‘Friends From College’ Season 2 Review and Observations

Friends from College made its return to Netflix this past weekend. For the uninitiated, the show is the story of a group of Harvard graduates in their late 30s who can’t seem to stop acting like a bunch of 20 year olds when they get together. I loved the first season, and Netflix kept news about the second season under wraps until a week before the show’s second season was added to the site. Naturally, I finished the season three days after it was released (it’s only eight half-hour episodes), and I might have enjoyed the second season even more than the first.

(Before I continue, I should warn you that there are spoilers ahead).

My favorite thing about this show is that it’s funny enough to make me laugh, but it can soon turn into moments that are both heartfelt and heartbreaking. Each character makes attempts to improve themselves, but it seems like none of them can stop getting in their own way. Whether it’s Lisa (Cobie Smulders) being unable to resist being with Ethan (Keegan Michael Key) one more time or Nick (Nat Faxon) trying and failing to act a little bit more like a man his age, this season features our main six characters continuing to revert back to their college-aged personalities.

This season features a lot of emotional moments, and with those moments come a lot of great acting performances. Smulders turns in what may be her best work as Lisa goes through the end of another pregnancy and the news that she’s pregnant, and Annie Parisse (Sam) does a great job as well. Fred Savage is perfectly cast as the neurotic Max, and it’s a refreshing change to see Billy Eichner (Felix) playing a dry, deadpan character instead of the loud, sassy gay character he’s usually typecast to be.

Overall, this was a very good season of television. This show goes from being funny to heartfelt and everywhere in between with ease. It tells a great story and features standout acting performances and a great soundtrack to boot. Friends from College has gone seriously under the radar, and I would recommend it to just about anybody.

(P.S. The two funniest moments of the season both come from Nick. When Sam gets sprayed by the skunk at Max and Felix’s engagement party and Nick can’t stop throwing up, and when Max and Ethan talk about how it works when they jam together, start having an air jam sesh and Nick comes from nowhere to join in. Okay, now I’m going to watch again.)