Youth review: Sharon Horgan’s new series examines life in the fifties
Sharon Horgan’s new HBO Max series, Youth, follows Alex as she confronts a changed life after divorce and her son’s departure for university. Co-written with Dennis Kelly, the show combines dark comedy and emotional detail, continuing Horgan’s television work after Pulling and Catastrophe while focusing on the experiences of women in their fifties.
Youth, Sharon Horgan’s new series on HBO Max, follows Alex, played by Horgan, as she navigates life after divorce and the departure of her son for university.
The show is co-written by Horgan and Dennis Kelly. The review describes it as a darkly comic account of life as a woman in her fifties, combining humor with emotional moments.
Horgan has described Youth as the third part of a loose trilogy that began with Pulling, co-written with Kelly, and continued with Catastrophe, which Horgan wrote and starred in with Rob Delaney.
THE QUESTIONS THIS EVENT LEAVES BEHIND
How does Youth define the choices available to women after divorce?
What assumptions does the series make about family, aging, and starting again?
How might Alex’s experience differ from that of women without children or access to hormone treatment?
What creative incentives shape the decision to present this stage of life through dark comedy?
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GLOBAL CURIOSITY MAP · AUGUST 2026