The Kominsky Method Season 2 Review: Netflix’s Poignant Geriatric Comedy Delivers a Terrific Sophomore Season
Leaning harder on an expanded ensemble lets The Kominsky Method blossom in its second season, sharpening its tale of aging, grief, and legacy around its already-strong lead performances.
The first season of Chuck Lorre’s Netflix comedy The Kominsky Method was an overt Odd Couple riff, full of broad comedic storylines about prostates and millennials, often solely anchored by the rhythms of its two lead performances — particularly Alan Arkin’s affecting portrayal of grieving widow Norman Newlander.
The Kominsky Method Season 2 takes a slightly different approach; while Sandy Kominsky (Michael Douglas, still game for anything Lorre wants to throw at him) still remains the fulcrum of the season’s narrative, season two re-frames the story of two old men to a story of two old fathers, a slight recalculation that pays off huge dividends as the season resolves.
Though there are plenty of personal dramas in The Kominsky Method‘s sophomore effort that give Douglas and Arkin plenty of room to chew scenery, the real heart of Season 2 are the stories between father and daughter.
When Norman’s daughter Phoebe (a pitch-perfect Lisa Edelstein) returns from rehab and begins putting her life back together, it puts Norman through a crisis of identity – and leads to the strongest emotional moments of the season, all of which take place on opposing sides of a frozen yogurt counter.
Arkin remains the true gem of The Kominsky Method; his Norman is equally acerbic and vulnerable, and Arkin leans into the eloquence and ugliness of the role with a sophisticated touch.
Though season two doesn’t offer him the same massive range of raw emotion as Season 1 did, the work is a grade more rewarding here, a welcome bit of catharsis in the show’s ever-deepening dramatic waters.
With a new girlfriend (Jane Seymour, in another bit of fantastic casting) and mission to find purpose in the later years of his life, Norman finds himself contending with a completely different emotion: happiness.
Most importantly, Season 2 finds him repairing his relationship with Phoebe; tying his arc neatly to Sandy and his once-estranged daughter Mindy, for a necessary bit of narrative harmony.
Strangely, the part of The Kominsky Method the series draws its namesake from remains the weakest part of the series. Strong actors like Emily Osment (who’s brief run on Lorre’s Mom is worth watching) and Ashleigh LaThrop don’t feel like much more than set dressing, even more so than in The Kominsky Method‘s more direct, focused first season.
There are also a few dramatic arcs to the season that don’t quite land; but this is mostly a problem of structure, with Sandy’s cancer and the return of Norman’s Scientologist grandson (Haley Joel Osmont) coming to a head too late in the season to offer any truly rewarding material.
Should there be a third season, Sandy’s cancer and his conflicting feelings on leaving his business to his daughter Mindy (Sarah Baker) are bound to be as rewarding and satisfying as Norman’s emotional tribulations.
Taken in isolation, however, it can feel wandering and redundant in a way Norman’s stories never feel; with his on-again/off-again girlfriend Lisa in the background for most of the season, there seemed to be room to give his other stories room to breathe.
But that room only lets The Kominsky Method meander even more with its titular character, which isn’t always to its benefit.
More importantly, Sandy’s stories don’t really materialize into anything nearly as poignant as his best friend’s recent life experiences.
Though I suppose that’s the nature of diseases and surprises; they never occur when we expect them, and the paths they forge in our lives are never as neat or coherent as we’d like them to be.
Smartly, The Kominsky Method doesn’t rely on these more underwhelming elements to carry it for eight episodes.
Mostly, it leans into what works best (the chemistry of its leads, and its musings on mortality), meandering just enough for the occasional Cialis-inspired comedy bit, or a strangely satisfying turn by Paul Reiser as Mindy’s elderly boyfriend Martin.
In his later years, Chuck Lorre’s experimentation with comedies becomes more interesting with each iteration. Though Disjointed wasn’t exactly a worthy successor to Mom, it was an interesting attempt at revising the sitcom for the streaming format.
With The Kominsky Method, though, Lorre’s found a fascinating way to reflect on his comedic legacy – and more interestingly, the fragility of life with time’s passing.
And as his comedy matures and becomes more reflective, it only seems to get better, displaying a creative evolution one might not think possible from the co-creator of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.
What did you think of this episode of The Kominsky Method? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Kominsky Method‘s first and second seasons are currently streaming on Netflix.
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Randy Dankievitch
Randy Dankievitch is a TV critic living in Portland, Maine, whose obsession with pop culture began as a child, watching reruns of The Muensters while listening to Paul's Boutique on repeat. A writer since 2011, Randy is currently the writer of TV Never Sleeps, TV Editor at Goomba Stomp, and a columnist for Up Portland, with previous bylines at Sound on Sight, Processed Media, TV Overmind, and many others.
4 comments
this episode was the the greatest! I nearly fell off my chair i was laughing so hard. I love Alan and Michael in this series. Their banter is fantastic and the situations they find themselves in are played so well. I would say this is my favorite show. Wish there were more than 8 episodes a season.
We love it, 8 episodes is too short! Great cast chemistry.
I just love this show to pieces.
I found this to be a great show, even if everyone in it is Democrat. I’m 70+ and, can really relate to a lot the story line. Hope there’s a Season 3.
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