January 16, 2020 (2020-01-16) – June 3, 2021 (2021-06-03)
Everything's Gonna Be Okay is an American comedy television series created by Australian comedian Josh Thomas. Everything's Gonna Be Okay premiered on Freeform on January 16, 2020.[1] In May 2020, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on April 8, 2021.[2][3] In August 2021, the series was canceled after two seasons.[4]
Premise
Nicholas, an Australian in his twenties, visits his American father and two teenage half-sisters in Los Angeles. During his visit, he learns that their father is terminally ill and wants Nicholas to become the guardian to Genevieve and Matilda, because their mother is already dead.[5]
Cast
Main
Josh Thomas as Nicholas Moss: a neurotic, gay Australian entomologist in his twenties. At the end of season two he gets diagnosed with autism.[5]
Kayla Cromer as Matilda Moss: Nicholas's autistic half-sister who is 17 years old at the start of the series. She is a gifted classical composer.[6] Cromer herself is autistic, which she felt helped her land the part despite self-submitting without an agent.[7]
Adam Faison as Alex: Nicholas' boyfriend throughout the first two seasons.[8]
Maeve Press as Genevieve Moss: Nicholas's half-sister who is an aspiring writer. She is 14 years old at the start of the series.[5][6]
Recurring
Lillian Carrier as Drea, Matilda's autistic asexual girlfriend and later wife
Lori Mae Hernandez as Barb, Genevieve's friend
Vivienne Walshe as Penny, Nicholas's mother who occasionally video calls from Australia
Charlie Evans as Leonard, Genevieve's love interest
Just as Nicholas is about to leave the United States for Australia, his father and the father of his two half-sisters, Matilda and Genevieve, tells Nicholas that he is dying.
The girls struggle when they return to normal life. Nicholas loses his key so tries to sneak into the house through the window. He breaks his pinky, which causes a fight that escalates.
After Matilda has sex with an 18-year-old boy while drunk, Nicholas attacks the school principal, who is dismissive of the fact. Alex and Nicholas argue on a vacation.
Matilda panics over the differences between success and feeling guilty on the biggest night of her life. Nicolas invited a crowd of people over after video chatting with his mother Penny back in Australia.
Nicolas’s relationship with Alex is tested when he gets in trouble. Nicolas and Alex decide to work it out at home. Meanwhile, Genevieve and Matilda question their different sexualities.
9
9
"Monarch Butterflies"
Rachel Lee Goldenberg
Teleplay by : Josh Thomas Story by : Jess Meyer & Josh Thomas
Nicholas, Matilda, Genevieve, and Alex are shown to be quarantining together due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Matilda has sequestered herself in her room. Her family tries to get her to leave, and Genevieve ultimately cuts her own finger to prompt Matilda to come and care for her. Genevieve looks at Matilda's computer while it is unattended, and deduces that Matilda is uncertain whether she is a lesbian. Genevieve tells Matilda that she must disclose this to Drea before continuing a relationship with her.
Alex learns that his parents are divorcing. Drea and Matilda go on a series of socially distanced dates in Matilda's front yard, where Matilda leads Drea in verbal sexual roleplays. Nicholas and Alex bond with Suze and Toby while they wait for the dates to conclude. Genevieve confronts Matilda about what she saw on her computer. Matilda states that she has determined that she's not sexually attracted to women. Nicholas and Genevieve push Matilda to break up with Drea, and she does so on their next date.
On the anniversary of their father's death, Nicholas, Matilda, and Genevieve observe a number of rituals to honor him. Afterwards, Matilda and Genevieve confess to each other that they did not feel particularly sad during the rituals, then discuss sex. Alex is frustrated that Nicholas is not very forthcoming with his emotions and tries to get him to open up. Nicholas eventually admits that he feels that his grief is less important than other people's feelings. Alex pushes him to set boundaries with his mother, who still speaks in demeaning ways about his father.
Genevieve tries a hand at vlogging about Joan of Arc but due to only positive praises from Alex and others, deletes it and instead makes a video about her reaction of their reaction to her first video. Oscar who has a crush on her replies on her comment and later calls her. Alex is still sad about his parents' divorce and disappointed when Nicholas takes 2 weeks to ask about his feelings. They fight. Matilda and Drea become friends. Drea comes out as asexual and they agree to become girlfriends if Matilda can have casual sex with men.
To comfort Nicholas after his breakup, Suze tells Nicholas that she believes he may be autistic. Nicholas and Genevieve are skeptical. After doing more research, Genevieve changes her mind and walks Nicholas through an online autism assessment. This convinces both of them that Nicholas is autistic. Nicholas discloses his realization to Matilda. She disputes this initially, but eventually agrees that he is likely autistic. The episode ends with Nicholas in a medical setting, presumably pursuing an official diagnosis.
On the eve of Matilda's wedding, Alex visits to re-establish a cordial relationship with Nicholas before the event. After Matilda forces Nicholas to disclose his diagnosis to Alex, Nicholas leaves without talking anything through with him. On the morning of Matilda's wedding, Genevieve finally voices her misgivings and asks Matilda to cancel the wedding. Matilda is hurt but ultimately decides to continue getting married. At the wedding, Alex tries to get back together with Nicholas, but Nicholas says they should try to find people to love them without changing themselves.
Production
Development
On May 10, 2018, it was announced that Freeform had given a pilot order to Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, written by Australian comedian Josh Thomas.[26] On December 12, 2018, it was announced that the pilot was picked up to series by Freeform with a 10-episode series order.[27] It was also announced that Thomas would be serving as showrunner with David Martin, Jon Thoday, and Richard Allen-Turner executive producing on behalf of Avalon Television. Stephanie Swedlove and Kevin Whyte would serve as executive producers.[28] On May 19, 2020, Freeform renewed the series for a second season which premiered on April 8, 2021, and ran for 10 episodes until June 3, 2021.[2][3] On August 17, 2021, Freeform canceled the series after two seasons.[4]
Casting
After Thomas' announcement to be starring in the series as Nicholas, actress Kayla Cromer was revealed to be portraying Matilda in November 2019.[6] Cromer herself is autistic, which she felt helped her land the part despite self-submitting without an agent.[7] That same month, Maeve Press was cast as Genevieve, Nicholas' 15-year-old half-sister.[6] In January 2020, days before the series premiered, Adam Faison was cast as Alex, Nicholas' boyfriend.[8]
Release
Episodes were available the day after airing on Hulu and Freeform On Demand in the U.S.[29] The series was distributed internationally by Avalon Distribution.
In Australia, the series was released on streaming service Stan, the same day as the U.S.[30]
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 95% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Sweetly poignant and warmly witty Everything's Gonna Be Okay is as big-hearted and nuanced as the well-written characters at its center."[31] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[32] Steve Greene of IndieWire, reviewing season one, praised the show's narrative empathy and "grace notes" between the show's more typical chapters.[33] Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian was more guarded, stating the show "misses its marks"[34] and only hits its stride after the season's first episode. Upon the premiere of episodes "Gray Bird Grasshopper" and "Jungle Centipede", critic Alex Reif of laughingplace.com provided positive feedback, noting "...the strength of the series is that it tackles serious issues in a [..] comical way", and that the show is "a breath of fresh air".[35]
Ratings
Season 1
Viewership and ratings per episode of Everything's Gonna Be Okay
