Unstable (TV series)

Unstable is an American workplace comedy television series starring Rob Lowe and his son John Owen Lowe, with both also acting as executive producers on the series, along with Victor Fresco. The series premiered on Netflix on March 30, 2023. In November 2023, the series was renewed for a second season.

Synopsis
A father-son comedy in which socially shy son Jackson (John Owen Lowe) begins working for his successful and admired, but eccentric and narcissistic-adjacent, father Ellis (Rob Lowe) at his high-tech bio research facility in order to help save him from spiraling further following the death of his wife.

Main

 * Rob Lowe as Ellis Dragon, the CEO and founder of a biotechnology company called Dragon
 * John Owen Lowe as Jackson Dragon, Ellis's son who is a flautist
 * Sian Clifford as Anna, the CFO of Dragon
 * Aaron Branch as Malcolm, Jackson's friend from childhood who previously worked as Ellis' assistant, but now works as program manager at Dragon's Red Lab
 * Rachel Marsh as Luna, a scientist working at Dragon's Red Lab
 * Emma Pilar Ferreira as Ruby, another scientist working at Dragon's Red Lab and Luna's best friend

Recurring

 * Fred Armisen as Leslie, a therapist that the board of Dragon brought in to work with Ellis
 * Tom Allen as TJ, a board member of Dragon who sits on the board alongside his twin, Chaz
 * JT Parr as Chaz, TJ's twin who sits on the board with him
 * Christina Chang as Jean, the best friend of Ellis' late wife who sits on the board of Dragon
 * Merrick McCartha as Ted, a board member

Season 2
The first through seventh episodes are written by Andrew Gurland, Sean Clements, Justin Nowell, Guy Endore-Kaiser, Dominic Eugene Dierkes, John Owen Lowe, and Samantha Shanker, respectively; the eighth episode is written by Alexandra Rushfield and Kate Loveless from a story by Rushfield.

Production
The show was picked up straight-to-series by Netflix and the formation of the show was reportedly inspired by John Owen Lowe's social media trolling of his father Rob Lowe. John Owen Lowe described the series as "about a father-son dynamic that's very relatable but under a really specific lens, which is a father who loves being the center of attention and his son, who feels the exact opposite."

It was announced in April 2022 that Rob Lowe and his son John Owen Lowe would both act as executive producers on the show along with Victor Fresco, with production being handled by the Netflix studio. In June 2022 the series added Sian Clifford to the cast alongside Rachel Marsh, Emma Ferreira and Aaron Branch in series regular roles. Additionally, Fred Armisen, Tom Allen and JT Parr were announced in recurring roles. On May 4, 2023, it was reported that the second season (yet to officially renew) of production has been shut down due to the writers strike. On November 16, 2023 the series was officially renewed for a second season with Andrew Gurland taking over as showrunner for the eight-part second series with production scheduled to begin in Los Angeles later that month.

Release
The eight episodes of Unstable were released on March 30, 2023. The second season is set to release on August 1, 2024.

Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 67% approval rating with an average rating of 6.3/10, based on 18 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Unstable is a little wobbly as it veers between sincere family affair and scathing satire, but Rob Lowe's reliable comedic chops provide the necessary ballast." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times described the show as an "adorable workplace comedy that's odd enough to feel fresh and traditional enough to feel good." Angie Han for The Hollywood Reporter said "it's very, very funny, thanks to a crackling combination of sharp writing, lovably eccentric characters and snappy comedic timing."