# The Kominsky Method (2018)

> Acting coach Sandy Kominsky and his best friend Norman Newlander keep each other laughing while getting older.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/69586

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 22
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, drama
- Created by: Chuck Lorre
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Michael Douglas, Alan Arkin, Sarah Baker, Nancy Travis, Kathleen Turner, Melody Butiu, Jay Leno, Becky O'Donohue
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7255502/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: irreverent, wry, bittersweet, warm

## What critics say

Audiences broadly rate the series as acclaimed, admiring its sharp banter and the warm, wry chemistry between its aging leads.

## Synopsis

The Kominsky Method (2018-2021) is an American comedy-drama series created by Chuck Lorre for Netflix. Michael Douglas plays Sandy Kominsky, a Los Angeles acting coach whose career and health are slipping, and Alan Arkin plays Norman Newlander, his oldest friend and sharpest critic. Sarah Baker plays Sandy's daughter Mindy, and Nancy Travis plays Lisa, while Kathleen Turner appears as Roz. The engine of the show is the friendship itself: two aging men who keep each other laughing while they bargain with money, dating, family obligations and the indignities of getting older. Each episode unfolds through acting lessons, awkward dates, funerals and quarrels over old grudges, so the comedy never strays far from mortality. The series runs three seasons across twenty-two episodes, with a single continuing story rather than a case of the week. Its irreverent, frank humor about sex, illness and loss gives it a bittersweet warmth, and its tone is breezy and sardonic without becoming cruel. Fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Grace and Frankie and Episodes will find resonance in its blend of caustic wit and tenderness about the years that remain.

## Shows like The Kominsky Method

- [Cougar Town (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/16860)
- [Flaked (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/57713)
- [Mid-Century Modern (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/175554)
- [The Four Seasons (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/159345)
- [The Golden Girls (1985)](https://ember.film/tv/1578)
- [Nobody Wants This (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/166158)
- [The Michael J. Fox Show (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/52721)
- [Hacks (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/103075)
- [Platonic (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/93577)
- [The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/61900)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt
