http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/arts/television/review-easy-stars-the-young-and-the-muddled-connecting-in-chicago.html 2016-09-22 00:31:58 Review: ‘Easy’ Stars the Young and the Muddled, Connecting in Chicago “Easy,” available Thursday on Netflix, consists of eight half-hour episodes that are free-standing stories, a few of them very loosely connected. === Among the axioms of the television renaissance is that the medium is becoming more cinematic, with single-story seasons that are essentially six- or 10-hour films. But one of the most movielike new shows of the fall doesn’t fit that description. “Easy,” The vignettes in “Easy” involve inflection points, muffled moments of questioning or confusion that — in mumblecore style — reach only tentative resolutions. A married couple indulge their jealousy of the swipe-right world of modern dating by going on Tinder and find themselves in a surprising threesome. A woman unexpectedly finds herself in love, or what she thinks is love, and sets about remaking herself in the image of her vegan, bicycle-riding girlfriend. A young husband and soon-to-be father rebels against adulthood by signing on to his brother’s plan to open an illegal brewery. Responses to “Easy” should break down along the same lines as responses to Swanberg films like Mr. Swanberg has worked with some of the actors in “Easy” before, including Orlando Bloom and Jake Johnson, but the sheer number of interesting performers in the cast probably has to do with both the lure of Mr. Swanberg’s methods and the prestige and budget Netflix affords. Malin Akerman and Mr. Bloom play the Tinder-curious couple, and Kate Micucci their mutual friend; Gugu Mbatha-Raw is an actress going through a breakup; Raul Castillo of “Looking” is an uptight husband (a common character in the series); Hannibal Buress is a reporter; the comedian and podcast host Marc Maron is a frustrated graphic novelist. They’re all good, though only Ms. Mbatha-Raw really breaks through the restraints of the short format and delivers something powerful. For some, the biggest selling point of “Easy” will be Chicago itself. The show fully inhabits its location, drawing on its corps of actors and settling into familiar cafes and theaters. Local figures like Arthur Agee, who appeared in the basketball documentary