Forever

Amazon’s “Forever” reminds me a lot of the show “The Good Place” in that it ponders the nature of the afterlife and the ethics of existing in the world of the living and the dead, though “The Good Place” does so much more explicitly than “Forever” does. It also reminds me of “The Good Place” in that it always seems ever so slightly askew to me. There’s something weird hanging around on the edges of this show and I quite quite put my finger on what it is. It’s a little sad, it’s remarkably funny, it’s a little bit dark.

It’s a show that’s not afraid to coax a laugh from you in one scene and make say “OMG” in the next. Episode 6 is a poignant punch in the gut because “Forever” is–above all–always asking us to answer these questions: “What do we owe each other (in life and death)? “What do we owe ourselves?” “What happens when those things are in tension?” It should be heavy-handed and tedious, but instead it’s sweet and funny and strange and revelatory.

The show throws an exciting twist at you in roughly half of the episodes. For a show that often often seems mellow and light-hearted, the twists keeps the tension level fairly high. There’s a cliffhanger at the end of nearly every episode.

Because “Forever” genuinely surprised me so many times I’m not going to reveal much about its main characters, but I will say that show follows the exploits June (Maya Rudolph) and Oscar (Fred Armisen)–a likable married couple with some issues.

“Forever” also reminds me of “Man Seeking Woman,” another surreal, hilarious show that I often feel only existed in my imagination and was cancelled after only three seasons.  There’s something about “Forever” that seems ephemeral, very temporary, so I’m going to savor it for as long as I can.