Younger returns for Season 6 on June 12th at 10/9c on TV Land and we could not be more excited! For any of you who are living in a land of foolishness and aren’t yet watching the fun and flirty comedy, we’ve put together a countdown list of the top ten reasons you should be watching Younger!
10. Feel Good TV with Heart
Our world is filled with sadness, loss, stress, and violence. There is certainly a place for all these things on TV, but the number 10 reason you should be watching Younger is that it provides a light and fun reprieve from the darkness. Even as tough things happen on the show, such as unexpected death or #metoo moments, the tone stays more strange than sad.
The only tears Younger will make you cry come from laughter or ship anticipation, not sadness. What a relief! We need fun on our screens, not just folly. The Younger team excels at knowing how to capture the sexiest and most exciting aspects of any situation and bring them to the forefront of an episode. One of our very favorite things about the show and our first reason you should be watching is that Younger is some sunshine on a cloudy decade.
9. Guest Stars
The number nine reason you should be watching Younger is that each season is chock-full of incredible guest stars. Liza’s short term love interests alone fill the quota of excellent guest stars with Victor Webster, Matthew Morrison, Aasif Mandvi, and even Sutton Foster’s real-life ex-husband Christian Borle getting into the romantic game. Each of these short term characters adds a little something interesting to Liza’s journey.
In addition, the format of the show allows us to meet a new author every week. As a result, there is a constant stream of amazing talent from Gina Gershon as badass rocker Chrissie, to Laura Benanti as mogul businesswoman Quinn. The show is able to attract high caliber talent for even a single episode guest spot. We aren’t surprised. Being able to join the incredible Younger cast for any amount of time would be a dream come true!
8. Team Josh
We’ll be perfectly honest, in this house, we are Team Charles. But that doesn’t mean we don’t fully appreciate how important Josh is to Liza and to Younger. The decidedly handsome tattoo artist is still figuring out how to find love. Even when his immaturity is obvious, Josh’s sweet heart makes us want him around. He starts off on Younger as Liza’s love interest, but his role has developed beyond that to include a primary part of the friend group Liza has made. As the show continues into its sixth season, Josh’s connection with Kelsey, Maggie, and Lauren are just as essential and entertaining as his love triangle shenanigans with Liza.
It is not insignificant that Josh’s megawatt smile continues to grace the small screen on every episode. One because he really is unconscionably good looking, but also because his positivity and impulsivity are fun. It adds a youthful vibe to Liza’s life and to the entire show. Sometimes Josh gets a bad wrap because he is a part of the show’s central love triangle. But, we don’t buy into the idea that just because a character isn’t our favorite ship, they are terrible and deserve derision. Josh is part of some of the funniest stories on Younger, including ones that don’t even involve Liza. His ever-maturing character is yet another reason you should be watching Younger!
7. Kelsey’s Boss Growth
When Younger begins, Kelsey is killing it at work, but making some thoughtless and impulsive decisions in her romantic life. Those decisions seeped into her work life, sometimes threatening to derail it entirely. Through her relationship with Liza, we get to see Kelsey grow into a woman whose business ethics match her bedroom ethics. There are plenty of bumps (and grinds) along the way, but each season bolsters Kelsey boss qualities.
At the end of the day, Kelsey puts work first. Publishing and books are her true love. On Younger, we get to see a millennial working hard and moving up in an established business. This is a gift! In our current work culture, millennials are expected to be constantly hustling and building their own personal brand. Kelsey is a wonderful example for millennials, especially women, that you can be successful and build your career within the setting of “the man.” Kelsey shares her success with Liza and is always mindful of giving credit where credit is due.
Kelsey’s arc from lying on the floor in a dragon dress, to boldly standing up for herself and fighting for what she has earned at Empirical, is another wonderful reason to watch Younger.
6. Sutton Foster
Sutton Foster may be the only person on the planet who could actually pull of playing a woman who passes as 26 at age 40. Foster is the same age as Liza Miller in real life. Her lanky figure and shiny hair help make the whole thing plausible. Not only does Sutton Foster fit the bill perfectly, but she also makes her character the easiest person to love. Energy and affection ooze from the actress and the result is a warm and glowing vibe among the characters.
Sutton’s Broadway background arms her with a versatile physicality that she uses deftly for laughs on Younger. We can always count on Liza to add an awkward charm to any interaction. Her physical humor is top notch, but Foster also brings an emotional depth and vulnerability to the Younger star. Her friendship with Kelsey feels so real that when Liza breaks Kelsey’s heart, our hearts break too.
As the lead of the show, Sutton Foster sets the tone on set and that is reflected in the performances. Younger has JOY coursing through its veins, and a big heap of credit goes to Foster for bringing that to the show.
5. Good Kind of Gross
The fifth best reason to watch Younger is that it isn’t afraid to go there and be gross, but it doesn’t stay nasty for too long. Over the five seasons of the show so far, characters have had their genitals enflamed with jalapeno juice, found themselves caught underground in mountains of crap, and discussed relationships using the analogy of a pube on some gelato.
Yucky stuff is often reserved only for dudes. It is actually refreshing that the gross-out parts of life are also part of the lives of the leading ladies on Younger. It is also nice to see that the potty humor doesn’t have to minimize or cancel out the romantic mood of a scene. The gross gags are never front and center on the show, they are quick and the plot moves on quickly, but they do add a quirk and interest to Younger that helps it stand out. It is another reason Younger is a must-watch!
4. Trout Season
What started out as an affection for her glorious statement necklaces has turned into a full-on obsession for the character of Diana Trout. Played by the enigmatic and hilarious Miriam Shor, Diana is bold, assured, intelligent, and completely herself. Those are just a few of the reason we stan the marketing maven. Her relevance on the show is interlocked with the main plot points, even as she remains in the dark about Liza’s real identity. She is never just adornment to the rest of the characters, though. Diana has an arc and development all her own, and Younger is smart to continue to carve out special story-lines for her.
After seasons of being overlooked, and taken advantage of, it is wonderfully satisfying to see Diana getting her come up. Enzo is delicious, creamy, sweet, sweet icing on Diana’s cake. All we want is to see a woman who can cabaret on a Friday and face the board on a Monday. It is Trout Season on Younger, and it is pulling us in, hook, line, and sinker.
3. Charliza
Charles and Liza have enough chemistry to fill an entire library’s worth of romance novels. So, their slow burn ship has provided fodder for hours of re-watching small moments and scenes. We hold tightly to each morsel of love. Younger keeps us thirsty by peppering the seasons with smoking hot will-they-won’t-they scenes.
The connection between these two tall drinks of water is based on their shared values and intellectual compatibility. On the page, that’s a bit boring. But the pure delight of Charliza is how sensual and attractive they make being bookish seem. We don’t want to spoil what happens with this literary romance brought to life, but we will admit that we are confident the heart pounding and feels inducing moments will continue on Younger Season 6.
Sutton Foster and Peter Hermann are the perfect actors to portray Charliza because they both have mastered the balance of smoldering and silly. Whether at the opera or a karaoke bar, these two find a way to be the brightest spot in the room. That is not to mention the eye sex. Oh Lordy, the eye sex! This couple is the stuff of GIF magic and we can’t wait to see what’s in the future for them.
2. Team Books
Forget the Team Charles vs Team Josh battle, because what is really winning our affection is Team Books! Younger’s characters are all involved, even if indirectly, with publishing. The show doesn’t just use the world of books as an attractive backdrop. The books and the process of reading, editing, and writing are all given elevated status. Liza, Charles, Diana, Kelsey, and Zane all talk about books they love and what the printed word has meant to them in their life.
It’s the most underrated delight on the show. The basic formula for the series is that each episode introduces a new book that Empirical is involved in publishing. This allows viewers to get to know all different types of texts, from romance novels, to pop culture parodies and more. The books are woven into the character conflicts and developments. One of the books on the show, Marriage Vacation, was even published in real life, and is an excellent summer read!
Younger showcases the special relationship between people and written stories. It takes books and the people who love them seriously without ever seemingly judgmental about what kind of books people like. If you fangirl over books as we do, Younger is an absolute must watch.
1. Empowered Women Empowering Younger Women
And the top, numero uno, very best reason to watch Younger is the sisterhood between working women. The real love story on Younger has always been between Liza and her best friends, Maggie, Kelsey, and Diana. From the pilot episode where Maggie concocts the whole idea of acting younger, Liza is at the center of a whole lot of lady empowerment on the show. Early on in the series, Liza helps Kelsey by fishing a stuck diva cup out of her vagina. That is next level ride or die, and I love it! It sets the tone for the truly intimate and truly hilarious sisterhood between the women.
Diana is Liza’s boss and at first, comes across as a foe. However, it very quickly becomes clear that Diana just has a more old school way of expressing her devotion. She may not tag you in super cute Instagram posts, but she will grab your hand and insist you join her on the red carpet in a gesture of respect and love. It really is a pleasure to see the inter-generational expressions of friendship play out, and that diversity of female friendship is a hallmark of Younger.
The close friendships aren’t just pep talks and girl power sessions. The bonds the women have are authentic and come with real conflicts. Season 6 is on the horizon and we will likely get the opportunity to see how Diana reacts to learning Liza’s real age. My heart isn’t ready, and yet, I can’t wait. You should be watching Younger because these platonic power couples will inspire you just as much as they make you cry laughing.
Younger Season 6 premieres June 12th at 10/9c on TV Land.
