Season One of Netflix’s UNCOUPLED is Gayfully Dull
By Trevor Jones, Movieguide® Contributor
UNCOUPLED is a 2022 Netflix LBTQ romantic comedy series about a middle-aged real estate agent reeling from his ex-boyfriend. Michael (Neil Patrick Harris) and his partner Colin (Tuc Watkins) mingle inside the ruling class of New York City. After 17 years of this union, Colin becomes fed up with Michael’s self-absorbed attitude, dumps him, and moves to another apartment. Heartbroken, Michael searches for another handsome partner while battling his insecurities. The series was created by Darren Star, who also made EMILY IN PARIS and SEX AND THE CITY.
Netflix’s UNCOUPLED is a barrage of insufferable characters and an “entitled” worldview. The production values are middle of the road and the actors pull a fine enough performance. It features promiscuous dialogue, same-sex kissing, and brief instances of shirtless men. The upperclassmen theming and vanilla dialogue do not help matters. UNCOUPLED may not be the most offensive show on the planet, but it is not healthy for one’s soul. MOVIEGUIDE(R) urges young adults to avoid this TV-MA breakup.
The first season of UNCOUPLED centers on Michael, a successful real estate agent in his 40’s. Within his elite class circle, Michael brags about his 17-year-long relationship with his partner Colin. Both men publicly admit they never married. Michael throws a surprise birthday party for his friend. However, Colin leaves Michael with a bombshell: he “needs time away” from his partner. Worst of all, Colin dumps Michael and dates a male competitor in Michael’s field. To escape his downward spiral, Michael searches for potential dates while moving on from his ex-boyfriend.
UNCOUPLED exhibits a rotten moral code. The traditional notion of marriage, a union between a man and a woman, is completely thrown out the window. Michael and his male friends make frequent jokes about sex, using the Grindr dating app, and dealing with “twinks”/desperate men. In the first episode, Michael and Colin wake up in bed together while not wearing any shirts. Their “dangly bits” are not shown. When Michael hires a therapist to mend his relationship, Colin abandons Michael after the second session. Michael frequently boasts about his accomplishments to his friends. Colin lectures Michael that the latter needs to focus more on “us” rather than himself.
The supporting cast is just as self-absorbed. In a side story, Michael seeks advice from a middle-aged mother going through a divorce. The mother scolds her husband and worries over “not getting the red flags.” Michael and his friends utter the “f” word on numerous occasions. Throughout season one, Michael dates several men and engages in promiscuous behavior. He doesn’t even have the decency to have a civil marriage with Colin. Such a legal union would have at least held both men accountable.
Outside of this “gay-coded” storytelling, UNCOUPLED is unambitious on a technical front. The series is shot on location in Manhattan and uses its skyline as a pretty decoration. The actual
cinematography is stale and derivative. It does not use unique angles or zooms to accentuate Michael’s struggles. The dialogue is flat and stuffed with easy “gay romance” jokes. For a Netflix production, it fails to stand out.
In conclusion, UNCOUPLED sells itself on its LGBT storyline, but fails to elicit a strong foundation. The characters are insufferable rich people, the moral promiscuity is outrageous, and the production value achieves for the bare minimum. The actors pull a fine enough job, but even they cannot salvage the mediocre dialogue. Movieguide® advises extreme caution for mature audiences.
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