![\"Karl](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/a4f8ff87c18a5cd77f68e2e5bec557af09704ee24d7ae5e480221fbe9f8c0dfa.png\")
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April 3, 2026 \u2014 12:00pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Your Friends and Neighbours (season two) \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard not to lean into the easy comparison with this dramedy about a regular guy drawn to a life of crime in middle age: it is indeed Breaking Bad with better, or at least more expensive, clothes and drugs. But in its second season, hedge fund manager-turned burglar Andrew Cooper (Jon Hamm)<\/a> is much more interested in breaking good. If only circumstances would allow it.<\/p>\n Coop\u2019s life has improved a little since the nadir of the first season, in which his friends and neighbours in ritzy Westmont Village (a fictionalised version of Westchester County, north of Manhattan) shunned him after he was sacked from his firm for having an affair with a young co-worker.<\/p>\n With his financial stocks at a low, a massive monthly maintenance bill for ex-wife Mel (Amanda Peet), their two kids and their stately home to take care of, not to mention a penchant for the finer things in life, what choice did the poor fellow have but to rob the homes of those who had spurned him?<\/p>\n Related Article But just as things seem to be settling into the new normal \u2013 he\u2019s been acquitted of murder, former lover Sam (Olivia Munn) is forgiven for framing him, and even Mel and Sam have patched things up \u2013 a new kid arrives in town and threatens to blow everything up again.<\/p>\n Owen Ashe (James Marsden) is a charming, smarmy, dashingly handsome and staggeringly rich shipping magnate who in very short order snaps up the area\u2019s most expensive house, sweeps Sam off her feet, and makes Coop an offer he can\u2019t refuse after catching him in the act of stealing a first edition copy of Edith Wharton\u2019s House of Mirth.<\/p>\n Ashe inveigles his way into Westmont life by throwing lavish parties, laces his guests\u2019 drinks with MDMA, and carries himself with outrageous confidence to match his outrageous fortune. As he says of himself, \u201ceven my swagger has swagger\u201d. As others note, he\u2019s like a modern-day Jay Gatsby \u2013 with a past that\u2019s every bit as murky.<\/p>\n There\u2019s so much to enjoy in this show, with its real estate porn, rolling lawns, designer clothes and luxury cars. And who can\u2019t take pleasure in seeing the 1 per cent cut down to size a little (except, perhaps, the 1 per cent). Hamm\u2019s voiceover narration is sometimes a little clunky, as if the writers had lost faith in the \u201cshow-don\u2019t-tell\u201d maxim and were trying to make sure we didn\u2019t miss the existential crisis afflicting our main man. But overall, the series does a decent job of balancing the comedic excess with the dramatic weight of its underlying concerns.<\/p>\n Related Article For me, though, the bigger question is just how committed creator Jonathan Tropper and his writing team really are to those concerns. Ennui, peri-menopause, the relentless pursuit of material success to the detriment of personal fulfilment: I mean, sure, these are worthwhile topics. But it\u2019s hard to feel too sorry for a guy whose fall from grace means he has to park his Maserati in the driveway of a really nice rental rather than the family home he\u2019s still paying and pining for.<\/p>\n It\u2019s world\u2019s-smallest-violin stuff, really. But obviously, a very expensive one. Stradivarius, likely. No doubt Coop will have his eye on it.<\/p>\n Your Friends and Neighbours streams on Fridays on Apple TV+, until June 5.<\/p>\n Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"With](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/80239c3cf44310ba4e8a350cdc12d7ad742a03d2.jpeg\")
With friends like these: Olivia Munn, James Marsden, Jon Hamm and Heather Lind in season 2.Apple TV<\/p>\n![\"What](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/36b8f78141760af273219e4ab164a6cdb8d0836191e71b1f6568997f1ac0ddc3.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Marsden\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2d2a5bb4ab9055873cc65a9bf3b72c93a29aabe3.jpeg\")
Marsden\u2019s Owen Ashe is at the heart of most of the drama in the second season.Apple TV+<\/p>\n![\"Hamish](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bdff40e4d8713a88f085724967fe9679952cf801.jpeg\")
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