Fleishman Is In Trouble

A bit of an exploration of a very interesting and different TV show.

We just finished watching the show Fleishman Is In Trouble - it’s a limited series on Hulu and you may or may not yet of heard of it, but I really enjoyed it. It stars Jesse Eisenberg, Claire Danes and Lizzie Caplan, among others and it just is a different kind of show than much I can remember.

Where the show ISN’T different from a lot of what is on television is that it’s presumably about people in their early 40’s who seemingly have it all - whether that’s marriage, home ownership, or bachelorhood and dating models … but these folks aren’t happy. In fact, they’re quite unhappy and even more, unhappy about being unhappy. That’s not necessarily a new take (though as I discuss below, it’s handled quite different than most shows.) It’s also not unusual in the fact that it takes place in New York and is VERY, VERY “New York” in a lot of ways. (This includes an absolute baffling lack of real geography concerns, where folks jump from one location to another in a timeframe that would only be possible with teleportation.)

But it’s also very New York in a way that I personally haven’t seen enough, which is talking about how … awful New York can be. This is absolutely true for other major metropolises in the country, but NYC culture at certain socioeconomic levels is just SO money focused, so that even though Toby Fleishman (Eisenberg) earns over $300,000 a year, folks give him a “good for you” when they learn his profession, and his wife is aghast that he doesn’t want to drop it for a morally dubious job that would earn him “a mil a year” but not help patients in any real way. Toby’s daughter is disgusted openly when she sees Toby’s apartment (the couple splits up in the first episode) and is openly embarrassed when they can’t participate in some of the things her generationally wealthy friends can. Toby’s ex-wife Rachel talks about the importance of setting their kids up to network for friends who will help them in the future, instead of actually letting them find friends on their own.

So much of the discord between Toby and his wife, and other couples featured in the show, is around money - and everyone involved has a lot of it by any rational measure. I only lived in New York for a few years, and I did so while on a track to be one of those high earners and I just … hated that culture. I distinctly remember being told by someone - and this was years ago - that it was ridiculous to call someone who made a million dollars a year rich, because that didn’t go nearly as far as it used to. It’s just a bizarre world that again, exists elsewhere, but to me feels VERY New York in a not great way.

The show is also narrated - by Toby’s friend Libby (Lizzy Caplan), which feels odd at the start but makes sense by the end - in a way that feels VERY literary. I mean this in the sense that the narration is not typical, and it kept making me wonder what the book - written by the TV show’s screenwriter Taffy Brodesser-Akner - is like to read. It’s funny, heartfelt and with Caplan’s voice casual in a way that feels spot on. Libby is going through her own shit, as we realize as the series goes on, and that also feels very honest and well-earned. (Her husband is played by Josh Radnor - aka Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother - which finally answers my own question of “What the hell happened to that guy?” He’s excellent here, as is almost everyone.)

Fleishman - as might be obvious from the surname, as well as the name of the writer - is a very Jewish show. (Note: Brodesser-Akner’s actual name is Stephanie, but Taffy is a childhood nickname, and it’s kind of adorable.) This is also not something one normally sees on TV, and it happens not only with the fact that Fleishman, Libby and their friend Seth (Adam Brody) met on their high school trip to Israel, but with the holidays Rachel visits Toby’s family for, with the preparation for their daughters Bat Mitzvah, etc. - but it doesn’t feel outsized or (like, for instance, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel did at times) so over-the-top to feel exaggerated or even stereotypical.

Finally, it’s worth stating - again - how good the acting is here. Claire Danes isn’t in the show for long stretches (her character disappears which is a major plot point) but when she’s there, she’s SO intense and on point it’s incredible (and uncomfortable) to watch.

I’m not always a huge Jesse Eisenberg fan - but there’s something about him that feels incredibly real even while he looks like a kid among men while running around in his cargo shirts and t-shirts while the other ‘peers’ of his are wearing suits and expensive casual wear. (I don’t know if there are Emmy’s for costume design/wardrobe, but this deserves a nomination all on its own because it just defined Fleishman, Libby and others so well.)

Without spoilers, Fleishman Is In Trouble is also a show that deals with mental health in a way that I think is honest and realistic, for several different characters. There’s also a bit of a long-con/switch late in the series that kind of flips who the story is about, twice, and in doing so makes it also clear that certain people/characters all too often don’t have their stories front and center. It’s kind of awesome in that respect, aided by great writing and acting.

If you can’t tell yet, I really enjoyed this series (which is not without flaws, to be clear) and think you should check it out. Did you watch this show? Let me know what you thought below.