I don't recall any tv series featuring deaf characters in starring roles, so I went into This Close (2018-), on Amazon Prime, with high hopes.
I liked the depictions of the problems deaf people face in negotiating the hearing world ("Oh, you're deaf? I'll TALK LOUDER!").
I liked the fact that gay men in this series have sex. On Will and Grace, they were utterly chaste, even with their boyfriends. Here we see poppers and condoms. We even discover that Michael is a top.ut Michael comes across as thoroughly disagreeable. He spends the entire first episode having a series of hissy fits, first because Kate is engaged, and then because she didn't tell him about it. Is this any way to treat your soul mate?
Another quibble: does everybody Michael meets necessarily have to hit on him? I don't think he's particularly attractive, but everyone he meets looks like they are barely able to restrain themselves from ripping his clothes off.
I also watched the Thanksgiving episode, with Michael's mom (veteran deaf advocate Marlee Matlin) and brother Jacob (Moshe Kasher), neither of whom Michael seems to like very much, even though they are completely fine with him being gay and having a female life partner who's engaged to someone else.
Various secrets come out:1. Kate's fiancee Danny (Zach Gilford, left) lost his job.
2. Mom is dating again (which upsets Michael, naturally)
4. Kate lost her father on Thanksgiving (so she really likes the holiday?);
5. Jacob is into Kate.
6. Michael's ex (Colt Prattes, top photo) wants him back (wait -- who broke up with whom?).
There's yelling and fisticuffs and crying, and everyone ends up depressed.
I'm starting to miss Jack and Karen.
This is the first writing, producing, and acting credit for Joshua Feldman. Shoshanah Stern has been in many productions, including Jericho, Lie to Me, and Weeds. Both actors are deaf in real life.