‘Platonic’ besties are back in town

Creators discuss Season 2’s longtime friends as they face new love interests.

- By YVONNE VILLARREAL

ROSE BYRNE and Seth Rogen play best friends in Apple TV+'s "Platonic."

In “Platonic,” the only will-they/won’t-they tension is about whether two longtime friends with codependency issues can avoid a breakup of their friendship.

The Apple TV+ comedy series stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as formerly estranged besties who, in the first season, rekindled their friendship at pivotal junctures in their lives — Sylvia (Byrne) is a married mother of three children who feels unfulfilled, while Will (Rogen) is a middle-aged hipster and brewer going through a divorce — and help each other in their quest to get back on track.

The series returned earlier this month with Will experiencing cold feet at the prospect of marrying his fiancée (and boss), while Sylvia, who is helping to plan the ceremony, gets caught in the crosshairs just as she must contend with developing sore spots in her own marriage. Creators Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller discuss how platonic friendships can be love stories too, and the story behind this season's embarrassing pet name.

What is the challenge in depicting a platonic friendship between people of the opposite sex when viewers enjoy character shipping? How do you make “just friends” something to root for?

Stoller: It’s definitely a challenge to break story as almost all TV show plots involve either sex or murder. But the funniest comedies explore human relationships honestly. Our artistic project with “Platonic” is to delve into the complications and rewards of male-female friendships. We think anyone who’s ever had this kind of friendship will find the show relatable.

While “Platonic” is a hangout show, we also are invested in the show having a strong story drive. We think we have figured out series arcs for our characters that go deep on midlife and hopefully will make you laugh out loud.