What I’m Watching: Casual (Season Premiere)

Casual: Season 3, Episode 1 “Ashes to Ashes” (B)

One of my favorite dramatic comedies is back all of a sudden, and I’m definitely not going to rush three episodes into just one sitting like Hulu keeps doing with its series, debuting them back-to-back on premiere night. I’m taking this show one episode per week, as usual with shows that I like, and so here we are with a very expository installment, one that shows us where we stand and how things aren’t really all that ordinary anymore. Alex has always been an oversharer, demanding far too much time from Val and Leon. Now, he’s moved on to his new tenant, Hans, who he managed to scare away quickly, and Jennifer, who seems to be taken with his charm despite his repeated violation of the boundaries in their therapist-client relationship. Val’s new landlord is far too laidback and crunchy, and describing how she didn’t call her handyman because she didn’t want to interrupt his soul-searching journey was evidently not okay with Val, who tried calling Leon and then Drew before finally telling her landlord off and demanding action. Val and Drew got to do some moderately-effective parenting in splitting the cost of Laura’s tattoo removal while the troublemaker teen managed to be on what for her counts as good behavior. Val was miserable enough at the memorial that her mother put on for her late father before that surprising bit of news was just casually dropped, and if I heard what I thought I did, Val is in for some serious spiraling.