Josh Thomas probably didn't realize he was changing the blueprint for television when he started writing about his own awkward life. It’s been years since the premiere, but people still search for where to watch Please Like Me because, frankly, most "relatable" comedies are actually kind of fake. This show isn't. It’s messy. It’s stressful. It’s weirdly beautiful in a way that makes you want to hug your screen and then immediately call your therapist.
Most sitcoms treat coming out like a massive, one-time cinematic event with soaring violins and perfect lighting. Josh? He just sort of realizes he’s gay while eating a sundae. It’s low-key. It’s honest. That’s why the show survived the transition from ABC2 in Australia to Pivot in the US and eventually to global streaming platforms. People didn't just watch it; they lived in it.
Where Can You Actually Watch Please Like Me Right Now?
Finding the show depends entirely on your coordinates on the map. Streaming rights are a total headache, honestly. In the United States, Hulu has been the long-standing home for all four seasons. If you’re in Australia, ABC iview is usually the go-to, or occasionally Netflix depending on the current licensing cycle.
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Why the scramble? Because it’s one of those rare series that feels like a secret club. You don't just "view" it. You experience the slow-burn evolution of Josh, his incredibly anxious best friend Tom, and his mother Rose.
If you're looking to buy it outright because you're tired of shows disappearing from streaming services—which happens way too often these days—Amazon and Apple TV usually have the full sets for digital purchase. It’s worth the twenty bucks. Seriously.
The Pivot Era and the International Breakout
When the American network Pivot (RIP) picked up the show, it was a huge deal for Australian indie TV. Suddenly, this tiny, hyper-specific show about a guy in Melbourne was being discussed in The New York Times and The New Yorker. Critics loved it. Not because it was "important" in a preachy way, but because it was funny in a way that felt like a punch to the gut.
The show tackled things like bipolar disorder and suicidal ideation with a lightness that never felt disrespectful. That’s a hard tightrope to walk. Most shows fall off. Josh Thomas just kept dancing.
Why the Comedy Feels So Uncomfortable (And Why We Love It)
There is this specific cringe factor in Please Like Me that you don't find in American multicam sitcoms. There’s no laugh track to tell you when to feel safe.
One minute, Josh is making a gorgeous roast chicken—the food styling in this show is top-tier, by the way—and the next, he’s having a devastatingly quiet conversation about why his mom tried to end her life. It’s jarring. It’s also exactly what life feels like. You’re laughing at a joke about a dog, and then your world falls apart.
The Characters Aren't Always Likable
Honestly? Josh can be a bit of a brat. He’s self-absorbed. He says the wrong thing at funerals. He’s often terrible to his boyfriends.
- Tom: The best friend who stays way too long in bad relationships because he’s paralyzed by the idea of being alone.
- Claire: The ex-girlfriend who becomes a best friend but still carries the scars of their weirdly-timed breakup.
- Arnold: The love interest with severe anxiety who challenges Josh to actually care about someone other than himself.
This lack of "perfection" is why the show has such high E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in the eyes of viewers who actually live with mental health struggles. It doesn’t sugarcoat the fact that people with depression can sometimes be annoying or that their caregivers get burnt out.
The Visual Language of the Melbourne Suburbs
If you watch Please Like Me closely, you’ll notice the color palette. It’s bright. It’s pastel. It’s sunny.
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This was a deliberate choice by the production team. Usually, when a show deals with "dark" themes, the lighting gets all moody and blue. Here, the worst moments of these characters' lives happen in beautiful kitchens with plenty of natural light. It makes the sadness feel more intimate. It’s happening in the middle of a Tuesday, not in some stylized noir version of reality.
The opening credits are another thing. Every episode starts with a different song and a sequence of Josh making food. It’s a ritual. It’s a way of saying, "Whatever happened last week, we’re still here, and we still have to eat."
The Legacy of Rose and Mental Health Representation
We have to talk about Rose. Debra Lawrance’s performance as Josh’s mother is arguably one of the best portrayals of mental illness in television history.
It wasn't a caricature. She wasn't a "crazy mom" trope. She was a woman trying to find joy in a world that felt increasingly heavy. When you watch Please Like Me, the arc between Josh and Rose serves as the emotional spine of the entire series. It moves from resentment to a deep, complicated sort of caregiving that many young adults find themselves thrust into without a manual.
The show received accolades from organizations like GLAAD and won an AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Television. But the real "expert" validation comes from the psychology community, which has frequently pointed to the show as a realistic look at the ripple effects of a suicide attempt on a family unit.
Addressing the Misconceptions
Some people think this is just another "quirky" millennial show. It’s not.
Others think it’s too depressing because of the subject matter. It really isn't.
It’s actually a show about resilience. It’s about the fact that even when things are objectively terrible, you still have to figure out who is going to wash the dishes or who is going to take the dog for a walk. It’s the mundane details that make the heavy stuff bearable.
Actionable Steps for New and Returning Viewers
If you’re ready to dive back in or start for the first time, don't just binge-watch it in the background while scrolling on your phone. You’ll miss the subtitles. You’ll miss the look on Arnold’s face when Josh says something unintentionally cruel.
- Check your local listings: If you're in the US, start with Hulu. If you're outside the US, a quick search on "JustWatch" will tell you exactly which platform holds the rights in your specific country today.
- Watch with a friend: This is a "talk about it afterward" kind of show. The ending of Season 4 is one of the most polarizing and discussed finales in indie TV history. You’re going to need to vent.
- Pay attention to the food: Josh Thomas is a huge foodie (he eventually went on to do Everything's Gonna Be Okay and other culinary-adjacent projects). The recipes featured in the opening credits are real, and they’re actually pretty good.
- Listen to the soundtrack: From "I'll Be Fine" by Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes to the various indie tracks scattered throughout, the music is a time capsule of the early 2010s Australian music scene.
The reality is that shows like this don't get made very often anymore. The TV landscape has shifted toward massive franchises and high-concept sci-fi. A small, quiet show about a guy and his friends in Melbourne feels like a relic, but a vital one. It reminds us that our small lives are actually quite big.
Whether you’re there for the romance, the awkwardness, or the incredibly accurate depiction of what it’s like to be twenty-something and lost, you need to see this. Go find a screen. Start with episode one. Don't worry about the awkwardness; that’s the whole point.
Ultimately, the reason people keep coming back to watch Please Like Me is simple. It treats the audience like adults. It assumes you can handle the shift from a joke about a nipple piercing to a conversation about grief in thirty seconds. It’s a masterclass in tone, and honestly, it’s just really, really good TV.