At first sight, it seems slight. And then there's the title, which seems throwaway. But then you watch and you're hooked. If, that is, you have an adult sensibility about life, love, family, friendship and figuring out that if your parents screwed up, it's up to you to make a better life.
Casual (now streaming on CraveTV) is a gem of a comedy, brittle and sometimes uproariously funny. It is finely small-scale and droll. And it's ideal for a binge watch. (There are 10 half-hour episodes and I'd recommend doing it in two stints.)
Created by Zander Lehmann and executive produced by Jason Reitman (who directed the first two episodes), Casual was made for the Hulu service. An important line in the first episode of Casual is this: "Let's not ruin this with conversation."
You see, Casual is mostly about conversation. That's why the line is key. It's all sly, elliptical dialogue in a dark comedy about family, narcissism and the very intricate dynamics of finding support and succour outside of your immediate relatives. Also, it's about the significant difference between what happens online and what happens in real, I'm-talking-to-you life.
In the opening, we meet L.A. therapist Valerie (Michaela Watkins), who has just moved in with her younger brother, Alex (Tommy Dewey), after a difficult divorce, and she brings her teenage daughter, Laura (Tara Lynne Barr), into this new domestic setup, too.
Smart but risk averse, Valerie is different from Alex, a cocky, playful dude who made a small fortune creating a popular dating website. Mind you, he's not really into what his website sells – long-term relationships. He prefers to drift, to be casual. Valerie and Alex exist in that age group that finds online dating useful but they are old enough to remember when people met other people in person, mostly. And then there is teenager Laura, already sexually aware and in some ways ahead of her mother. In other ways, definitely not.
There are no comedic gags, no blatantly obvious jokes in Casual. There is just an awful lot of talk. (It was the first TV production to be screened at TIFF's Primetime program last year. An odd choice, since it is the least cinematic of shows.) And the characters unfold in their fullness very slowly.
It takes a while before we understand that Valerie and Alex's parents (their mother is wonderfully played by Frances Conroy) were not exactly nurturing. How Alex and Valerie handle their circumstance is important and there hasn't been such a rich depiction of brother/sister dynamics since HBO's Six Feet Under.
A key theme that emerges gradually is the lack of substance in what Alex has created in that website. For all his cockiness about using algorithms to meet women, he is essentially lost. The Internet he manipulates hasn't actually helped him because it is separate from authentic living and loving.
For all the delicious, spiky comedy in Casual, there is a sense of sadness and regret about what has been abandoned by people who rely so much on the virtual, not the real. Casual, you see, isn't casual about its comedy, at all.
Airing this weekend
It's competing music-awards show time!
The 2016 Juno Awards(Sunday, CTV, 7 p.m.) airs live from Calgary, co-hosted by Jann Arden and Jon Montgomery. The presenters include Nickelback, Paul Brandt, Kardinal Offishall, Letterkenny stars Jared Keeso and Nathan Dales, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi (described by CTV as a "social media enthusiast," as if he was an enthusiastic amateur) and, of course, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable Mélanie Joly. Performers include Buffy Sainte-Marie, Lights, Alessia Cara, Bryan Adams and The Weeknd. Plus, there's an elaborate tribute to Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Burton Cummings. After all that Canadian stuff for two hours, CTV goes back to its regularly scheduled American programming.
The 51st Academy of Country Music Awards (Sunday, CBS, Global, 8 p.m.) comes live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley host and scheduled performers include Cam, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Florida Georgia Line. It goes on for three hours.
The biggest deal this weekend is, however, the season finale of The Walking Dead (Sunday, AMC, 9 p.m.). Who's dead? Well, after they introduce the insanely creepy Negan character, you can expect a lot of death. Enjoy.