Red Oaks

Red Oaks is an American comedy-drama television series created by Joe Gangemi and Gregory Jacobs. The first season was released on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2015. On December 18, 2015, Amazon announced that the show would be returning for a second season in 2016. The second season was released on November 11, 2016. On January 30, 2017, Amazon announced that the series was renewed for a third and final season, which was released on October 20, 2017.

Plot
David, a college student, begins working at Red Oaks, a Jewish country club in New Jersey during his summer break in 1985. The show follows David's life, with numerous subplots including his family, friends, and coworkers, and primarily revolves around the club. The show explores themes such as adolescence, relationships, socioeconomic mobility, and the pursuit of happiness in a mostly comedic fashion against the backdrop of the New York–New Jersey area in the 1980s.

Main
• Craig Roberts as David Myers, a college student majoring in accounting who gets a summer job as a tennis instructor for the club

• Jennifer Grey as Judy Myers, David's mother

• Richard Kind as Sam Myers, David's father

• Ennis Esmer as Nash Nasser, David's supervisor, the tennis pro for the country club

• Oliver Cooper as Wheeler, David's buddy and a valet at the country club

• Alexandra Turshen as Misty, a lifeguard at the club

• Gage Golightly as Karen, David's girlfriend and an aerobics instructor for the club

• Josh Meyers as Barry, the clubs videographer

• Paul Reiser as Doug Getty, president of the country club and also David, Nash, and Wheeler's boss

• Alexandra Socha as Skye Getty, Doug's daughter and an aspiring artist who takes a liking to David

Recurring
• Maria Dizzia as Professor Beryl Fox

• Gina Gershon as Fay Getty, Doug's wife

• Nate Smith as Skip

• Greer Barnes as Terry

• Rachel Feinstein as Jean Blum

• David Fierro as Ganz

• Brad Gilbert as Stan Feinberg

• Jessica Hecht as Rebecca

• John Hodgman as Travis

• Mark Linn-Baker as Rabbi Ken

• Tijuana Ricks as Shirley

• Freddie Roman as Herb

• Beth Stelling as Margot

• James Waterston as Dr. Dale Blum

• Allison Lanier as Annabelle (season 3)

Production
For his role as Nash, Ennis Esmer read with director David Gordon Green in both his regular voice and what The New York Times describes as "an invented accent he calls 'Indo Middle Eastern British'", while trying to get Green to laugh. Esmer used a vocal coach to improve the accent and continued using it while on the set.

Filming
The main filming location is Edgewood Country Club in River Vale, New Jersey. Additional locations include Florence Park in Mamaroneck, New York, Willow Ridge Country Club in Westchester County, New York, and Paris, France.

Critical reception
Red Oaks has received mostly positive reviews. On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a score of 81%, an average rating of 7.8/10, based on 26 reviews. The website's consensus reads: "Red Oaks offers an affectionate nod to 1980s sex comedies that – largely thanks to a talented ensemble cast – finds fresh humor in its familiar premise." Metacritic gives the show a score of 70 out of 100, sampled from 21 reviews, signifying "generally favorable reviews".

Entertainment Weekly gave the pilot a B+, and singled out Esmer's performance:

"The amusing Ennis Esmer is the best thing here, as David's sleazy co-worker Nash. But it's sometimes hard to tell if Red Oaks is a clever dissection of old, reactionary sex comedies, or if it's just a reactionary sex comedy itself. B+"

The New York Times enjoyed the pilot:

"Set at a suburban New Jersey country club in 1985, Mr. Green's pilot is not a sendup of 1980s coming-of-age comedies or even a tribute to them, but a surprisingly straightforward extension of the genre. It's as if the spirits of John Hughes, Harold Ramis and the young Richard Linklater had all gotten together to consult."

Newsday liked it as well:

"A funky retro-'80s distinctiveness makes Red Oaks Amazon's single best new series. Dryly amusing, the characters are sharply drawn and often appealing – even when they are not. Ennis Esmer ruthlessly heists every scene he's in, and Craig Roberts deftly creates a character you may even recognize from your own past – only funnier."