Dad Left My Step-Mom review

The setup

Does she look old? Jo wants her stepson Tyler's honest answer, now that his father has left her for a 24-year-old. She has kept up her yoga for twelve years, and her husband never noticed; Tyler, she observes, is noticing. He reminds her what she is to him, which holds for about one line. Her top comes untied, he calls the whole thing wrong, and she points out that his hand is shaking. Then her husband announces a Sunday visit to talk. Jo promises to keep herself busy, and asks Tyler to stay the weekend.

Episode 2

The second episode reopens the yoga argument and adds a fresh grievance: her husband always slept turned away from her. Tyler offers a quiet line of support that doubles as a promise. His father leaves a voicemail looking for Tyler, who is ignoring his phone. Jo lets it play, asks whether anything about her feels old now, and tells him to drop the good manners. She has counted three summers of glances, and the cliffhanger is permission.

Who's who

• Jo: the stepmom left for a woman of 24, and finished being gracious about it
• Tyler: her stepson, hesitant in every line and still not answering his father's calls
• Tyler's father: offscreen, leaving voicemails, and about as attentive as Jo says he was

Verdict: 6.1 out of 10

Blunt, quick and a touch sad underneath, which is more than the title promises. Jo is the reason to watch: her grievances are specific, her timing is mean in a satisfying way, and the voicemails from the absent husband add a pulse of risk. Tyler is the weak link, a man of three-word protests, so the tension rests on her alone. The free episodes cover one seduction from opening pitch to open invitation, and that Sunday visit is a clock that makes the rest worth a look.

Episode guide