Hey, everyone! How’s it going? Today I’m here to review the drama Easy, which completely fascinated me with its intimate, slice-of-life approach to exploring the complexities of modern relationships in contemporary Chicago.
Created and directed by Joe Swanberg, Easy premiered on Netflix on September 22, 2016, and ran for three seasons until May 10, 2019. The anthology series features 25 episodes in total across its three seasons, with each episode running approximately 30 minutes. This Chicago-set series follows an interconnected group of characters as they navigate the modern landscape of love, sex, technology, and culture through various relationship dynamics and life stages.
The series stands out for its naturalistic dialogue, improvisational acting style, and realistic portrayal of contemporary relationships. Easy explores themes ranging from open marriages and online dating to creative struggles and mid-life transitions, all while maintaining an authentic, documentary-like feel that makes every story feel genuinely lived-in.
An Anthology of Authentic Chicago Stories
The central concept revolves around various Chicago residents whose lives occasionally intersect as they deal with relationship challenges, personal growth, and the complications of modern dating culture. Unlike traditional anthology series, Easy creates a loose web of connections between characters, with some appearing in multiple episodes across different seasons. The show brilliantly captures the messiness of real relationships, avoiding neat resolutions in favor of honest portrayals of how people actually communicate, fight, and love in the 21st century.
Michael Chernus and Elizabeth Reaser: The Open Marriage Experiment
Michael Chernus and Elizabeth Reaser deliver compelling performances as Kyle and Andi, a married couple who decide to explore an open relationship. Their storyline spans multiple seasons, showing the evolution and complications of their unconventional arrangement. Chernus brings vulnerability and uncertainty to Kyle, a man trying to navigate new relationship territory while maintaining his marriage. Reaser’s Andi represents the confident partner pushing boundaries while dealing with unexpected emotional consequences. Their chemistry and realistic dialogue create some of the series’ most memorable and thought-provoking moments.
The Stellar Ensemble Cast: Chicago’s Dating Pool
The series features an impressive rotating cast including Orlando Bloom, Marc Maron, Jake Johnson, Dave Franco, Aya Cash, Hannibal Buress, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jane Adams, and Kiersey Clemons. Each actor brings their unique energy to stories that feel spontaneous and authentic. Marc Maron’s episodes particularly shine, showcasing his character’s attempts at online dating with his trademark neurotic humor. The ensemble approach allows Easy to explore different demographics, sexual orientations, and relationship styles, creating a comprehensive look at contemporary Chicago’s dating scene.
When Reality Meets Fantasy: The Breaking Points
The series reaches its most compelling moments when characters confront the gap between their relationship fantasies and reality. Whether it’s dealing with jealousy in an open marriage, navigating the awkwardness of reconnecting with an ex, or handling the pressures of creative collaboration between romantic partners, Easy excels at showing how good intentions can lead to complicated situations. The show never judges its characters but instead observes them with empathy and understanding, even when they make questionable decisions.
Improvised Authenticity: The Swanberg Style
Joe Swanberg’s mumblecore background heavily influences Easy, with much of the dialogue improvised by the actors based on loose scripts and character outlines. This approach creates conversations that feel remarkably natural and unforced, capturing the way people actually speak to each other rather than delivering perfectly crafted dialogue. The improvisational style allows actors to bring their own personalities to their roles, resulting in performances that feel spontaneous and genuine rather than performed.
Underrated Success on Netflix
Despite earning positive critical reception for its authentic storytelling and strong ensemble performances, Easy maintains a 6.8 rating on IMDb and remained somewhat under the radar compared to Netflix’s bigger hits. The series received praise for its realistic dialogue, diverse representation, and willingness to explore complex relationship dynamics without offering simple solutions. Easy proved that anthology series could work on streaming platforms by creating interconnected stories that rewarded viewers who followed characters across multiple episodes while still making individual episodes accessible to new viewers.
A Chicago Love Letter Worth Your Time
If you love realistic relationship dramas with authentic dialogue and diverse storytelling, Easy is the perfect series to binge on Netflix. The show manages to be both specifically Chicago-focused and universally relatable, offering viewers genuine insights into how modern technology and cultural shifts affect our most intimate relationships. With its perfect blend of humor, honesty, and emotional complexity, this anthology series proves that the most interesting stories are often the quietest ones.
Why This Quiet Gem Deserves Recognition
Easy delivers an honest, unvarnished look at contemporary relationships wrapped in the authentic atmosphere of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. With its naturalistic performances, realistic dialogue, and willingness to explore complex emotional territory without providing easy answers, this anthology series proves that sometimes the most profound television comes from simply observing how people actually live and love in the modern world.
Series Details
Number of Episodes: 25 (across 3 seasons)
Platform: Netflix
Release/End Year: 2016-2019
Current IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
Genre: Comedy-Drama, Anthology, Romance
Status: Completed series
Protagonists: Rotating ensemble cast including Michael Chernus, Elizabeth Reaser, Marc Maron, Jake Johnson
Antagonist: No traditional antagonist (relationship conflicts and personal insecurities serve as obstacles)