Fleishman Is In Trouble - General Discussion

[BetterButter]

[AnimeMania]

Fleishman Is In Trouble is 8 episode Drama TV Series based on a book by the same name from Taffy Brodesser-Akner, that will stream the first two episodes on November 17 on Hulu.  

Fleishman Is In Trouble is the story of recently divorced 41-year-old Toby Fleishman, who dives into the brave new world of app-based dating with the kind of success he never had dating in his youth, before he got married at the tail end of medical school. But just at the start of his first summer of sexual freedom, his ex-wife, Rachel, drops his kids off for his custodial weekend a day early, and then just disappears, leaving him with 11-year-old Hannah and 9-year-old Solly and no hint of where she is or whether she plans to return. As he balances parenting, the return of old friends Libby and Seth, a potential promotion at the hospital that is a long time coming — and all the eligible women that Manhattan has to offer — he realizes that he’ll never be able to figure out what happened to Rachel until he can finally face what happened to their marriage in the first place.

Jesse Eisenberg as Toby Fleishman, a recently divorced 41-year-old doctor (hepatologist). Emotionally, the separation from his wife has been difficult, especially now that he’s learning how to be a single dad. He has recently joined the dating app scene and is amazed at the newfound attention he is receiving from women.

Claire Danes as Rachel, Toby Fleishman's ex-wife, a very successful and ambitious talent agent whose put-together exterior conceals past trauma. While she initially enjoys her freedom after leaving Toby, Rachel ultimately struggles with her new identity, then she mysteriously disappears. 

Meara Mahoney Gross as Hannah Fleishman, Toby Fleishman's 11-year-old daughter

Maxim Swinton as Solly Fleishman, Toby Fleishman's 9-year-old son

Lizzy Caplan as Libby Epstein, Toby Fleishman's old friend from college, and the narrator of the story. Libby and Toby had lost touch for years, but following his divorce, they’ve recently reconnected and rekindled their friendship. Libby used to work for a men’s magazine, but has since stopped writing and is now a full-time stay-at-home mother.

Josh Radnor plays Adam, Libby Epstein’s husband.

Adam Brody as Seth, an old friend of Toby Fleishman
 
Christian Slater plays Archer Sylvan, a journalist who wrote an article, entitled "Decoupling", which details the dissolution of a marriage and is pretty close to what happened in the Fleishman marriage. Libby Epstein is obsessed with Sylvan and his article.

Michael Gaston plays Dr. Bartuck, Toby’s imposing boss at the hospital who is all handshakes and fundraising winks. 

Ralph Adriel Johnson plays Phillip, is a fellow at the hospital with Josh

Brian Miskell is Clay, is a fellow at the hospital with Josh 

Joy Suprano plays Cyndi.

Juani Feliz as Alejandra Lopez

[aghst]

Seems to be getting lukewarm reviews at best.

[Angeleyes]

Will this appear on FX at some point? I don’t have Hulu and I’m not adding another streaming service. 

[AnimeMania]

3 hours ago, Angeleyes said:

Will this appear on FX at some point? I don’t have Hulu and I’m not adding another streaming service. 

I don't think so.

[AnimeMania]

‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’ Review: Jesse Eisenberg, Claire Danes and Lizzy Caplan Lead Superb Cast in Hulu Adaptation

[AnimeMania]

Jesse Eisenberg on the Gendered Double Standards That ‘Fleishman Is In Trouble’ Exposes

‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’ Is a Deliberately Lopsided Divorce Drama with Irreconcilable Viewpoints

Edited November 16, 2022 by AnimeMania

[AnimeMania]

Fleishman Is In Trouble     November 17      Hulu   

Episodes 1-2 Titles and Descriptions

S01.E01: Summon Your Witnesses

Toby won't let Rachel's inconsiderate (and early) drop-off stop him from keeping a date with a woman he's met online.

Spoiler

S01.E02: Welcome to Paniquil

Toby tries to navigate the childcare crisis that Rachel left for him and learns of a new opportunity at work. 

[kitkat343]

I quite liked it.  It's pretty frustrating that so many shows are across so many different platforms, but maybe I'll just switch them around once my deal on Hulu ends (I got a year for 99 cents a month last Black Friday).

[LoveLeigh]

This show has resulted in me walking around narrating my own life. "Leigh stepped out of the elevator and looked into the mirror and spoke to herself." I like the show but this narration shtik is not my cup of tea, it is distracting. And the show tries too hard. It tires to hard to be relevant. 

Edited November 20, 2022 by LoveLeigh

[SallyAlbright]

I liked the book, and so far I like the show (have only watched the first episode so far). It's a pretty faithful adaptation and the cast is great all around. I swear Adam Brody just keeps getting better looking and more charming - why is he not a bigger star? I suspect he likes a more low key life but he's always great and I love that his character here is also named Seth. 

Looking forward to seeing more of Claire Danes since she's barely in the first episode and her character is quite complex in the book. 

[juno]

Just finished the first 2 episodes. Show is a grind.

The daughter is so angry and so hateful to her father that her scenes are unwatchable and his limp responses to her make the scenes worse. So far they have portrayed Claire Danes as selfish and hateful and her scenes are also tough to watch.

Adam Brody and Lizzy Caplan are so far saving this show. They are so great but I don't think they can save it.

Will try a few more.

[Nellise]

18 hours ago, juno said:

The daughter is so angry and so hateful to her father that her scenes are unwatchable and his limp responses to her make the scenes worse. So far they have portrayed Claire Danes as selfish and hateful and her scenes are also tough to watch.

Adam Brody and Lizzy Caplan are so far saving this show. They are so great but I don't think they can save it.

I've enjoyed the scenes at the hospital too, at least the ones without the kids.

The daughter and Claire Danes are so over the top hate-able that something has to be coming to change that.

I liked that he said wtf I make $300k why are you acting like I'm poor?

[marny]

The daughter is horrible, but she’s also surrounded by spoiled, rich peers and she’s at the age where most kids are horrible. And it sounds like when her parents were together, they didn’t have time for their kids anyway. Most people dont need a full-time nanny for kids at that age in NYC. 

As for Rachel, I’m just reminding myself this story is being told from the husband’s perspective and I don’t think he’s the most reliable narrator about their relationship. 

[chocolatine]

Only watched the first episode so far. I really want to like this because of the actors, but it seems like yet another depiction of neurotic upper middle class New Yorkers, completely unoriginal. And why does there have to be a show about a man whose wife runs off and leaves him to be a full-time parent? Men do this to women all the time, and nobody makes a navel-gazing show about it.

Also, I could have done without all the sex scenes. We get it, NYC has a lot more women than men, so a decent-looking, gainfully employed man in his 40s can have his pick. But it doesn't even seem like Toby enjoys these encounters very much, he's just doing it because that's what people tell him he should be doing.

[txhorns79]

On 11/20/2022 at 9:32 AM, marny said:

As for Rachel, I’m just reminding myself this story is being told from the husband’s perspective and I don’t think he’s the most reliable narrator about their relationship. 

I know that Toby mentions multiple times that Rachel has pulled disappearing acts before, but it just seems crazy to me that you aren't on the phone to the police when your ex-wife fails to pick up her kids for a pre-planned trip, doesn't respond to any attempts to reach her, and multiple days have come and gone. 

Also, the flashback wigs are terrible.

[aghst]

Haven't seen this yet.  Prestige TV Podcast says that this would have worked much better as a 3 or 4 episode miniseries.

They're elongating the material to fit the 8 episodes which FX and Hulu probably wanted.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E03: Free Pass

Toby meets Rachel.

Premiere Date: November 24, 2022

[nomodrama]

I don't think I have felt this kid of disgust towards a child character on a tv show in a long time. The daughter is an insufferable nightmare. 

Regardless of what kind of a narrator Toby is, his ideals do not at all seem to line up with the daughters gross behavior, so I'm assuming that comes from Rachel and it does not portray her in the best light. 

[Nellise]

I was distracted this whole episode after realizing the main story line is not set in the current day. The party was some time in the 90s and Toby was presumably 22 then as he was about to start med school, and he's only 41 in the main story.

Aside from that, I'm not sure if I'll finish this. It's feeling like misery porn.

[chocolatine]

14 minutes ago, Nellise said:

I was distracted this whole episode after realizing the main story line is not set in the current day. The party was some time in the 90s and Toby was presumably 22 then as he was about to start med school, and he's only 41 in the main story.

They mentioned in the first episode that the main story is set in 2016.

[shelley1234]

1 minute ago, chocolatine said:

They mentioned in the first episode that the main story is set in 2016.

Yep.  There have been I'm with Her Hillary posters and shirts and someone mentioned that "he" would never actually get the nomination.  

[Nellise]

16 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

They mentioned in the first episode that the main story is set in 2016.

Okay thanks, I figured I missed something.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 11/20/2022 at 7:09 PM, chocolatine said:

Only watched the first episode so far. I really want to like this because of the actors, but it seems like yet another depiction of neurotic upper middle class New Yorkers, completely unoriginal. And why does there have to be a show about a man whose wife runs off and leaves him to be a full-time parent? Men do this to women all the time, and nobody makes a navel-gazing show about it.

Also, I could have done without all the sex scenes. We get it, NYC has a lot more women than men, so a decent-looking, gainfully employed man in his 40s can have his pick. But it doesn't even seem like Toby enjoys these encounters very much, he's just doing it because that's what people tell him he should be doing.

I read the book, and that sex stuff is straight out of the book. I was uncomfortable with it in the book and was ready to stop reading but then I stuck with it anyway, and the book turned around for me. It’s interesting since it’s written by a woman author (who wrote book and show).  I think it’s about a long-married man getting to do things that he didn’t get rondo earlier in life because he was too nerdy. 

Edited November 25, 2022 by EtheltoTillie

[Chaos Theory]

The show so far is interesting enough.  Didn’t know it was an actual book.  I think Toby is kind of an unreliable narrator at this point because we are only seeing things out of order from his perspective.  A guy who married a much more successful woman who views being a doctor as a calling so doesn’t play the games that are needed to move up and resents his wife for doing just that.   It will be interesting if we see this from the wife.  But yeah the daughter is being portrayed as a spoiled brat.  

[chocolatine]

If Toby was so desperate to find Rachel, why didn't he run straight to the park where her friends claimed to have seen her? Especially since they said she was "napping" on a park bench, which is completely out of character for her, so it was likely that she was having a mental breakdown. Instead he goes back to his apartment to navel gaze, then draws the conclusion that she must sleeping with that rich guy.

Also, I felt that, in the flashback, Toby didn't have enough empathy for Rachel after her traumatic birthing experience and subsequent PPD. Just because she's not a likable character, doesn't mean that the situation wasn't extremely painful for her.

[DrSpaceman73]

All of you who hate the daughter must have never seen the little terror on working moms. But yeah she is a rotten little snot. 

I binged the first 3 episodes last night.  Got sucked in.  It's decent.  Episode 3 actually gives some perspective on Claire Daines and she isn't quite so awful.  She just isn't a mom and likes her work.  But then why they have a second kid i don't know.

As a doctor it's an Intersting perspective on the perception of the doctors as a profession now. Almost as if it's a 'that's super!' But not up to par for upper crust new york. 

He seems to be more at a teaching facility though rather than private practice where he would make more money. 

[DrSpaceman73]

Also realized the title refers not just to him but also his wife.  And whole family. 

[txhorns79]

On 11/25/2022 at 3:25 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

Almost as if it's a 'that's super!' But not up to par for upper crust new york. 

Yes, it speaks to a certain type of wealth that they react to Toby's job like he's running a free clinic in some underprivileged part of the city.  

And I'm shocked Rachel had a second kid after the nightmare of her first kid's birth.  I felt terrible for her, and could see why she was so disconnected from being a parent.  Toby was useless (referring to her as a "patient" when the other doctor violated her, instead of as his "wife" would have been grounds for divorce for me).     

[AnimeMania]

S01.E04: God, What An Idiot He Was

Toby investigates Rachel's disappearance. Libby invites him on a trip to New Jersey.

Premiere Date: December 1, 2022

[DrSpaceman73]

I know he is going through a divorce and is finding out his wife has someone else but he really is very self centered snd self involved. His friends are obviously going through things too and he acts disinterested. Which likely goes back to how his perspective of his wife was very skewed as pointed out this episode. 

Him being the 'wife',  in the traditional sense, is true and was a twist I didn't see.  Not sure why it's pretty obvious

I'm still trying to figure out the reasoning behind lizzy Caplan and not him as the narrator.  Wish we saw more of Josh Radnor as her husband. He made the comment too, Toby isn't really friends or interested in her family, just her, to help him.  

And more condescending congratulations from the lawyer about him being a doctor. 

[kitkat343]

On 11/25/2022 at 3:25 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

As a doctor it's an Intersting perspective on the perception of the doctors as a profession now. Almost as if it's a 'that's super!' But not up to par for upper crust new york. 

He seems to be more at a teaching facility though rather than private practice where he would make more money. 

This is a very common perception among certain circles in NYC.  An ex is in academic medicine and his wife is an estate attorney, and her career is the primary one in the family.

The one thing that I don't think they got right about upper class NY life was the son's camp.  That poor kid looked like he'd hate a traditional sleep away camp; there was no reason to send him to one.  There are academic sleep away camps for kids starting at age 9, and the son seems like he would really love to be with other bright kids studying science.  This family has the money but not the parental time right now, so they could have easily bought him a summer he would have loved.  It really pissed me off to see that child going off on the same bus as his sister (who would love traditional sleep away camp) when there were options that could have kept him happy.  I'm assuming by the fact that the dad was miserable about sending his son away that he was sending him to a traditional sleep away camp which was a poor option for him, especially when there are so many alternatives.

[chocolatine]

I can't decide who is less likable, Toby or Libby. Toby is supposed to be a caring, compassionate doctor, but it still hasn't occurred to him that Rachel might be having a mental health crisis. And it's rich of him to be upset that Rachel is sleeping with someone when he has apparently slept with dozens of women since their divorce.

And Libby is obviously unhappy with her suburban SAHM life, but instead of addressing her problems with her husband, she prefers to live vicariously through Toby's drama.

[txhorns79]

Okay, I laughed pretty hard at Toby's imagined scene of Rachel and Sam Rothberg having sex on the dining room table while eating the beef lo mein. 

[Milburn Stone]

On 12/1/2022 at 6:45 AM, DrSpaceman73 said:

I'm still trying to figure out the reasoning behind lizzy Caplan and not him as the narrator.  Wish we saw more of Josh Radnor as her husband. He made the comment too, Toby isn't really friends or interested in her family, just her, to help him.  

This is a crazy idea, but it's just begun to occur to me that the reasoning behind Libby being the narrator is this: It's actually Libby's story! The appearance that it is Toby's story is just that, an appearance. There may be a real Toby in Libby's life, and he may actually be going through a divorce, but nevertheless the nature of the experience Toby is having is entirely Libby's construct. It's also possible that there is no Toby and he is entirely Libby's writerly invention. She is imagining events the way we are seeing them because of problems in her own marriage. Perhaps she is wondering how Adam would fare if she divorced him, or what her life would be like. 

If anyone knows whether my wild speculation is correct, don't tell me. I don't want to be spoiled.

[luna1122again]

On 12/1/2022 at 7:45 AM, DrSpaceman73 said:

I'm still trying to figure out the reasoning behind lizzy Caplan and not him as the narrator.  Wish we saw more of Josh Radnor as her husband. He made the comment too, Toby isn't really friends or interested in her family, just her, to help him.  

The book is constructed the same way: Libby is the narrator. It becomes a bit clearer why as the story progresses. She's also basically author  Taffy Brodesser-Akner's doppelganger/stand in. 

[DrSpaceman73]

57 minutes ago, luna1122again said:

The book is constructed the same way: Libby is the narrator. It becomes a bit clearer why as the story progresses. She's also basically author  Taffy Brodesser-Akner's doppelganger/stand in. 

I figured that was the case but good to know thank you. 

Haven't read the book and honestly dont plan to do so. 

[Empress1]

On 11/20/2022 at 6:23 AM, Nellise said:

I liked that he said wtf I make $300k why are you acting like I'm poor?

My book club read the book and we clocked that too, like, the hell are you complaining about? Yes, he could make much more in private practice, but he’s far from broke. 

12 hours ago, chocolatine said:

And it's rich of him to be upset that Rachel is sleeping with someone when he has apparently slept with dozens of women since their divorce.

I think he’s upset about this person in particular - it’s also why the group at the dinner party was like “You’re not supposed to pick someone you could actually sleep with” when Rachel said he was her hall pass.

[DrSpaceman73]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

My book club read the book and we clocked that too, like, the hell are you complaining about? Yes, he could make much more in private practice, but he’s far from broke. 

I think he’s upset about this person in particular - it’s also why the group at the dinner party was like “You’re not supposed to pick someone you could actually sleep with” when Rachel said he was her hall pass.

Yes she basically told him 'I'm having an affair with him' and he was too naive and oblivious to recognize why she said that. He is very self involved and ignorant of anyone else's problems. Which is pretty bad for a doctor. 

Also I think that female resident/fellow is  into him. 

[Silly Angel]

On 11/18/2022 at 11:56 PM, SallyAlbright said:

I swear Adam Brody just keeps getting better looking and more charming - why is he not a bigger star? I suspect he likes a more low key life but he's always great and I love that his character here is also named Seth. 

100 percent. He's as cute and charming as when I fell in love with Seth Cohen.

As for the show...I'm only two episodes in, but it's Californication with a billion times more money and privilege. I keep hearing that men find the women on dating apps are either bots or sex workers or don't exist, so i have a hard time believing Jessie Eisenberg (no shade; I love him, but you know, we live in a world with Hemsworths) is getting a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade of nonstop poontang.

[Chaos Theory]

NYC is a different animal all together.   300K is enough to have a good life on Long Island but to live in one of the better bergs of the city not so much.  It cost that  much for a private school that Rachel wants to send her kids to.   Rachel wants to live in one of the wealthier happening neighborhoods which Toby couldn’t afford on his own.  He is right,  he could give Rachel a nice life but she wants a privileged one. 

20 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I can't decide who is less likable, Toby or Libby. Toby is supposed to be a caring, compassionate doctor, but it still hasn't occurred to him that Rachel might be having a mental health crisis. And it's rich of him to be upset that Rachel is sleeping with someone when he has apparently slept with dozens of women since their divorce.

It’s not that Rachel is sleeping with someone.  It’s that she is sleeping with Sam Rothberg.  If you ever played that “Free pass” game with you significant other the rules are kinda common knowledge.   You aren’t supposed to pick your boss or someone who legit has a crush on you.   Mine is Jennifer Tilly and Patrick Stewart.  

[DrSpaceman73]

1 hour ago, Silly Angel said:

100 percent. He's as cute and charming as when I fell in love with Seth Cohen.

As for the show...I'm only two episodes in, but it's Californication with a billion times more money and privilege. I keep hearing that men find the women on dating apps are either bots or sex workers or don't exist, so i have a hard time believing Jessie Eisenberg (no shade; I love him, but you know, we live in a world with Hemsworths) is getting a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade of nonstop poontang.

Speaking with an average looking and even older doctor last year who was divorced, his experience was similar to that depicted on the show

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

It’s not that Rachel is sleeping with someone.  It’s that she is sleeping with Sam Rothberg.  If you ever played that “Free pass” game with you significant other the rules are kinda common knowledge.   You aren’t supposed to pick your boss or someone who legit has a crush on you.   Mine is Jennifer Tilly and Patrick Stewart.  

I know how this game works. I still don't think it was any of Toby's business who Rachel has been sleeping with since the divorce. And even if she had been sleeping with him while they were still married, their marriage had been broken for years and sleeping with Sam is not what ruined it. My point was that Toby, instead of trying to find Rachel and making sure she was OK, spent all his time agonizing over who she may have been sleeping with.

[marny]

I’m so incensed over the fact that Toby made Rachel seem like a monster for wanting to send the kids to camp and yet as soon as he had to have custody of them for more than a few days, he immediately shipped them off (despite his son not even wanting to go). “I thought we wanted them, didn’t we?” I guess it’s fine for him to be too busy with work (and screwing strangers) to take care of his children but not for her to be. Love those gender dynamics. 

Edited December 4, 2022 by marny

[Adgirl]

Obviously I'm terrible because I didn't feel a bit of sympathy when Toby wept.

[AnimeMania]

S01.E05: Vantablack

Toby uses every resource he has - from a night out with Seth to a visit to the American Museum of Natural History - to combat his loneliness.

Premiere Date: December 8, 2022

[DrSpaceman73]

So is that the end?

[Accidental Martyr]

1 hour ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

So is that the end?

There are three more episodes.

[DrSpaceman73]

1 hour ago, Accidental Martyr said:

There are three more episodes.

Thanks. 

Can't believe that camp kicked her out and did nothing to the boy.  It's literally criminal to share that picture. 

The author makes more sense now. Though I can't understand why she stayed so long at that magazine. 

[chocolatine]

3 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

The author makes more sense now. Though I can't understand why she stayed so long at that magazine. 

It's interesting that the decision to leave her job had been her own. Based on her unhappiness and the strained relationship with her husband in previous episodes, I thought he had been the one to ask her to stay home and she resented him for it. So now that I know that she brought all of that unhappiness on herself, I have even less sympathy for her. As for why she had stayed so long at that job, I think it's because she had a crush on Christian Slater's character.

Toby seems to have serious food issues. He wouldn't eat the delicious-looking bread Seth bought after their night out, he ate a green salad without dressing at dinner while everyone else was eating pasta, and in another episode's flashback Rachel complained that he only cooked chicken and vegetable soup for her. I wonder how he finds the energy to work, take long walks around Manhattan, have sex with multiple partners, and put up with his kids, at such a caloric deficit.

So Rachel is finally supposed to be back in town, and Toby chickens out at the last minute instead of confronting her? I get that there are three more episodes to go, and the show is probably saving that confrontation until the finale, but it makes no sense in any real-world scenario.

Edited December 9, 2022 by chocolatine