Summary
Once the Australian charm shines through, Why Are You Like This is an addictive, early adulthood comedy about the expectations and pitfalls of life.
This review of Netflix’s Why Are You Like This season 1 contains no spoilers — the Australian comedy series was released on the streaming service on April 16, 2021.
I’ve come to realise that I like Australian comedy. Ever since I consumed Netflix’s Sisters, there’s been this strange clarity that comedy we view in the UK will never be as good as we once enjoyed due to the pressures of being a responsible production. It is in my view that we will never get the likes of The Office ever again.
Netflix’s Why Are You Like This follows three demanding friends who are as unaware as a goldfish. In their 20s and living in Melbourne, the three lead characters are blissfully unaware of the people they torment with their delightful personalities. The opening chapter sees Mia throwing shade at her boss for racism and sexism in the workplace (with no evidence at all), Mia leading classes at work to challenge failed masculinity and Austin describing how he has gotten revenge with an ex in the most brutal manner. All three have differing personalities, but they are equally explosive.
Once the Australian charm shines through, Why Are You Like This is an addictive, early adulthood comedy about the expectations and pitfalls of life. It charges a story where the adults become accustomed to a life that is, by default, hard. Bringing in work, fun, hook-ups, and wild nights out, this six-chapter series flies by for the viewer — it’s easy to be hooked in by the characters’ contagious nature.
Why Are You Like This season 1 also deals with identity politics, placing the subject on a magnifying glass and unable to fully confirm whether the script sees the views of the characters as satire or a true enhancement of the story. It hardly matters — the way the characters deal with each theme that veers on the lines of politics is well-written, is a pledge to the audience to make them laugh; the series hardly compromises itself to relay a message.
There needs to be more Australian series on this platform, clearly.
