Warning: This article contains spoilers from the series finale of “Younger.”
The little show that could – Younger – arrived in 2015 with not much hype or fanfare. “Sex and the City” Darren Star adapted the show from a novel written by Pamela Redmond Satran casting Broadway veteran and two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster as Liza Miller. Re-entering the workforce after leaving 17 years earlier to raise her now college age daughter 42-year-old Liza is now unhireable. Her lesbian best friend Maggie Amato, (Debi Mazar) offers her a place to live after a nasty divorce and tells her ‘if you can’t beat them, join them,” making her over to look like a millennial, 27 to be exact. Liza is hired as an assistant at Empirical Publishing. The show also stars Hillary Duff, 20 years after Lizzie McGuire made her a teen star, and breakout hunk Nico Tortorella. The loyal fan base grew with each episode and season and the show became a pop culture sensation. Cast members would regularly live tweet with viewers during episodes airing.
THANK YOU to everyone for tweeting along with us tonight and for watching Younger together for seven seasons. We love you. 💜 #ForeverYounger pic.twitter.com/Q6PyS5Aiu1
— Younger (@YoungerTV) June 11, 2021
Younger slowly revealed Liza’s lie to different characters until finally she no longer had to lie. She and Kelsey even started their own imprint titled Millennial. The other main storyline centered on a love triangle between Josh, the younger care-free tattoo artist Josh and the corporate buttoned up rigid head of Empirical Publishing Charles Brooks, with fans equally divided whether they were Team Josh or Team Charles.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNm8cR1joho/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The finale nicely wrapped up all the characters with some resolutions being more open-ended others. As a longtime fan of the show, I LOVED the finale. I love that each character is ready for the next part of their journey. I would be lying if I said I didn’t cry during the episode. Let’s see where everyone ended up.
LAUREN
Pansexual, outrageous, outspoken publicist Lauren Heller takes over for Diana Trout (former series regular Miriam Shor who did not return for the final season) as head of Marketing for Empirical. She also runs into her former boyfriend Max when he is the doctor on call the night her father is brought to the ER after a heart attack. The two hit if off again and Lauren thinks maybe she dumped him too quick. At dinner – where she thinks they might be getting back together – he tells how he has missed her and often asks himself WWLD (what would Lauren do) in tough situations he finds himself. And then he tells her he is gay and introduces her to his fiance. Thrilled for them Lauren, without missing a beat, suggests a three way!
MAGGIE AMATO
This is one that didn’t feel exactly right. Maggie seems to be starting a relationship with Dean of the Arts College of New York who offered Maggie a job. She also tried to ruin her career after catching her then wife sexting Maggie. She did make right what she set wrong so I guess…<
Debi Mazar on this week’s YOUNGER is my new spirit animal. @debimazar @YoungerTV #YoungerTV #TVLand pic.twitter.com/zjhppKCOR2
— Jeffrey M. Stewart (@wcwyt) July 27, 2017
KELSEY PETERS
Groomed by Charles, and once the publisher of Empirical and Millennial, Kelsey takes the Incubator App to Reese Witherspoon’s production company signing a lucrative deal and partnership, in Los Angeles. Having just dumped Rob who tried to take 20% of the cut of the deal for forwarding her business plan Kelsey Peters will be a powerhouse in the publishing world.
Kelsey Peters
-Younger“As Taylor Swift said, there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” pic.twitter.com/qJxVk1raPZ
— 🇵🇸 Ballon D’or Kante 🇵🇸 (@LumkaTheElegant) January 20, 2018
CHARLES BROOKS (PETER HERMAN)
Charles takes a leave of absence from Empirical, to attend a prestigious writer’s workshop to finish the novel he started decades ago. Liza sent in his application without his knowledge. He sees this as yet another one of her many secrets, after just giving her a “test” to see if she would be honest about Kelsey looking for outside investors. With her back turned towards him in bed and tears in her eyes Liza says, “We are not going to make it are we?”
Darren Star PLEASE announce a new show (Older or Emperical) continuing the love story between Charles and Liza and giving us more incredible storylines with this dream team of characters regarding the world of publishing with this incredible cast that I absolutely adore 🙏 pic.twitter.com/VlEiRMT4bx
— Younger fan 🥰 (@Younger_Always) June 10, 2021
LIZA MILLER and JOSH ( no last name ever given)
Having just been promoted to editor-in-chief at Empirical Liza runs into Josh, who has just bought the entire building his tattoo shop is located. This scene is a wink to fans as Liza and Josh met seven years ago in the exact same bar the first night Liza became the “younger” Liza. She says she didn’t see him and he answers, “I’ve been right here, by your side, all along.” Cue the waterworks! Team Josh can claim victory, even though King purposely left this open-ended. He told The Hollywood Reporter,
“Her happy ending would not be about finding a man. Her world has become limitless. I don’t think that her options are narrowed down to: is she going to be with Charles or is she going to be with Josh? Her world is completely opened up by the end of the series.
What about you Instincters? Were you happy with the Younger series finale? Sound off in the comments below!
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter
