When it comes to rom-com shows, Netflix — arguably the biggest streaming service around — has got some major titles in its library, from "Bridgerton" to "Emily in Paris" to "Nobody Wants This." But because of the sheer breadth of the series and films on offer, you might have missed some quality TV romantic comedies along the way. And Joe Swanberg's slept-on anthology "Easy" is definitely worthy of your attention.
Having aired on the streamer from September 2016 through May 2019, the intimate, three-season series follows everyday Chicagoans (albeit played by big-name stars like Orlando Bloom, Malin Akerman, Jake Johnson, Aubrey Plaza, Marc Maron, Dave Franco, Hannibal Buress, Emily Ratajkowski and many more) as they struggle through the ever-so-relatable world of dating, love and sex. Each 30-minute episode is a standalone story, so you basically get 25 mini rom-coms for the price of one!
Need more convincing? The series has an overall 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Here's why you should add "Easy" to your next Netflix binge — trust us, you'll fall in love with this one.
What is 'Easy' about?
The star-studded Netflix series "Easy" comes courtesy Joe Swanberg — who writes, directs, edits and executive produces here — the indie filmmaker who's made a name for himself via his signature brand of "mumblecore" works ("Hannah Takes the Stairs," "Greenberg," "Drinking Buddies"), low-budget and highly improvised projects that go light on story but heavy on lived-in-naturalism.
And that's very much the vibe of this romance-focused anthology, which explores the emotionally messy and entertainingly complicated relationships of a wide variety of folks living and loving in urban Chicago. Each episode is about 30 minutes and largely standalone (though some characters do overlap), offering a realistic, vignette-style portrait of modern romance, from dating snafus to marital crises and everything in between.
Why should you stream 'Easy' on Netflix?
When it comes to watching new shows, Netflix subscribers are used to a good ol' one-fell-swoop binge session, and while that's obviously available here, the joy of streaming an anthology series like "Easy" is that you're free from any overarching plot and can instead consume its mini-romances as little half-hour bursts of sweetness and sensuality.
Fittingly, "Easy" stands out from other streamer romances — which tend to have a more heightened, tension-stoking take on the form — with just that: the refreshing simplicity and effortlessness of its story, a quality that has clearly charmed critics.
"Actors clearly like working with Swanberg; the cast includes Aya Cash, Dave Franco, Zazie Beetz, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Emily Ratajkowski, Raúl Castillo, and Jake Johnson," Sonia Saraiya writes for Variety. "Swanberg excels at bringing the best out of his actors, and the partnership between apparently at-ease actor and apparently invisible camera creates an atmosphere so lived-in that it’s both welcoming and suffocating."
Watch "Easy" on Netflix now
