Close Enough Explained

Close Enough is an American adult animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel. Originally intended to air on TBS in 2017, the project faced various delays and setbacks before eventually premiering on HBO Max on July 9, 2020. The series has received positive reviews, with critics comparing it favorably to Quintel's previous series, Regular Show, which aired on Cartoon Network from 2010 to 2017.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

In July 2022, HBO Max cancelled the series after three seasons, and a month later, the show was removed from the service.^[5] The show was available on Netflix in international countries until it was removed from the service in May 2023.^[6]

Premise

A couple in their early 30s, Josh and Emily, and their young daughter, Candice, live in a Los Angeles duplex with their divorced friends, Alexander and Bridgette. They get into what seem like normal domestic crises, which tend to escalate in surreal (often even in science fiction and fantasy-esque) ways.

Cast and characters

Main

• Joshua "Josh" Singleton (voiced by J. G. Quintel) – an aspiring video game developer who works for Plugger-Inners; a television installation company based on Geek Squad. His appearance and mannerisms are based on those of Quintel. Quintel also voices himself.
• Emily Ramirez (voiced by Gabrielle Walsh) – Josh's wife, who works as an assistant for a food corporation called FoodCorp. Emily and Bridgette play guitar and sing at local cafes hoping to become famous. She is based on Quintel's own wife, Cassia. Walsh also voices herself.
• Candice Singleton-Ramirez (voiced by Jessica DiCicco) – Josh and Emily's six-year-old (as of "Birthdaze") daughter, who can be very hyperactive and struggles with school work. She attends Chamomile Elementary School, after being transferred out of an unnamed elementary school where the children ran wild and killed a bus driver after tipping over his bus. DiCicco also voices herself.
• Alex Dorpenberger (voiced by Jason Mantzoukas) – Josh's best friend and Bridgette's ex-husband, who works as a community college professor and a struggling Viking-themed fantasy author. He is a conspiracy theorist. Following the series finale "Match Made in Valhalla", Alex and Bridgette got back together. Mantzoukas also voices himself.
• Bridgette Hashima (voiced by Kimiko Glenn) – Emily's best friend and Alex's ex-wife. She is a Japanese-American social media influencer, and a part-time comedy singer-songwriter in a band with Emily. Her middle name was revealed as "No Stress" in an episode from the first season, which also revealed that it was the result of a legal name change that she authorized while she was under the influence of drugs. Glenn also voices herself.
• Pearle Watson (voiced by Danielle Brooks) – A retired African-American LAPD police officer, and the landlady of the duplex.
• Randall "Randy" Watson (voiced by James Adomian) – Pearle's adopted white son, and the duplex's property manager. He was adopted by Pearle after his biological parents, Wyatt and Deborah Trickle, were arrested for siphoning gas from multiple cars. Randy is revealed to be gay in season 3.

Supporting

• Mr. Timothy Campbell (voiced by John Early) – Candice's hippie teacher at Chamomile Elementary.
• Mr. Salt (voiced by Fred Stoller) – Emily's boss at FoodCorp.
• Dr. Glandz (voiced by Cheri Oteri) – A physician who works at a hospital called Pretty Good Samaritan.
• Dante (voiced by Eugene Cordero) – One of Josh's coworkers at Plugger-Inners who has a prosthetic lower arm.
• Jojo (voiced by Mo Collins) – A biker woman who is the leader of the Cool Moms, and the mother of Candice's classmate, Mia.
• Trish (voiced by Kate Higgins) – A former member of the Cool Moms and the mother of Candice's best friend and classmate, Maddie.
• Ms. Hashima (voiced by Suzy Nakamura) – Bridgette's mother.

Guest stars

Episodes

Season 1 (2020)

The first season was originally set to run for 10 episodes, but only 8 episodes were released when the series launched.^{[7] [8]}

Season 2 (2021)

Every episode in this season was directed by J. G. Quintel and Calvin Wong.

Season 3 (2022)

Release

The series was announced in May 2017, four months after Quintel's previous series, Regular Show, concluded its run on the sibling Cartoon Network. The series was originally announced to air on TBS,^[9] but was delayed several times. It would later be revealed that TBS had planned to premiere the show as part of its own animation block, but those plans fell through when production on lead-in program The Cops was shut down after its co-creator Louis C.K. admitted to several instances of sexual misconduct.^[10] On October 29, 2019, it was announced that the series would instead move to HBO Max.^[11] The second half of the third episode was premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 15, 2020.^[12]

On August 6, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season.^[13] The following month, the series was distributed internationally through Netflix as a Netflix Original, beginning September 14, 2020 in Latin America.^{[14] [15]}

The second season premiered on February 25, 2021 on HBO Max.^[16] Prior to the season premiere, a third season was announced on February 10, 2021.^[17] The second season was released internationally on Netflix on May 26, 2021.^[18] The series altogether was removed from Netflix globally in May 2023.^[19]

On October 24, 2021, the first two seasons became available to buy digitally on iTunes.^{[20] [21]} The third season was released digitally on May 8, 2022.^[22]

With the announcement of TBS and TNT's Front Row blocks, the series debuted on the former network on October 25, 2021.^{[23] [24]}

The third season premiered on April 7, 2022 on HBO Max.^[25] On July 15, 2022, HBO Max cancelled the series after three seasons.^[26]

On August 17, 2022, the service announced the removal of several shows, including Close Enough. The show was removed from digital purchase in October 2023.^[27]

Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 100% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10, for the first season. The website's critical consensus reads, "Completely absurd and yet, utterly relatable, Close Enough captures the strange experience that is being an adult."^[28] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[29]

See also

• Regular Show

Notes and References

1. Web site: HBO Max Unveils Exciting Second Wave Slate of Max Originals to Debut Throughout the Summer Beginning June 18th. July 12, 2020. Pressroom. May 13, 2020 . en.
2. Web site: Trumbore. Dave. July 9, 2020. 'Close Enough' Review: J.G. Quintel's Comedy Gets Parental in HBO Max Animated Series. July 12, 2020. Collider. en-US.
3. Web site: July 9, 2020. 'Close Enough' Will Make You Feel Good About Getting Old. July 12, 2020. Decider. en-US.
4. Web site: July 9, 2020. 'Black Mirror' has a cartoon counterpart in the artful 'Close Enough'. July 12, 2020. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
5. Web site: White . Peter . 2022-08-17 . 'Ellen's Next Great Designer', 'The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo' & 'My Mom, Your Dad' Among Unscripted & Animated Titles Pulled From HBO Max . 2022-08-18 . Deadline . en-US.
6. Web site: Moore . Kasey . 2023-04-26 . 'Close Enough' Seasons 1-2 Leaving Netflix Internationally in May 2023 . 2023-04-26 . What's on Netflix . en.
7. CloseEnoughMax. Close Enough on HBO Max. 1273718730778914816. Prepare to clear your schedule for approx. 221 minutes. June 18, 2020. July 21, 2020.
8. Web site: Shows A-Z - close enough on hbo max. Thefutoncritic.com. October 20, 2021.
9. News: TBS Greenlights 'Close Enough,' New Animated Series from J.G. Quintel. Jennifer Wolfe. Animation World Network. May 17, 2017. April 22, 2018.
10. Olan. Rogers. finalspace. 1189343558932860930. Lol what No. No. No. The entire block failed. Cops was shut down because of Louis CK. Tarantula was burned out and canceled. Close Enough had their own production struggles unrelated to Final Space. Bad Luck is what happened. -Olan. October 29, 2019. November 25, 2019.
11. hbomax. HBO Max. 1189331017817055235. No more searching. The most beloved TV, movies, and family favorites, plus new originals, all on #HBOMax [VIDEO](@0:53). October 29, 2019.
12. Web site: TV Films in Competition Close Enough "100% No Stress Day". Annecy. June 15, 2020. June 15, 2020.
13. Web site: 'Close Enough' Renewed for Season 2 on HBO Max. August 6, 2020. Drew. Taylor. August 8, 2020. Collider. en-US.
14. Web site: Close Enough, la nueva serie del creador de Un Show Más, llegará a Netflix en Latinoamérica . August 19, 2020 . TVLaint . August 28, 2020.
15. Evershed . John . 2020 . Adult Animation Finally Breaking Free of its Comedy Shackles . . 27 . November 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201103023954/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5daf57aecd04c82eed72aa1a/t/5e8643ba226c066acaa235b2/1585857472073/Adult+Animation+White+Paper.pdf . November 3, 2020.
16. HBO Max Highlights - February 2021. WarnerMedia. January 27, 2021. January 28, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210128013736/https://pressroom.warnermedia.com/us/media-release/hbo-max/hbo-max-highlights-february-2021. January 28, 2021. live.
17. HBO Max Orders Three Adult Animated Series, CLONE HIGH, VELMA and FIRED ON MARS, Picks Up Two More Seasons of CLOSE ENOUGH. WarnerMedia. February 10, 2021. February 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210210165734/https://pressroom.warnermedia.com/us/media-release/hbo-max/hbo-max-orders-three-adult-animated-series-clone-high-velma-and-fired-mars-picks-two. February 10, 2021. live.
18. Web site: 'Close Enough' Season 2 Coming to Netflix Internationally in May 2021. Whats-on-netflix.com. May 5, 2021.
19. Web site: Moore . Kasey . 2023-04-26 . 'Close Enough' Seasons 1-2 Leaving Netflix Internationally in May 2023 . 2023-04-26 . What's on Netflix . en.
20. Web site: Close Enough, Season 1. en-US. Itunes.apple.com. July 9, 2020 . 2021-11-05.
21. Web site: Close Enough, Season 2. en-US. Itunes.apple.com. July 9, 2020 . 2021-11-05.
22. Web site: Close Enough, Season 3. en-US. Itunes.apple.com. July 9, 2020 . 2022-07-09.
23. Web site: May 19, 2021. TBS and TNT Launch Front Rowa Limited Commercial Interruption Programming Destination. live. October 20, 2021. WarnerMedia Pressroom. https://web.archive.org/web/20210519215908/https://pressroom.warnermedia.com/us/media-release/tbs-and-tnt-launch-front-row-limited-commercial-interruption-programming-destination?language_content_entity=en&fb . May 19, 2021 .
24. Web site: Close Enough Timeslots. . 2021-10-11.
25. This April Stream "The Flight Attendant," "A Black Lady Sketch Show," "Barry," "The Survivor," "We Own This City," "Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off," and More on HBO Max. WarnerMedia. The Futon Critic. March 21, 2022. March 21, 2022.
26. Web site: 'Close Enough' Canceled By HBO Max After 3 Seasons. Deadline Hollywood. Nellie. Andreeva. July 15, 2022. July 15, 2022.
27. Web site: Cartoon Network: Several Hit Shows Are Disappearing From Streaming . 2023-10-26 . Anime . en.
28. close_enough . Close Enough . . tv . 1 . April 28, 2022.
29. close-enough. Close Enough . tv . August 14, 2024.