"Platonic" webseries looks at the dating lives of a lesbian and her straight guy best friend

Summer Spiro as Olive

If you are looking for a new queer webseries to scratch that angstiness itch, then you'll want to check out Platonic, created by Erin C. Buckley. Set in New York, just before the pandemic hits, Platonic follows best friends Olive, a gay woman, and Billy, a straight man, as they try to find meaningful connections. Olive and Billy, friends since college, keep missing each other and leave long voicemails about their own personal existential crises. (The voicemails are the only unbelievable thing about the series because since when do Millenials love leaving voicemails?)

Summer Spiro as Olive, Amelia Workman as Alixa

Olive (played by the fantastic Summer Spiro) is a waiter in Brooklyn, nursing a broken heart from a woman who just wouldn't commit. As Olive tries to navigate her life without her, she meets up with friends (some who reveal their attraction to her, which can be both interesting and awkward and plays out in both ways) and someone who she just might have a real connection with...if she can stop herself from sabotaging it. After all of these encounters, Olive tries to reach Billy, who has been finding himself on a similar road. Billy (the talented Ryan King) is a nice guy who is sort of in the middle of finding himself, and along the way meets a few women (including one who doesn't believe men can be bisexual, which Billy challenges) and forms a bond with a gay man.

Ryan King as Billy

Writer and director Buckley does a fine job with the series, which is gorgeously lit and filmed. There are no clunky sound issues or iffy performances, and Platonic is one of the best looking webseries I've seen yet. The way Platonic handles the ennui of living and struggling personally and professionally in a city like New York feels very spot on and topical. Adult friendships can be complicated, and Platonic deals with those ebbs and flows. There's also a scene in the series, which is one of the sexiest non-sex scenes I've ever seen in the medium, and if you weren't already drawn into Platonic, you will be after that.

You can catch the entire Platonic Season One now.

Summer SpiroSummer Spiro