Youth (2026) Feature Scores
Explore all 43 feature scores for Youth (2026), organized into pros and cons.
Scores by Feature
Summary
43 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.030 (70%)
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Positive 3.5-4.49 (21%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.43 (7%)
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Negative 1.5-2.41 (2%)
Pros
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The show’s strongest thematic idea is that growth does not end with youth: aging, desire, parenting, work, and self-definition are treated as ongoing and often contradictory.
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Comedy is the broadest point of agreement: reviewers repeatedly call the show very funny, mordant, biting, and laugh-out-loud effective, especially in its publishing satire and awkward social situations.
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The lead ensemble is consistently praised, with Horgan’s comic presence and Aran Murphy’s naturalistic work giving the show much of its emotional credibility.
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Reviewers repeatedly praise the specificity of everyday behavior, family friction, awkward sex, and midlife insecurity, although one excerpt finds the overall presentation slightly too glamorous.
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Alex and Patrick’s relationship is a major draw, powered by warmth, bad timing, and strong chemistry that makes both characters’ hesitation understandable.
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Horgan’s scripts are repeatedly praised for sharp observation, comic precision, and honesty, even as a minority view finds the writing slightly softened and less biting than her best work.
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The series largely sustains a tricky blend of raunch, melancholy, cringe, and tenderness without losing its identity as a comedy.
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Chemistry is one of the clearest strengths, especially in Alex’s romantic scenes with Patrick and the shifting warmth and strain of her friendship with Sam.
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The menopause material is unusually frank and specific, treating physical changes, sexuality, and self-image as both funny and meaningful rather than background detail.
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The central midlife and mother-son stories are compelling and self-aware, though some side plots feel superfluous and the overall emotional core can occasionally get crowded.
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Cringe, tenderness, and midlife anxiety frequently sit beside the jokes, producing moments reviewers found wrenching, vulnerable, and emotionally recognizable.
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The show is sexually frank and raunchy, but reviewers generally approve of how the sex scenes stay awkward, funny, and grounded rather than glossy.
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The supporting players are widely seen as a strength, bringing comic energy and added texture even when a few side characters verge on caricature.
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Performances are a major strength, with the ensemble making relationships feel lived-in and Aran Murphy’s work bringing tenderness to Ruari.
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Short episodes, breezy momentum, and an addictive flow make the season unusually easy to consume in long stretches.
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The show’s London social world feels naturally diverse, and its focus on complex women over 50 is welcomed as a broader, less stereotyped form of representation.
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Sharp lines, witty banter, and precise comic phrasing are repeatedly singled out as part of the show’s appeal.
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The Alex-Ruari pairing is generally well balanced, with their parallel crises reinforcing each other, though some surrounding relationships feel less organically integrated.
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The comedy is especially relatable for viewers navigating midlife, but its clear character work and humor are also described as accessible beyond that core audience.
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The roughly 30-minute episodes are praised as snappy and particularly well suited to easy viewing.
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The pacing is loose and light rather than urgent, with several reviewers finding the breezy movement a good fit for the material.
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Phone screens and busy visual details reinforce Alex’s overloaded life, though one review finds the show’s polished glamour a little at odds with its claim to everyday realism.
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The mother-son relationship grows in satisfying ways, but Ruari’s personal arc is also criticized as rushed and at times too simply resolved.
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The ensemble is viewed as a clear strength, with the cast itself described as great and the guest lineup adding extra texture.
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Critical reception is strongly positive, with the series characterized as another major success for Horgan.
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The series is described as a highly enjoyable, superlative comedy with strong momentum and plenty of comic payoff.
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The show’s fresh angle comes less from its basic dating premise than from how it reframes the empty nest and reinvention through a 50-year-old woman’s perspective.
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The scripts are praised for tight episodic construction, sharp comic beats, and a strong sense of narrative flow.
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Eight half-hour episodes make for a compact season that several reviewers describe as unusually easy to binge.
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The season’s flow is addictive enough that one reviewer found it easy to move from episode to episode almost without noticing.
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Patrick’s appeal is carefully calibrated: he remains flawed, but reviewers find him likable and charming enough to make Alex’s attraction believable.
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Onscreen phone displays and rapid digital interruptions effectively communicate how Alex’s obligations pile up and collide.
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The foulmouthed dialogue fits the show’s candid comic voice and is treated as part of the fun rather than a drawback.
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The two-episode premiere is viewed as a smart launch choice because it establishes the show’s competing pressures before shifting to weekly episodes.
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The direction supports the show’s brisk half-hour rhythm and helps its observational comedy land consistently.
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The two-episode opening gives the overlapping family, work, and dating pressures enough room to establish themselves before the weekly rollout.
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As a midlife comedy-drama it lands very well, though at least one reviewer places it just below Horgan’s best earlier work.
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Real London locations and polished interiors are used in ways that fit Alex’s publishing-world ambitions and professional setting.
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Guest characters and the publishing-world ensemble add depth and color to the show’s wider social universe.
Cons
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The show’s handling of Ruari’s wrongdoing draws criticism for making his rehabilitation too easy, softening a harder accountability arc.
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The dramatic side is less consistent than the comedy, with one critic arguing that the many complications can crowd out the emotional core.
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The masculinity storyline is one of the shakier elements; its attempt to engage contemporary anxieties around young men is seen as less fully resolved than the midlife material.
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Alex is praised as carefully balanced, but Sam and especially Ruari draw some criticism for inconsistent characterization or behavior that serves the plot.
Cast & Creators
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PatrickFriend is a standout romantic presence: reviewers repeatedly praise his charm and the easy, fizzy chemistry he brings to Patrick’s scenes with Alex.
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AlexHorgan’s work is praised for making midlife feel uncannily recognizable while still landing as sharp, funny comedy.
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RuaríMurphy is praised for a beautifully unforced performance, with reviewers highlighting both his naturalism and the emotional nuance he brings to Ruari.
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ActorReid’s supporting turn is part of an ensemble repeatedly credited with adding comic texture and extra depth.
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ActorWalter’s guest appearance is included among the supporting performances praised for making the wider ensemble more enjoyable and layered.
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SamWhyte is described as fascinating to watch, especially in the way Sam can pivot quickly between close-friend warmth and sharper boss energy.
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MichaelMcInnerny’s Michael is singled out for a generous, sensitive performance that keeps the older love interest from becoming a simple joke.
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ActorLewis’s exaggerated version of himself is used as a comic cameo and singled out as part of the show’s laugh-out-loud material.
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DirectorShadforth’s direction supports the brisk half-hour format and is tied to the show’s consistent delivery of sharp observational comedy.
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GraysonFox’s cameo is credited with adding extra depth to the show’s colorful publishing-world ensemble.