‘Phony’ Review: Connie Britton and Sam Nivola Lead Hulu’s Likably Quirky and Beguiling Paranoid Mystery Series

One of the consequences of pervasive social media use and video calls or meetings is that we’re perhaps more attuned to faces — our own, our loved ones’, even strangers’ — than ever before.

It’s nearly impossible for a blind date to be truly “blind.” High school and college reunions have become borderline superfluous. If somebody gets bangs or grows a beard or goes on Ozempic or remains bizarrely untouched by the ravages of time, we tend to be aware. It’s harder to go incognito in the world, and it’s difficult for somebody to change without our noticing. Related Stories TV 'Rooster' Review: HBO's Steve Carell College Comedy Boasts a Stellar Cast, but Can't Figure Out What It Wants to Be Movies Edward Burns Reveals Why It Took 30 Years to Make a Sequel to Sundance Hit 'The Brothers McMullen' Phony The Bottom Line A light-on-its-feet genre hybrid. Airdate: Tuesday, October 20 (Hulu) Cast: Connie Britton, Sam Nivola, Myra Syal, Grace Brennan, Mahaela Park, Maliq Johnson, Colter Lee Creator: Nick Paley

The very modern discomfort and sense of the uncanny provoked by an unexpected and nearly imperceptible alteration is at the heart of Phony , a new genre hybrid from Hulu.

Half paranoid thriller and half coming-of-age comedy, Phony isn’t exactly gripping and it’s rarely hilarious. Instead, it initially occupies a very likable middle ground in which life and death stakes, a young ensemble of perfectly cast relative unknowns (plus Connie Britton and Sam Nivola ), and a dildo-hoarding beaver can engage and intersect.

Critics have been sent four episodes from the eight-episode first season — exactly the right amount for me to know I’ll be checking out the second half of the season to see which of various landings the show’s creative team is able to stick. At the same time, it’s easy to see all the ways Phony could fall apart, from an unsatisfyingly resolved central mystery to the contrasting sins of deciding to take itself too seriously or not seriously enough.

For now, though, the potential of this clever and brisk series, which calls to mind everything from TBS’ Search Party to Apple’s Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed to Amazon’s recent reimagining of Carrie , is ample.

Phony was created by Nick Paley , one of the writers of the brilliantly pensive Marcel the Shell With Shoes On , with Anthony King (the second Jury Duty season) serving as co-showrunner.