To say that a second season of Everyone is Doing Great was a total surprise to me would be an understatement. One day, randomly perusing Netflix, this show’s banner scrolled through the top and I jolted with surprise! Hoenstly, it’s been so long since the first season aired that I didn’t even remember where I watched the first season (evidently, Hulu).
Seriously, the first season aired back in 2021. And I don’t think any of these guys have really done all that much in the meantime. Do I know how long it can take to make a show? No. Maybe the writing process took forever. Maybe there were changes in producers, obviously a change in distributor, and heck, maybe they just didn’t feel motivated to do it yet. Not really knowing how this show appealed to any sort of audience, I can see where money was probably a huge hurdle, as well. And when I say I don’t know how it appealed to an audience, I mean that I don’t know how anyone would have heard about this show. I don’t even remember how I heard about the show. Even my friend, who was obsessed with One Tree Hill back in the day never heard of this show.
But it was a good show! The story dealt with real issues, kind of ridiculous moments at parts, but the humor was solid, as well as the relationships and chemistry. I think a large part of that had to do with the fact that James Lafferty and Stephen Colletti are real life friends, and that Alexandra Park is Lafferty’s real life wife. Sill, they play the moments well off of each other, and that continued on in this most recent season some five years later. I had to really reach into my back brain to remember important beats from the first season, so I’ll briefly lay them out for you, so you don’t have to think as hard as I did. Jeremy, Seth, and Andrea all used to be on a hit vampire show together. However many years after it’s ended, Jermey and Andrea’s marriage has, as well. Seth is struggling with getting work, while Jeremy is struggling with alcoholism. At the end of the season, Jeremy enters into rehab.
Cut to the second season, Jeremy is out of rehab, barely, and seems to just be doing the bare minimum. Sure, he’s cut alcohol out of his life, but the struggle is real, and it’s morphed itself into extreme anger at the smallest inconveniences. Seth is making life with his lawyer-to-be girlfreind pretty difficult, and it’s clear that they are not all that compatable. He’s also trying to break out of the teen drama roles and into comedy, which he needs a lot of work in. Andrea is still doing well on her police procedural, but when some devastating personal news upends her life, it also upends her career. It also has her second-guessing her divorce with Jeremy, and she feels guilty for not recognizing and helping with his alcoholism. Isabelle is going through her own turmoil, but she’s ultimately trying to get back together with Seth without forcing anything.
Once again, the chemistry over the course of the season is great. Also, I found that this show is really well shot given the likely small budget they have for it. Again, the trio really manage to capture this niche slice of actor life for those who were once insanely successful and now kind of find themselves floundering with what to do next. I do think for them it has to be a little bit of a reflection on the trajectory of their own lives, but they make a compelling story out of it. I’m really hoping for another season, but I suppose I could have to wait a while to ever see it come to fruition. In the meantime, check this quirky little indie series out!