Tatler review: why watch ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ on Apple TV+

‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ on Apple TV+ is not your average heist story—spoilers ahead

Jon Hamm has just about enough magnetism that you could go into Your Friends & Neighbors blind. But if you must know more, then you should note: the cheeky theft is but a small part of this refreshing social satire on the empty lives we build by filling it with the wrong things.

Let us backtrack a little. In this currently streaming Apple TV+ series, Hamm stars as well-to-do Andrew Cooper, his first lead role on television since Mad Men. In contrast to adman Don Draper, this character is a hedge funder cosied in a corner office—but not for long, as “Coop” finds himself freshly divorced and jobless within the early minutes of episode one.

At first, this story feels like one we’ve seen before: a successful executive’s fall from grace and the ensuing midlife crises, all set against a backdrop of stately New York. The show’s opening scene being a murder mystery adds little excitement, but it’s Hamm’s compelling performance, of a man silently and facetiously confronting the cracks of his gilded world, that keeps you watching.

Above Jon Hamm plays Andrew Cooper, a billionaire robber, in "Your Friends & Neighbors" (Photo: Apple)

Jon Hamm plays Andrew Cooper, a billionaire robber, in "Your Friends & Neighbors" (Photo: Apple)

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You watch him “hide” his inevitably dwindling funds from those whom he cherishes—he continues to provide for his estranged kids and ex-wife, appears at the village parties and country club and develops an illicit relationship with the equally wealthy Sam, who is also reeling from her recent divorce. Beneath this façade is a very lonely existence. Already, his most steadfast companion seems to be his faulty Maserati GranTurismo, which he refuses to sell for the sake of appearances.

The desperation trickles in so slowly that when the opportunity to steal a neighbour’s shelved Patek Philippe Nautilus for cash drives Cooper to action, it nearly doesn’t feel like an act out of desperation at all. It feels like a man, forced to look at his life from a distance, stumbling upon a fissure in this “perfect” bubble and prying it open. He turns robbing his neighbours’ lavish homes into a pastime, getting a little bolder, more pensive and more detached from his pretentious world with every crime committed.

Above Advised that his funds will only his lavish lifestyle six months, Jon Hamm's Andrew Cooper turns to grand larceny (Photo: Apple)

Advised that his funds will only his lavish lifestyle six months, Jon Hamm's Andrew Cooper turns to grand larceny (Photo: Apple)

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But there’s always an underlying dissonance. He can’t let it all go. This is the life he’s built—one of sprawling mansions, sleek supercars, rare timepieces and US$32,000-priced bottles of wine—and what he’d poured all his attention to, while the people most important to him took a backseat. And this is what is central to the show: Cooper’s grief at the dissolution of his family and the shame that keeps him from facing his part in it.

Above Jon Hamm and Amanda Peet deliver compelling and nuanced performances in "Your Friends & Neighbors" (Photo: Apple)

Jon Hamm and Amanda Peet deliver compelling and nuanced performances in "Your Friends & Neighbors" (Photo: Apple)

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Opposite Hamm, Amanda Peet is equally fantastic as Mel, Cooper’s ex-wife who, though not blameless in the divorce, is grieving in her own way. Supporting actors Olivia Munn, Hoon Lee and Mark Tallman are also quite the scene-stealers. As of this writing, six episodes have aired on Apple TV+, with three more on the way this season. A second season has been confirmed, with James Marsden joining the cast among others.

Though it dresses like a heist drama, Your Friends & Neighbors is really an introspective look at privilege, regret and redemption. Come for the glossy peek into ultra-wealthy lives, and, if you’re a watch enthusiast, some special cameos; stay for the emotional depth that quietly sneaks up on you.

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Mac Fabella

Contributing Writer, Tatler Philippines

Trained as a student journalist, Mac’s knack for writing was a serendipitous discovery. Years later and she can’t imagine doing anything else. When she isn’t typing away on a story, she revels in being lost in a new city, revisiting a cosy film or sitcom, and idling away with her dogs.

Jon Hamm’s new Apple TV+ series packs style, humour and soul