20 August, 2018 - 06:03
Stand-up comedians Esther Povitsky (aka Little Esther) and Benji Aflalo co-write, co-star and executive produce Alone Together, about Esther and Benji, misfit platonic best friends who want nothing more than to be accepted by the vain and status-obsessed culture of Los Angeles. Despite their constant bickering, when push comes to shove, they've got each other's back - especially since they have nobody else to hang out with.
Povitsky shares more than a first name with her character, who similarly moved to LA from the midwest to try make it as a comedian but quickly found she didn't fit in. As Povitsky told Seth Meyers about her own move, In the Midwest, I'm a seven. On the East Coast, I'm a six. And in L.A, I'm a cocker spaniel...
Povitsky told Variety that Alone Together started as a short film created from not being able to get a job.' The short landed her a meeting with Brooklyn Nine-Nines Andy Samberg and his Emmy-winning Lonely Island collaborators Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, followed by a deal with Freeform, who have already renewed Alone Together for a second season.
Since then, things have come together better for Povitsky than her struggling fictional alter-ego: in 2017, she cracked Variety's annual 10 Comics To Watch list, which has launched the likes of Zach Galifianakis, Amy Schumer and Rebel Wilson over the years. Variety praised her work as a scene-stealer as Maya on the Golden Globe-winning Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and also name-checked her appearances on Netflix's Love and Lady Dynamite, the popular podcast Weird Adults With Little Esther, and the TruTV series Cocktales With Esther.
On Alone Together, she worked with top comedic directors like Amy York Rubin (SMILF), Daniel Gray Longino (Portlandia), Jay Karas (Parks & Recreation), Kat Coiro (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), and Todd Biermann (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia).
The result? As Consequence of Sound wrote, In a world of cutesy teen shows and formulaic sitcoms with a big, beating heart in the middle, Freeform's caustically hilarious Alone Together stands out from the pack with its quick-witted dialogue... brilliantly deadpan performances from both Povitsky and Aflalo and gut-busting sociopathy.
Or as Uncle Barky said, Laugh out loud funny There'd be no hope for the future were every millennial this way.
Get More Film Business South Africa
Select your Membership
Variety also praised the show for the way it breaks down the construct that men and women can't just be platonic friends. Although other characters within the show constantly ask Povitsky and Aflalo's characters why they aren't dating each other, both are very confident in the fact that they really are just friends. The tension comes between them not because of will they or won't they' but from forces all around them as they struggle to find their place in the world - and find romantic partners they are actually interested in.
Consequence of Sound added, What's even better is that Povitsky and Aflalo don't stop at subverting that trope. Yes, Esther and Benji are platonic friends, but it isn't simply that they aren't, and will never be, together. It's that no one in their right mind, no one with any idea of who these people are or how they operate as a pair, would want to see them together It's not a will-they-or-won't-they, it's a they-won't-and-thank-god.
Alone Together is easily the best show ever made, Samberg, Schaffer and Taccone told Deadline when Alone Together was renewed. If you don't watch it, you're a fool. There are four million shows on TV, but this is the only one worth watching.
Binge Alone Together exclusively on Showmax at https://www.showmax.com/eng/tvseries/r63c0txb-alone-together
About Showmax
Showmax is an internet TV service. For a single monthly fee, get all-you-can-eat access to a huge online catalogue of TV shows, movies, kids' shows and documentaries. Start and stop when you want. No ads. Cancel anytime - there's no contract.
Stream Showmax using apps for smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, computers, media players and gaming consoles. Showmax also works with Chromecast and AirPlay. Manage data consumption using the bandwidth capping feature. No internet? No problem - download up to 25 shows to smartphones and tablets to watch later offline.
Showmax was born in 2015 and is part of the Naspers group. Showmax is currently available in more than 70 countries. For a free, no-risk trial, visit http://www.showmax.com.
Embedded video for Platonic best friends are 'Alone Together' in new Showmax comedy
Television
Africa South Africa
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
20 August, 2018 - 06:03 
