It’s always fascinating to see how the ultra-rich live, but it’s even more fun to see them ruin themselves with greed. That’s what happens in Your Friends and Neighbors when Coop (Hamm) loses his main source of income and decides to rob his wealthy friends and neighbors. He starts slow as to remain inconspicuous: luxury watches they barely wear, paintings they pass by every day. Disposable for them, but worth a living to the increasingly broke Coop. But soon, petty thievery gives way to something more dangerous and compromising, endangering not just Coop’s status but his life. It’s a smart, entertaining show, given much heft by Jon Hamm. It’s nice to see him donning a similar character to the iconic one he gave life to in Mad Men. Here, again, he injects pathos in what would otherwise seem like a typical rich sad sack. Hamm turns Coop into someone complicated, sympathetic even, as he hides his emotional implosion behind a sleek suit. Though its class commentary is not as sharp as it should be, Your Friends and Neighbors is nonetheless a worthwhile watch—if only to see Hamm back in his element.
"While the series initially captures its audience’s attention with the prospect of watching a rich man stealing from his neighbors, the secrets that continue to unravel are what will truly reel viewers in."
— Kaiya Shunyata
"Hamm is fantastic as a man reflecting on his imploded sense of self."
— Aramide Tinubu
When a financial titan suddenly finds himself divorced and jobless, he starts robbing his wealthy neighbors to stay afloat. Stealing from his own social circle strangely exhilarates him—but he gradually gets tangled in a deadly web.
New York hedge fund manager Andrew Cooper (Jon Hamm) is fired from his job, so to maintain his upper-class lifestyle and keep his family afloat, he robs his wealthy friends and, in the process, learns more than he bargains for.
The class disparity displayed here toes the line between insightful and…boastful?
Class critic has become somewhat of a trend in TV, but this is one of the sharper and more entertaining ones thanks to Hamm’s sobering performance.
Nat. Board of Review
1 win
