Chaos, comedy, and chemistry: Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne ready to take Apple TV+’s ‘Platonic’ to a new level in Season 2

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Seth Rogen is taking a timeout from promoting his Emmy-contending The Studio to moonlight on his other Apple TV+ comedy series.

Rogen and costar Rose Byrne headlined Wednesday's premiere of Season 2 of Platonic. The streamer transformed the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles into a celebration of the show, which follows Will (Rogen) and Sylvia (Byrne) as they rekindle their friendship later in life. The series abides by its title and shows what a non-romantic relationship can look like in adulthood, when partners, children and careers often take center stage.

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Rogen says he's grateful for having two vastly different projects occupying his time. “To me, it does create a lovely balance,” he tells Gold Derby. “I love doing this type of comedy, which is a little more slice of life, a little more improvisationally based, and a little more casual in some ways. But to that point, it’s much more relatable to the average person than The Studio is, I think, in a lot of ways.

“Honestly, I conceived of The Studio knowing I was also doing Platonic. The ability to do something that’s highly regimented and planned and blocked within an inch of its life, and is about precision [like The Studio], to then something like [Platonic], which is about comedians and finding the scenes, and improvising. … To me, doing both is a really lovely gift.”

Byrne, whose character Sylvia dealt with marital struggles in Season 1 thanks to her friendship with Will, credits Rogen with helping her hone her comedic chops. “Seth is funny on a molecular level,” she said. “He breathes and lives and walks comedy in a way. I didn’t come from standup or improv or Groundlings, so to have chemistry with someone who comes from that world is so fun and exciting. I’m always kind of in that orbit, in his gravitational comedic pull. We have a really fun time and it’s an unusual coupling, obviously, but it’s kind of not too, if you really know us. We’re pretty low-key. We’re both from the Commonwealth [of Canada] and we like to work, and we work well together. But comedy’s so hard, so when you do have that chemistry, you really do go back to that source.”

Directors, cocreators and cowriters Nick Stoller and Francesca Delbanco think that Platonic Season 2 showcases how Rogen, Byrne, and the ensemble can turn tough shoots into comedy gold. “We cross-board the season because we direct everything, so it’s totally out of order when we shoot stuff,” Stoller says. “We shot one of the scenes that’s towards the very end of the season in the first week and it didn’t matter because everyone knows their characters and what kind of stories they’re telling.” Delbanco agreed, saying, “We really felt like we hit the ground running this season. Everybody knew what they wanted to do and how they wanted to approach it.”

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Luke Macfarlane, who plays Sylvia’s lawyer husband, Charlie, got the chance to live out a dream this season thanks to his character’s participation on a beloved quiz show that might or might not have been famously hosted by the late Alex Trebek. Does Macfarlane think he could successfully compete on the television staple? “We all watch the unnamed, very popular game show,” he said. “I think I would do pretty well on it, but we all watch this show and think we have the answers when we would flounder in real life.”

As the ensemble made its way along the carpet and was asked to describe the new season in one word, there was one incredibly popular response: “Chaotic.”

Season 2 of Platonic airs Aug. 6 on Apple TV+.

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