The second Apple TV+ series released this year that features Seth Rogen, “Platonic” season two definitely isn’t going to get the amount of insidery raves and Emmy nominations that “The Studio” received. Yet, after a first season that began a bit rocky before finding its footing in its latter half, season two suggests that co-creators Nicholas Stoller and Francesca Delbanco (also Stoller’s wife) have figured out how to best mine the dynamics between best friends Sylvia (Rose Byrne) and Will (Rogen). Low-stakes, affable, and ultimately just a good hang, “Platonic” is really the ideal sitcom. 
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It’s also the type of character-driven comedy Stoller has perfected over the last twenty years, baking broad-slapstick and hijinks into a grounded approach to friendship and family for two people in their 40s. When the previous season ended, Will took on a new job at a corporate chain as their head brewer, moved to San Diego, and became engaged to the company’s CEO, Jenna (Rachel Rosenbloom). If that season felt like a self-contained story owing, in part, to Stoller and Delbanco’s initial creative decision to create an anthology series, this season suggests a possibility of a much longer-running show and picks up shortly after, with Sylvia planning Will and Jenna’s engagement party and, ultimately, wedding. In short, the decision to continue focusing on these two has led to one of the best ensemble shows on right now.
No spoilers for how the season progresses from there, other than to say that this really is an unspoilable show, if only because Stoller and Delbanco are much more invested in the highs and lows of Will and Sylvia’s friendship than any actual plot mechanics. But, Sylvia finds the type of career fulfillment she was looking for throughout the first season by being an event planner, while also seemingly unable to connect with Jenna. Will seems at a crossroads as his hipster-vibes and overall nonchalance also don’t exactly mesh with Jenna’s CEO-type as easily. Very quickly, however, the two creators essentially reset the narrative, placing Will back in L.A. having to contend with what it means to ‘sell-out’ and work for a corporate chain while his personal life is falling apart.     
Further, Sylvia’s husband Charlie (Luke McFarlane) and best friend Katie (Carla Gallo) get more expanded screentime here. A subplot involving Charlie’s love of Jeopardy pays off not just as an immediate joke mid-way through the season when he’s invited to be a contestant on the show, but also has repercussions for his character and an existential crisis that he undergoes, which involves him writing legal fiction. After being the straight-laced foil to Sylvia and Will’s adventures in the first season, it’s refreshing to see Charlie actually be fleshed out here, and it also plays into the disparity between McFarlane’s endearing personality and bodybuilder physique. 
Gallo’s Katie is also pushed more into the forefront, building her own oddball friendship with Will that begins to grate on Sylvia. An episode where the three of them go kayaking in the L.A. River works not only for the geographic specificity but also because these three actors play so well off each other, suggesting a friendship built on their shared history despite being at such different moments in their lives. 
Also, like “The Studio,” Stoller and Delbanco populate the show with several cameos and guest roles. “SNL” alumni Aidy Bryant, Beck Bennett, and Kyle Mooney also appear. Bryant plays a foul-mouthed studio marketer who hires Sylvia to plan a party for a douchey young star (Milo Manheim). In contrast, Bennett plays another college friend of Sylvia and Will who comes into town for Will’s bachelor party. 
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“Platonic” may not break the mold of 30-minute TV. It’s more amusing that it’s actually laugh-out-loud funny, though the outfits they put Rogen in throughout the season are a strange highlight. Each episode is relatively self-contained, but it is nevertheless a welcome break from the deluge of prestige TV that seems to populate Apple TV+ recently. Instead, Stoller and Delbanco give us a refreshingly laid-back watch, providing Will and Sylvia with enough complexity and problems to keep us hooked from episode to episode, with the understanding that, despite whatever situations these two might face, they’ll nevertheless get through it and remain friends. 
It’s also a show seemingly built for longevity, if only the filmmakers and stars want to keep going. It’s no shock that Rogen is extremely busy and only getting busier. The same goes for Stoller, whose own cameo in “The Studio” suggests a mutual kinship between these shows. But, as long as this group wants to keep exploring the trouble that Sylvia, Will, Charlie, and Katie get into, I’ll be watching. [A-]