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I will never understand what posessed me to stick with a show that starts out with three selfish, neurotically cynical and sexually dysfunctional leads, but I did and it really paid off. Casual is a beautifully written series, aside from great dialog and storytelling, the character arcs, both within each season and overall are masterful. The show's direction is nicely cohesive, with each episode's director clearly chosen for that particular episode according to style, emphasis & content. The cast has teriffic chemistry, particularly between the three principals.

I watched all four seasons of Casual over the course of a few weeks, finishing about a month ago. I've been surprised to find the characters (even the ones I still don't like) and their stories have stuck with me like a beloved novel. I can't say that about many shows or even films. Bravo!

I stumbled upon this show in a desperate attempt to find something entertaining and exciting to watch but also saw a familiar face, actor Tommy Dewey, who I also recognized as Mindy Lahiri's ex-boyfriend from The Mindy Project, also part of the main cast. I will admit that the pilot initially threw me off, leaving me a bit confused as to what the show was all about. I then followed this with seeing what IMDb had to say and stumbled on a negative review which made me write-off this show... until now. Having watched all five current episodes, it wasn't until I finished the second episode that I immediately disposed of my original thoughts and found out that this show was everything I was hoping it would be...Just needs some time to get used to in my case.

I don't know what its like to be a divorced single mother, or a misogynistic brother, or even a 16 year old high school girl. But what I can relate to is the journey through online dating and all the happenings revolved around it that I find myself smile and laugh when scenes cause flashbacks into my own dating past... of memories I've tucked away into the back of my brain hoping they never resurface. But hey, that's what makes this show special.

The comedy is tasteful and sincere, the actors and story-line are believable, and together the three main characters have a great dynamic together. Simply, an unexpected surprise.

Casual stars Michaela Watkins and Tommy Dewey as Valerie and Alex, two adult siblings and Tara Lynne Barr as Valarie's daughter. All three actors are excellent in their respective roles and the writing is top notch. What I think is throwing some off, myself included, is the fact that the characters are not that nice. They are selfish, sometimes arrogant, and superficial, but along the way, we learn to forgive them because they are so damaged. Explanation of plot and characters would be irrelevant as it is a multi story-line arc, so just watch the show.

Valerie (Michaela Watkins) is a tired therapist divorcing her husband Drew who is going with a younger woman. She and her teenage daughter Laura Meyers (Tara Lynne Barr) are living at her single brother Alex Cole (Tommy Dewey). Alex created a dating app but his own program cannot find him a real match. Valerie decides to have an one night stand with Leon (Nyasha Hatendi). Instead, Alex befriends Leon as his own permanent friend. Leia (Julie Berman) is Valerie's secretary.

I love the humor of Michaela Watkins. The brother is a bit of a hit and miss. His self-destructive jerkiness can be annoying but his lack of a dating profile match is utterly heart-breaking. It's a great poetic surprise reveal. The daughter is doing the rebel teen thing with her deadpan delivery. It's both adorable and frustrating. The whole self-destructive dysfunctional family can be both adorable and frustrating. Maybe my best take is that this is casually humorous.

Just finished the final episode on Amazon. Found myself genuinely moved, have grown to really like the characters and be interested in how things turned out. I guess the point about such polarising reviews is that you either like something or you don't. And that's ok. Just strongly suggest you give it a try and see which camp you fall into.