Your Friends & Neighbors

“Your Friends & Neighbors” is a clever look at the “haves” of the world.

Hamm nicely keeps Coop anchored enough for us to stay invested in his well-being, while he shows remarkable chemistry with much of the surrounding cast, particularly Hoon Lee as best friend/business manager Barney and Lena Hall as his troubled sister Ali.

Introspective and surprising, with a murder mystery in the middle of the narrative, the series scrutinizes some of society’s most affluent while putting their most broken and deplorable qualities on full display.

As a viewer we may not always agree with his decisions, the way he treats people or the path he chooses, but such is the strength and depth of our flawed protagonist that you cannot help but care what happens to him.

Your Friends & Neighbours is that kind of show – clever, very well put together and, if not entirely original, more than sharp enough to get away with it.

Tropper’s series does meander, but even if it’s not run as tightly as a ship as it could be, its original premise and its ability to make many of these characters interesting as they show flickers of humanity and then do something appalling keep you watching. The primary reason remains Hamm.

Even its shakiest moments are elevated by a sterling Jon Hamm and equally captivating Amanda Peet—the latter giving a career-best performance—as exes attempting to survive, and to some extent escape, a materialistic prison of their own making.

Hamm’s performance in Your Friends & Neighbors is what will keep us watching, as he transforms from a guy who has gotten too big for his britches to a guy who now knows that was the case and is doing something about it.

Seven of the nine episodes made available for review establish "Your Friends & Neighbors" as one of Tropper’s better TV efforts, although, in the tradition of past shows like "Banshee" and "Warrior," its handsomeness disguises significant creative shortcomings. That doesn’t make it less watchable – it's certainly that. Nevertheless, if you’re exhausted with voiceover exposition, you’re probably also over in medias res openers. .... Since it’s Hamm’s mug and voice doing the trespassing, these cliches are easily forgiven.

The first couple episodes can be tiring as the entire world is seemingly pitted against Cooper, but as time goes by, it becomes clear that this is simply his perspective, and his relationships are all more complex and nuanced than they initially appear. "Your Friends and Neighbors" isn't perfect, but Hamm alone makes it worth giving a chance.

Only seven of the episodes were available for review, so whether a viewer should invest at all is a gamble. Like a hedge fund. One sure thing is that Mr. Hamm will keep your attention for as long as you have him, and another is Ms. Hall, who is a treat, especially when she sings.

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.

It’s an addictive binge-watch with the type of Apple TV+ sheen that you’d come to expect. Further, it centralizes a Hamm performance that perfectly encapsulates the type of likable loser that he’s so good at portraying. But, it’s also something of a missed opportunity, never able to make the type of statement it is so obviously reaching towards.

A chattier Hamm character is a differentiator. But in early episodes, it’s kind of a one-note story that didn’t inspire me to want to watch more.