Living with Yourself

Yes, the result is shallowing, but there is scope, too, for us to fill in the blanks ourselves. But that is what Living with Yourself ultimately is – a comedy that asks the big questions but doesn’t look too far for the answers.

Events are shown, and re-shown, from different perspectives and often reach far enough back to cause some confusion if you’re not bingewatching several episodes or the whole thing at once. The technology makes Rudd’s appearances with himself seamless – no dodgy shooting over a stand-in’s shoulder here – and it chunters along nicely, musing philosophically as it goes and delivering enough laughs at least to make sense of the casting. I can live with it.

Living with Yourself starts with an interesting “what-if” and keeps answering that question with enough verve to keep you cracking through the episodes at a rapid clip. It’s got a twisted sense of humor and two compelling leads in Rudd and Bea, who mine the often thin material for more than its worth. But it’s hard to escape the feeling that the series could have been more, gone deeper, hit harder.

Some of the story arc decisions are dubious (it works better at being funny than being serious) and often it feels like Living With Yourself needs to slow down and stretch for a bit, luxuriating in the ease of the idea. Instead, it races into scenarios that feel forced. There's still a lot to like about the series and maybe it will work better as it gets comfortable in its own skin.

The unfortunate irony of this show about copying people is that it itself feels like an inferior knockoff, a genial lark that can’t help but fall short of the soul, wit, and creative ingenuity of the thing it’s unconsciously echoing.

Living With Yourself is a slight, not entirely coherent series. After watching all four hours, I’m not sure what to take away from the experience. There are complications introduced and then dispensed with for no reason beyond keeping the binge-watch going. But there are lovely moments, too, and sharp observations about marriage.