“Younger” is back and as addictive as ever. Now in its seventh and final season, the soapy comedy, which has switched homes from TV Land to Paramount+, still feels like a nourishing confection that’s both sweet and thoughtful. And it’s absolutely as bingeworthy as when it began back in 2015.
When we were first introduced to Liza (Sutton Foster), she was a newly separated 40-year-old stay-at-home mom who had to get creative to find a job. The ageist publishing industry had no place for a middle-aged woman with a major gap in her resume — but she was welcomed with open arms when she posed as a recent college graduate.
Years later, Liza’s big secret is out, but “Younger” is still engaging with aging and professional identity in its final outing. Kelsey (Hilary Duff) decides to return to Millennium rather than going into business with Quinn (Laura Benanti), but her return to the publishing company has her questioning how she’ll be perceived in the industry. “We’re not the young kids on the block anymore,” she confides to Liza. “I’m not sure what defines me now.”
Meanwhile, Maggie (Debi Mazar) is being defined — and labelled — as all sorts of things when a misstep with her new boss’s wife leads to chaos and being “cancelled” for her old artwork.
Liza’s love triangle with Charles (Peter Hermann) and Josh (Nico Tortorella) is running out of steam, but besides that, “Younger” has managed to feel mostly fresh after all these years. Series creator Darren Star is developing an LA-set spinoff centered around Kelsey, so I’m hopeful that “Younger’s” final chapter won’t spell the end of its universe.
“Younger” is now streaming on Paramount+ and Hulu.