I liked this show a lot. Making fun of the quirks and neuroses of professional do-gooders in their home environment was fun. Each character was pretty well developed and well acted - I didn't have many, "huh? that character wouldn't do/say that" moments. No one was a cartoon-like hero or villain. I loved that you couldn't always guess where the story was going to go - psychodrama, family drama, social commentary, sci fi, suspense. Too many shows are so predictable that they're hardly worth spending the time watching.
91 Reviews
Pushes the Boundaries
vleary-1742826 March 2018
Funny, sexy, well-casted
diedaily7713 February 2018
I watched the pilot solely due to the fact that Tim Robbins was in it. In contrast to a couple of the other reviewers, I found it to be smart and funny. True, some of the themes that were explored are not exactly novel, but I thought they were handled with skill and delicacy. The cast is great. The production values are very good. The story-lines are intriguing...especially the curve balls presented by the son who hallucinates/dreams about the number eleven and the mysteriously celibate Asian adopted son. I'm definitely going to keep watching.
Love. This. Show.
clintweston20 March 2018
Honestly, I had no idea what to expect with this show. I saw Tim Robbins and Holly Hunter as leads, figured I'd give it a shot. First episode didn't make me a believer, since then I'm fully invested! Absolutely love the fact that I have no idea what ties Ramon and his therapist together. This has been the best storyline by far, and I'm curious if it somehow ties the whole family together.
For the people bashing the show after one episode, give me a break. These characters have so many layers and the story seems to get deeper and deeper, therefore 60 min isn't enough. In this world of instant gratification as a norm, slow down....Watch ALL the episodes. If you still can't get into it, Peace. Go watch your teen mom or whatever.
Cheers
Cheers
Biggest disappointment of the year
aliases-5333424 May 2018
Wow this was a rollercoaster mess all in one season, the show has declined from " wow finally a new intriguing show worthy of HBO classics!" To " what the hell am I watching?" To "ok I get why this was cancelled".
The good:
Fantastic actors, some likable characters, Portland as the city star is refhreshing and nice, show is open minded and reviewing real social struggles, it's weird and entertaining all at once.
The bad:
A supernatural experiment gone wrong. At some point you really don't know what you are watching. Is it drama? Is it scifi? Is it GOT?
And sadly, the writers did take a bit too far the social politics conversations to a point of cringeworthy unnecessary plots (biggest of all was the Muslim psychologist and the son's connection).
Overall, a memorable experience that sadly fell short of its premise.
What is up with the bad reviews?
tracey-882-7704589 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I can't really understand where the negative reviews are coming from. I am totally invested in this show from day one. Every character is so well written and complex, like people actually are. It is nice to see a show where people respond to situations as they would out here in the real world.
The mystery with Ramon and the connection to Farid, is a mesmerizing plot line. Nice to see a show where they are able to show the human side of race relations, religious differences as well as the parent dynamic. All marriages have problems and how those issues are dealt with here, makes it real. I find myself in tears at times throughout the season as it touches me in a deep way that few shoes can. Every actor is spectacular!
The mystery with Ramon and the connection to Farid, is a mesmerizing plot line. Nice to see a show where they are able to show the human side of race relations, religious differences as well as the parent dynamic. All marriages have problems and how those issues are dealt with here, makes it real. I find myself in tears at times throughout the season as it touches me in a deep way that few shoes can. Every actor is spectacular!
Shouldn't have been canceled
saphira_dragon-8027021 February 2021
We enjoyed watching the one season and unfortunately there will never be more. A bit frustrating that it wasn't a contained ending. Things are not wrapped up or explained due to the abrupt cancellation. It was enjoyable. Interesting little show. Wish we could see more of it. Pretty good.
Just mad it ended
dfidelia28 June 2019
What A Pretentious Pile of Pathos
cheryltaragin12 February 2018
Berkeley activists meet, marry, and settle in Portland. Holly Hunter is the middle-aged overbearing, controlling, former therapist wife. Tim Robbins is the middle-aged philosophy professor/author undergoing a mid-life crisis husband. They've raised a Brangelina family of black, light brown, and yellow children, including one lily-white child of their own. For good measure, their black daughter is married to a white "Republican before Trump" and their light brown son is gay and suffering from hallucinations about the number 11.
This show is the anti-"This Is Us." It's the "Look At Us, Ain't We Messed Up" show. At one point, I had to ask myself if I even care what happens to these people. In one way or another, the Gen Z children annoyingly comment about their rainbow family throughout the show. Predictably, married couples will cheat on each other, the children will do drugs, and everyone will wonder about the meaning of life and whether any of it is worthwhile. The show tries so hard at being relevant that it's already a cliche.
Three mysteries may have me tuning back in for a second flagellation. Why is the Vietnamese son celibate? Why is the Hispanic son hallucinating about the number 11? How is the Hispanic son related to his shrink? I don't know how long the showrunner can keep this shell game going, but he'd better come up with a better sideshow or I'll be heading for the exits before the reveal.
This show is the anti-"This Is Us." It's the "Look At Us, Ain't We Messed Up" show. At one point, I had to ask myself if I even care what happens to these people. In one way or another, the Gen Z children annoyingly comment about their rainbow family throughout the show. Predictably, married couples will cheat on each other, the children will do drugs, and everyone will wonder about the meaning of life and whether any of it is worthwhile. The show tries so hard at being relevant that it's already a cliche.
Three mysteries may have me tuning back in for a second flagellation. Why is the Vietnamese son celibate? Why is the Hispanic son hallucinating about the number 11? How is the Hispanic son related to his shrink? I don't know how long the showrunner can keep this shell game going, but he'd better come up with a better sideshow or I'll be heading for the exits before the reveal.
I really want to like it, but...
nessalomiva27 March 2018
I really want to like this show, not only because I like and enjoy the characters, but also because I'm a huge fan of Alan Ball's work. I love his weirdness, his refusal to follow the rules, his need to shock, and I especially like how he's not afraid to question the conventions.
However, something about this show feels off. Some parts feel forced, others are done sloppily and naively.
We are 6 episodes in, and I am still waiting for SOMETHING to happen!
I must admit though, I still retain hope that we will be surprised and shocked, and that the show will deliver. Otherwise, I don't see it being renewed for a second season.
Huge Buildup to Nothing
jordan224027 April 2018
Five stars because the performances are decent, and the show kept us (the wife and me) interested enough to think it was building up to something compelling and clever. The ending was a HUGE letdown. Much was never explained, and as the show has been cancelled, it never will be. Frankly, I'm not sure the writer(s) actually had a plan for where the storyline was going, but figured they'd just keep putting in puzzling experiences until the show got cancelled or they thought of something. I would almost have been tempted to watch a 2nd season just to see if this really was going somewhere. I'm glad I won't have to make that decision.
This is so so so Good! An instant classic. Ignore the negative reviews. Just a few know how to appreciate Schopenhauer, same goes for this philosophical gem.
andredejongh14 February 2019
A must see. I can not say anything different. I read on here such bad reviews by some, I started with lots of caution. But it is all so well written, such a beautiful production with excellent acting going on. It is so beautiful. I binge watched all episodes within two days. How, what and why was this production not well received? 'Io Sono L'Amore' (I am love) by Luca Guadagnino is my favourite film and this series is right up there with it, at the top. How is it possible season 2 is not happening? How on earth can a serious film and tv critic evaluate this piece of art as slow, nebulous, and unlikeable? Are they all numbed into reviewing Hollywood over-commercial genre pieces? The series should be studied at all the existing film studies out there. I'm sorry, not being pathetic here and not being melodramatic but this might be the best Allan Ball has ever written until now. It is an important piece, it is film literature. I am only forced to conclude that Allan Ball is way ahead of his time, there's no intelligent reason to dismiss this piece. I dare to predict that these series will become a cult favourite. Cult only because the mainstream seems to dismiss it totally. But do they? On rotten tomatoes audiences give it an 8,5. And here on imdb it gets a solid 6,8. It's an important philosophical, wel crafted piece of film art. So well written and produced. It should be watched in a binge and not like one episode per week. It is a 10 hour movie, really. And the world needs another one. Season 2 has to happen. Netflix, hello? Take it from HBO. The series needs all the awards it can get. Watch it, all the episodes at once.
Propaganda or drama?
paulcreeden15 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
It pains me to give this series a 6. I am a longtime fan of Mr. Robbins and Ms. Hunter. I am a fan of Peter Macdissi. I was happy to see gay male characters in the cast, even though they are predictably twisted. Alan Ball's previous masterpieces are among my most memorable TV favorites.
But this is something else. I do not dispute whether it is an accurate portrayal of New Portlandia. It may well be. If the social landscape of Portland is dominated by New Left politics, then so be it. However, presenting a portrayal of this by excluding any possibility of outlying thought or characters amounts to an infomercial for those politics. After all 39% of voters in Oregon voted for Donald Trump in 2016. Some of these people must live in or around Portland, unless they have been tarred and feathered. Eastern Oregon voted Republican.
The show is trying to be entertainment. I am aware of this. But the sharp political divisions in the country are ignored totally in this drama, even though it embarks on a course through politically charged issues. It feels like the writers were themselves afraid to even consider a sane conservative or centrist character. That makes it propaganda, not simply storytelling. When anyone expresses a challenge to the enforced Leftist perspective in the piece, they are immediately cast as either disturbed, racist, sexist or whatever.
The most ironic segment is at a dinner party attended by three Black characters and a White character. One of the Black diners explains to another that Portland had been founded as a White Utopia as an illustration of the source of deep racism encountered by them. This is done without acknowledgment of the White diner's marital relationship with one of the Black diners. The White diner, previously shown as a sensitive and fairly intelligent person, acts like a fool, seemingly unaffected by the whole topic. All of this deep racialism occurs in a lovely bourgeois home owned by the Black couple. Such oppression!
White Privilege is beaten like a drum throughout the episodes. White people outside the multiracial family at the series' core are inevitably portrayed as insensitive, flaky or guilt-ridden about being born with skin-sans-color. A particularly evil character is a White female cop who is written as a a butch lesbian. It is implied that she enjoys interacting with the teenage daughter of the starring multiracial family but comes close to sexually abusing the married Black adoptive daughter of the same family, after the two are arrested for assaulting a pro-life protester. And, of course, the pro-life protester is revealed as a pedophile who must drop charges to avoid being put in jail for a parole violation. The stuff of a high-school student's short story assignment.
My disappointment centers on this series being just another extension of Hollywood hypocrisy. It is like one of the recent award shows, turned into a pageant for Leftist politics. Perhaps Portlandians can watch it and feel proud of the direction their culture appears to be going. Perhaps not. It is impossible to tell from much of the content which comes across forced and dimensionless.
But this is something else. I do not dispute whether it is an accurate portrayal of New Portlandia. It may well be. If the social landscape of Portland is dominated by New Left politics, then so be it. However, presenting a portrayal of this by excluding any possibility of outlying thought or characters amounts to an infomercial for those politics. After all 39% of voters in Oregon voted for Donald Trump in 2016. Some of these people must live in or around Portland, unless they have been tarred and feathered. Eastern Oregon voted Republican.
The show is trying to be entertainment. I am aware of this. But the sharp political divisions in the country are ignored totally in this drama, even though it embarks on a course through politically charged issues. It feels like the writers were themselves afraid to even consider a sane conservative or centrist character. That makes it propaganda, not simply storytelling. When anyone expresses a challenge to the enforced Leftist perspective in the piece, they are immediately cast as either disturbed, racist, sexist or whatever.
The most ironic segment is at a dinner party attended by three Black characters and a White character. One of the Black diners explains to another that Portland had been founded as a White Utopia as an illustration of the source of deep racism encountered by them. This is done without acknowledgment of the White diner's marital relationship with one of the Black diners. The White diner, previously shown as a sensitive and fairly intelligent person, acts like a fool, seemingly unaffected by the whole topic. All of this deep racialism occurs in a lovely bourgeois home owned by the Black couple. Such oppression!
White Privilege is beaten like a drum throughout the episodes. White people outside the multiracial family at the series' core are inevitably portrayed as insensitive, flaky or guilt-ridden about being born with skin-sans-color. A particularly evil character is a White female cop who is written as a a butch lesbian. It is implied that she enjoys interacting with the teenage daughter of the starring multiracial family but comes close to sexually abusing the married Black adoptive daughter of the same family, after the two are arrested for assaulting a pro-life protester. And, of course, the pro-life protester is revealed as a pedophile who must drop charges to avoid being put in jail for a parole violation. The stuff of a high-school student's short story assignment.
My disappointment centers on this series being just another extension of Hollywood hypocrisy. It is like one of the recent award shows, turned into a pageant for Leftist politics. Perhaps Portlandians can watch it and feel proud of the direction their culture appears to be going. Perhaps not. It is impossible to tell from much of the content which comes across forced and dimensionless.
Over the top ridiculous
lindsayloo8516 April 2018
I initially wanted to watch this because it seemed new and fresh. Big disappointment. Holy crap is it one-sided politicaly and absolutely ridiculous. It's almost embarrassing how "inclusive" it is trying to be but actually non-inclusive. It is actually embarrassing. What a joke.
Excellent Pilot, feels very much like Six Feet Under with a twist...
introclusor13 February 2018
I normally don't watch series with less than 8 stars on IMDB because I usually find it to be the most accurate site for averages. Having listened to Tim Robbins on the Nerdist Podcast however, I thought Here and Now sounded intriguing.
The Pilot had everything that Six Feet under had. It has great characters who are already being fleshed out in just a single episode and the story is something that I am already hooked by.
I don't usually leave reviews but the users of IMDB who were so quick to come on here and slate it (some after only watching 20 minutes of it) made me feel that the program was made more because of them and not for them.
This is a worrying time when so many people feel they can spew hatred simply because there are gay people in a TV show. Ironically, I am pretty sure that the series will tackle these issues head on. Its just a shame that so many feel emboldened to share homophobic and vile views when all this is trying to represent is life.
The funny thing is that one of the adopted children had a good conversation about how they were adopted so their parents could show how progressive they were.
In an age of binge watching shows, this is one that I will be happy to wait each week for.
The Pilot had everything that Six Feet under had. It has great characters who are already being fleshed out in just a single episode and the story is something that I am already hooked by.
I don't usually leave reviews but the users of IMDB who were so quick to come on here and slate it (some after only watching 20 minutes of it) made me feel that the program was made more because of them and not for them.
This is a worrying time when so many people feel they can spew hatred simply because there are gay people in a TV show. Ironically, I am pretty sure that the series will tackle these issues head on. Its just a shame that so many feel emboldened to share homophobic and vile views when all this is trying to represent is life.
The funny thing is that one of the adopted children had a good conversation about how they were adopted so their parents could show how progressive they were.
In an age of binge watching shows, this is one that I will be happy to wait each week for.
YEP...
AsianTalentHollywood22 February 2018
What A Pretentious Pile of Pathos - yep can't say that, it's been said.
Tired Alan Ball dreck - yep can't say that, it's been said.
That was a waste of time... - yep can't say that, it's been said.
The worst thing I've ever seen - yep can't say that, it's been said (OK, not the worst ever)
Truly Awful - yep can't say that, it's been said.
The second episode is just bad - yep can't say that, it's been said.
Seriously, this is a writer so far up his own ass there is no daylight. My eyes hurt from rolling them so much. Stop trying to be important and relevant with long philosophical sentences that you think will go down in history as amazing words of wisdom and get real. #notauthentic
Seriously, this is a writer so far up his own ass there is no daylight. My eyes hurt from rolling them so much. Stop trying to be important and relevant with long philosophical sentences that you think will go down in history as amazing words of wisdom and get real. #notauthentic
I was going to give a 8 before I saw other reviews
Sparklingwater_Lime26 April 2018
To be honest, I enjoyed it. It touches topics I'm interested, like reverse discrimination, religion, and others. It relates to me so well that I somehow completed the missing parts of the show in my mind.
But just as others reviews pointed out, touching was the only thing it did. It didn't go far. It stopped in an award place, as if the show is telling the audience that "oh we don't know how to deal with this, so you think about it, like philosophically."
The characters are great. The topics are intriguing. But the show has wasted those.
But just as others reviews pointed out, touching was the only thing it did. It didn't go far. It stopped in an award place, as if the show is telling the audience that "oh we don't know how to deal with this, so you think about it, like philosophically."
The characters are great. The topics are intriguing. But the show has wasted those.
Alan Ball returns!
dalsnotes-9433125 July 2018
A welcome return to form by this exciting writer; this time he goes back to the Six Feet Under territory into another claustrophobic family dynamic, albeit much more ambitiously and literally bursting with great ideas. The show is so rooted in this moment in time that the name Here and Now could not be more apt. Great acting all around. You cannot fault this show for its scope and ambition, any criticisms must be stemming from the general dumbing down of the audiences who can't recognize a great thing when they see it. It's very sad the show got cancelled, we'll never know where it would have taken us had it had the time to develop. Loved every minute of it!
Love the actors but not the story
marianne-bissegger22 April 2018
I love Six Feed Under and had high expectations of this serie, but in the end the only reason why I watched the whole serie is because the actors are very good, and I even found the actress who played the 17 years old good. I was hoping until the end I would understand the real clue of the story but I didnot. I would not recommend it.
Intriguing, imaginative. Just enough weirdness to warrant anticipation.
beanu-6222913 February 2018
I rewatched the first episode after a slightly distracted initial watch. It's a dense story, with several familiar plotlines somehow twisted in the proper way. I saw a review about it being "leftists". That is missing the boat entirely. There is certainly a political thread, how can there not be in this day & age, but there is a self-deprecating view of the progressive ideals. One that doesn't negate but simply shows depth. Underneath all of this lye a mystery that intrigues and promises some surprise.
Just an observation
bsmb-3752727 March 2018
What cares...
michaelrthomson26 March 2018
So I thought with Tim Robbins and Holly Hunter this could be a pretty good offering.
I was mistaken. Sadly both are so self absorbed (their characters obviously) that it's plain dull. And the mixed children from every corner of the world are sadly inflicted with the same trouble as their parents, with an added sprinkle of millennial hipster righteousness.
I think we the viewers were meant to get hooked on the whole 111 thing, but sadly the rest of this cliche boring rubbish was enough to make me dislike the rest of the show more than be interested in that tid bit of story writing.
Such a pity, it had potential, but it certainly didn't deliver on it.
I was mistaken. Sadly both are so self absorbed (their characters obviously) that it's plain dull. And the mixed children from every corner of the world are sadly inflicted with the same trouble as their parents, with an added sprinkle of millennial hipster righteousness.
I think we the viewers were meant to get hooked on the whole 111 thing, but sadly the rest of this cliche boring rubbish was enough to make me dislike the rest of the show more than be interested in that tid bit of story writing.
Such a pity, it had potential, but it certainly didn't deliver on it.
The interwoven-ness of a symbolic real life.
ryan-moore-765-4525109 March 2018
This is absolute joy, if joy was measured in simmering symbolism and heaping convoluted knot of characters. I love it. I live in Portland, and it reminds me so much of my friends and family here. I wish it cut a smidge more to the bone, but at only a few episodes in there is still time to sharpen the sword.
Can it be pretentious? Sure. Could it be over the top? Ironically, only a little (as long as you suspend your disbelief of the supernatural elements). But that is the beauty. It is for the most part some real modern real life magnified, enhanced, and most supernaturally cranked up to eleven.
Can it be pretentious? Sure. Could it be over the top? Ironically, only a little (as long as you suspend your disbelief of the supernatural elements). But that is the beauty. It is for the most part some real modern real life magnified, enhanced, and most supernaturally cranked up to eleven.
Refreshing Psychic Drama.
unikorn-6790526 September 2021
This was launched in the wrong atmosphere. There is so much tension and chaos in the world that it's causing status anxiety so many shot it down before really giving it a try.
Yes, there is lots of identity politics but they missed out on an intriguing drama.
I won't call it a family drama, maybe a domestic drama. The identity politics angle was rather recycled and shallow but they did explore some new territory as well.
I also liked the psychic elements, it was woven really well except the acting did get a bit melodramatic sometimes.
Yes, there is lots of identity politics but they missed out on an intriguing drama.
I won't call it a family drama, maybe a domestic drama. The identity politics angle was rather recycled and shallow but they did explore some new territory as well.
I also liked the psychic elements, it was woven really well except the acting did get a bit melodramatic sometimes.
Brainwashing Continues
tigerman1024 April 2018
Let's see. We have a white liberal activist couple who adopt three children who are Asian, African American, Latino. The Latino is gay, the African American is married to a white guy. The couple also have a biological daughter who is friends with a Muslim youth who likes to dress up in women's clothing. The cross dressing youth also has Iranian parents of which the father is against religion whilst the mother is a practising muslim. The latino also falls on love with a man who also happens to be homeless but lies about his homelessness.
WTF? All we need is to throw is in Facebook, a few Russian hackers and we have the quintessential media production that is prevalent today to ensure that only one message is pushed forward. What could have been an amazing show is ruined by the preaching.
WTF? All we need is to throw is in Facebook, a few Russian hackers and we have the quintessential media production that is prevalent today to ensure that only one message is pushed forward. What could have been an amazing show is ruined by the preaching.
See also
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