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TV CRITIC'S CORNER

‘Somebody Somewhere’ earns third season on HBO

Jeff Hiller and Bridget Everett in "Somebody Somewhere."HBO via AP

Good news: HBO has renewed “Somebody Somewhere,” Bridget Everett’s coming-of-middle-age comedy-drama. The series just finished up its second season, so now’s a good time to binge it if you’re a binger. Both seasons are quiet, funny, and poignant, as Everett’s Sam finds her people and her place in Manhattan, Kan. As on Pamela Adlon’s “Better Things,” the writing captures both the small moments of ordinary life and the big emotions — sorrow, anger, joy — so often embedded in them.

One of the best strengths of the show is the sweet friendship between Everett’s Sam and Jeff Hiller’s Joel. It’s marked by honesty, humor, and loyalty. Season 1 focused on Sam’s recovery from the death of her sister. Season 2 zeroes in more closely on Sam and Joel, and the complexity of their intimacy. They’re profane and silly together over late-night martinis, and they tell each other everything — but still Joel feels he needs to downplay his new love interest.

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Season 2 also gives us more of Sam’s sister, Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison), as she tries to reinvent herself without her cheating husband. Together, Sam and Tricia stir up their old feelings while cleaning out the family farm. There’s so much compassion toward the characters, it’s a pleasure.


Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him @MatthewGilbert.