Dark comedy hitmaker Sharon Horgan always manages to find a punchline in the darkest places, and in her new HBO series ‘Youth‘, that dark place is turning 50.
Horgan has earned four Emmy nominations for her remarkable knack for writing and acting in dark comedies. Acclaimed hits Catastrophe and Bad Sisters both showcase her skillful creation and portrayal of complex, dimensional female leads, and her ability to bring humor to absurd, sometimes morbid situations. Youth is no exception, as Horgan pulls audiences in with ironic humor that assuages emotionally complex, bitter truths.
The show follows 50-year-old divorcee and literary agent Alex (Horgan) as she desperately searches for love and youthful spontaneity amid her responsibility-ridden middle-aged life. She flails, trying to balance her clashing identities as a mother to a tumultuous son, caregiver to declining parents, and professional literary agent with her desire to be a free, sexy single woman in search of love. With her ex-husband neglecting his parental responsibilities, Alex was left to raise her fractious son Rauri (Aran Murphy) on her own, leaving her without the time or energy for her own desires. With Rauri packing up for uni, though, Alex is inclined to end her four-year celibacy and find a partnership that offers both youthful passion and mature stability. But with the dating pool consisting of rakish men keen on dodging maturity (including her alluring ex Patrick, played by Rupert Friend) and widowers nearly twenty years her senior, Alex begrudgingly copes with the realities of mid-life dating.
(Photo Courtesy: Colin Hutton/HBO)
The show’s charm comes from its magnification of the absurdity and humor of everyday life, as well as its unfeigned depiction of what it means to be a woman in her 50s. The media has propagated rigid, daunting ideas about women’s aging for decades, pinning time as a woman’s worst enemy. Alex’s personal struggle with these fears is apparent throughout Youth, as she constantly examines herself for wrinkles or skin sag and copes with newly developed arthritis in her jaw, all reminders that she has only “like, ten years left as a sexual person,” she tells her best friend and boss Sam (Sharlene Whyte) in the show’s pilot. Moments like these capture Alex’s desperate attempts to cling to youth as she feels her window for happiness closing. “I suppose she’s as rounded a character as you or me,” Horgan told The Knockturnal at the show’s premiere, “it’s not inspirational; she’s a real person who’s struggling and finding it hard to deal with life.” Horgan went on to describe how personal Alex’s story felt, and the catharsis of portraying her turbulent internal life: “I love just being incredibly truthful about her insecurities.”
(Photo Courtesy: Colin Hutton/HBO)
Despite Alex’s menopausal status, there is an undeniable coming-of-age aspect to her story, as she copes with the fact that self-evolution is a lifelong endeavor. And she isn’t the only one flailing to get things figured out. Rauri, who is wrestling with teenage angst and confounding ideas about masculinity, despairs alongside her after dropping out of university during his first week. With little self-confidence and no reliable male influence in his life, Rauri agonizes over feelings of alienation and loneliness, often turning to brazen online figures for solace. The intertwined narratives are unexpectedly harmonious; though the lived experience of a 50-something-year-old woman and a brooding 19-year-old boy may have little overlap, the immense pressure and confusion of self-discovery are ubiquitous. Their chaotic soul-searching is a comforting reminder that we’re all living for the first time, and that finding yourself has no deadline.
The first two episodes of Youth will premiere on HBO and HBO Max on Sept. 20 with new episodes following weekly at the same time.
