Youth is a romantic comedy television series created by Sharon Horgan. It premiered on HBO on September 20, 2026.

Premise The show follows Alex, Horgan's character, a divorcee in her 50s juggling a career, aging parents and a teenage son.

Cast and characters Main Sharon Horgan as Alex Rupert Friend as Patrick, Alex's love interest Sharlene Whyte as Sam, Alex's boss Aran Murphy as Ruairí Flynn, Alex' son Robbie Gee as Frank, Sam's husband

Recurring Anne Reid as Charlotte, a nonagenarian author Harriet Walter as Livonia, Charlotte's no-nonsense daughter Freddie Fox as Grayson, a rival literary agent

Guest Bríd Brennan as Maggie, Alex's mother David Hargreaves as Wally, Alex's father Owen McDonnell as Lorcan, an actor, Alex's ex-husband, and Ruari's father Karla Crome as Theresa, Lorcan's girlfriend Tim McInnerny as Michael, Frank's friend whom he tries to set-up with Alex Douglas Hodge as Malcolm, an author who has a grudge against Alex for firing him Roisin Gallagher as Meredith

Additionally, Damian Lewis makes a cameo as himself in episode one.

Episodes

Production The series is from Sharon Horgan, who stars and serves as creator, writer and executive producer via her production company Merman. It was greenlit by HBO in February 2025. Additional executive producers are Faye Dorn via Merman, Jim Kleverweis, and Dawn Shadforth, who also served as director.

In January 2026, Rupert Friend was cast opposite Horgan. In March 2026, Sharlene Whyte, Aran Murphy and Robbie Gee joined the main cast, while the series was titled as Youth. Later that month, Harriet Walter, Anne Reid, Freddie Fox were cast in recurring roles.

Release The first two episodes premiered on HBO on September 20, 2026.

Critical response On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 27 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Youth brazenly sheds a comedic light on the plight of aging through Sharon Horgan's signature style of impeccable wit, hilarious relatability, and conscious empathy." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

References

External links Official website