A drama about the trials and tribulations of a group of rich New Yorkers may be the definition of “first-world problems” but in spite of that, Fleishman Is In Trouble is an absolute joy.
In adapting her 2019 bestseller for television, Taffy Brodesser-Akner has created a sort of modern-day Woody Allen movie for 40-somethings that is equal parts amusing, moving and melancholic.
The starting point for the eight-part Disney+ series is the divorce of Manhattan doctor Toby Fleishman (a very Woody-esque Jesse Eisenberg) and his high-maintenance showbiz agent wife Rachel (played by Claire Danes).
The mystery of Rachel’s disappearance drives the show, as regular flashbacks chart their relationship over the years.”
Although their parting seems amicable at first, things take a turn when she fails to return to New York from a yoga retreat, leaving their two young children shell-shocked and Toby increasingly adrift.
The mystery of Rachel’s disappearance drives the show, as regular flashbacks chart their relationship over the years and we piece together what might have happened to her. And, as we see things from different perspectives, our sympathies change.
Fleishman Is In Trouble’s supporting cast is also uniformly excellent. Their storylines are as strong, if not stronger, than those of Toby and Rachel, in particular Libby (Lizzy Caplan), a former magazine writer who has given up the Manhattan literary scene to become a housewife and seems to be regretting that decision with every passing day.
Libby is also the show’s narrator and her omnipresent voiceover takes us into the heads of all the characters.
It’s also about that time in life when you’re too old to be considered young but too young to be considered old.”
Maybe it’s because I’m close to the ages of the characters in the series, but it has a real melancholic quality too.
As much as it’s about the Fleishmans, it’s also about that time in life when you’re too old to be considered young but too young to be considered old.
It’s about those life and career choices you made at what now seems like an unimaginably young age – and that might now be biting you on the bum.