In the Casual series we live a comedy story between the new singer Valerie and her teenage daughter Laura and her younger brother Valerie. A bass player. Tension escalated at dinner 'Don' and 'Charles'. Laura is attending an art fair. Alex's shock hits his heart. Alex leans on Leon's emotional support. Laura thinks of a new life. Valerie, Alex and Amy reach a dead end.
Beyond genetic markers, the three core members of the show's central clan are united by their extremely comfortable attitude towards sex and equally extreme discomfort in their own skin.
Casual, which takes a far lighter, snarkier, and often funnier tone than Transparent, never quite rises to the latter show's brilliance. But taken on its own merits, Casual is very, very good.
Once the show taps into its questions of just why we continue to adhere to the same social structures we have for millennia when we ostensibly have other ones we could be trying, it becomes something much more special.
Casual also seems to be a mandate for the cast and creative crew behind this laid-back but thoughtful and well-observed comedy about love and family in the modern age.
Casual falls into the more indie-dramedy category of television than anything else, so viewers looking for a neatly packaged, shiny family comedy can look elsewhere. But those seeking a bolder, fresher take can direct themselves to Casual.
Only Watkins manages to realistically convey her character's exhaustion and disappointment with her life, reeling in the viewer who wants to see this embittered woman find the happiness we're sure awaits her in forthcoming plotlines.
