
From there, the two friends become roommates and go through a whole plethora of shenanigans. Despite his impending divorce, Jeremy likes to keep things fun and light, but you can tell it’s sort of a put-on for avoiding his feelings, and Andrea’s feelings for that matter. It’s clear Andrea still loves Jeremy, but she’s given him countless chances to be there for her and step up and stop looking at other women on Instagram. While this should have been Jeremy’s wake-up call to grow up, he still flounders throughout almost the rest of the season. His drug use isn’t really helping him out either.
As I said before, Seth gets auditions, but they are uncomfortable and for small background parts. Throughout the season you see him play a dead cop in the background of a film, and then he bites the bullet and decides to star in a play. That comes with its own set of challenges, but eventually he gains more confidence in himself and puts on a stellar performance. He even manages to move on from his ex-girlfriend, but not before making himself look like an ass first. While Seth generally seems more mature than Jeremy, he is struggling in his own ways, too.
The first two episodes of this show started out a little boring for me, but the rest of them really took off! I suppose the disconnect could have come from the fact that the first two episodes were filmed at least a year before the others. Stars James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti filmed the first two episodes, then took them to festivals and crowd-funded to get the rest of the episodes shot. Sadly, it took almost a whole extra year for the show to get picked up anywhere (thank you, Hulu!). I thought it was really interesting how these two guys really did an indie television show and really got to make it their own. Both Lafferty and Colletti starred in One Tree Hill once upon a time, so one could call this show semi-autobiographical, although neither have had a floundering professional or personal life since it ended. I also liked that Lafferty’s real life fiancé, Alexandra Park played Andrea in the show! It all seemed really intimate and fun that way! While Everyone is Doing Great is only eight episodes long, if I had to recommend two to check out, they would hands down have to be “North Carolina” and “What Are You Afraid Of.” Had me cackling at parts.