# Forever (2018 TV series)
**Forever** is an American comedy-drama television series created by [Alan Yang](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-yang) and Matt Hubbard for Amazon Prime Video, starring [Maya Rudolph](https://www.edgepedia.org/maya-rudolph) and [Fred Armisen](https://www.edgepedia.org/fred-armisen) as a long-married couple whose settled suburban life is upended by a ski trip and, unexpectedly, by death[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/). Its single season of eight half-hour episodes was released on September 14, 2018[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01), though Metacritic lists the season premiere date as September 13, 2018[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Created by | Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/) |
| Stars | Maya Rudolph as June, Fred Armisen as Oscar, Catherine Keener as Kase[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/) |
| Format | 8 episodes of about 30 minutes, one season, Prime Video[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/forever-2018) |
| Release | September 14, 2018 (Metacritic lists the premiere as September 13)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01) • [1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/) |
| Setup | June and Oscar, married 12 years in Riverside, California; a ski trip leads to a life-changing development[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/) |
| Critical scores | Metascore 77 from 20 critics; 95% Tomatometer from 38 reviews; Certified Fresh[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01) |
| Audience scores | Metacritic user score 6.5 from 48 ratings; 78% Popcornmeter from 250+ ratings[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01) |
| Recognition | 2018 Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Episodic Comedy[4](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film524131.html) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
June and Oscar have been married for 12 years and live an average suburban life in [Riverside, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/riverside-california), with the same conversations, the same meals, and vacations at the same rented lakehouse[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01). When June talks Oscar into shaking things up with a ski trip, the couple lands in unfamiliar territory[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01).
The turn, which the show treats as a spoiler, comes at the end of the first half hour: Oscar skis into a tree and dies, and June later dies on an adventure of her own[5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2018/10/11/forever-explained-admired-and-spoiled/5b7Ed0iQDZv9ZKmjGTjY1N/story.html). The couple is reunited in an afterlife staged as a strange suburbia, where the dead are called "formers" and can see "currents," the still-living[5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2018/10/11/forever-explained-admired-and-spoiled/5b7Ed0iQDZv9ZKmjGTjY1N/story.html). From that point the series becomes a negotiation: whether to stay together forever, together or apart, once the social restraints and cultural expectations of life are gone[5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2018/10/11/forever-explained-admired-and-spoiled/5b7Ed0iQDZv9ZKmjGTjY1N/story.html).
The title turns out to be literal: the couple may indeed stay together forever, if they choose[5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2018/10/11/forever-explained-admired-and-spoiled/5b7Ed0iQDZv9ZKmjGTjY1N/story.html).
### Cast and characters
Maya Rudolph plays June, restless and drawn to change, and Fred Armisen plays Oscar, deeply content with routine; critics singled out Rudolph's performance as the show's center[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/oct/11/the-good-life-forever-tv-shows-about-afterlife). [Catherine Keener](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-keener) plays Kase, an abrasive new neighbor in the afterlife who refuses to live a boring life now that she is unshackled by mortality, to whom June is drawn[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/) • [5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2018/10/11/forever-explained-admired-and-spoiled/5b7Ed0iQDZv9ZKmjGTjY1N/story.html).
The supporting cast includes [Jason Mitchell](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-mitchell) as Andre and [Hong Chau](https://www.edgepedia.org/hong-chau) as Sarah, two Riverside realtors whose connection is the subject of the sixth episode, "Andre and Sarah"[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01). Other credited cast members include Noah Robbins as Mark Erickson, Kym Whitley as Sharon, Julia Ormond as Marisol, and [Peter Weller](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-weller) as The Traveler[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/).
### Episodes
The eight episodes, all released on September 14, 2018, are: "Together Forever," "June," "The Lake House," "Kase," "Another Place," "Andre and Sarah," "Oceanside," and "Goodbye Forever"[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01). Episode premises include June exploring a new opportunity at work, Oscar and June meeting their new neighbor Kase, and June and Kase exploring a new town called Oceanside[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01).
## Production
Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard created the series and served as executive producers alongside Tim Sarkes, Dave Becky, Maya Rudolph, and Fred Armisen; Alan Yang is credited as the season's director[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01). JustWatch additionally credits [Janicza Bravo](https://www.edgepedia.org/janicza-bravo) and Miguel Arteta as directors[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/forever-2018). Production companies were Amazon Studios and NBC Universal Network TV[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/).
In interviews, Rudolph and Armisen said what attracted them to the project was the prospect of telling a complete story about the same characters over an extended period, and then dropping them[7](https://www.kccu.org/arts/2018-09-14/forever-a-couples-comfortable-coexistence-comes-to-a-crossroads).
## Reception
**Critical response was favorable.** The season scored 77 on Metacritic from 20 critic reviews, classified as Generally Favorable, with 16 positive and 4 mixed reviews and none negative[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/). On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 95% Tomatometer from 38 reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 7.60/10, earning Certified Fresh status[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01) • [8](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/certified-fresh-tv-2018/). The site's critics consensus reads: "Forever is a gently harrowing and mirthful dive into the ennui of matrimony, elevated by Maya Rudolph's dazzling turn of not-so-quiet desperation"[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01).
Audience response was cooler than the critics': the Metacritic user score was 6.5 from 48 ratings, with 23% negative, and the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter stood at 78% from 250+ ratings[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01).
Reviewers praised the show's tone and Rudolph's performance while differing on its execution. [The Daily Beast](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-daily-beast)'s Kevin Fallon gave it 100 and called it "a wonderful, truly special show" that is "quiet and meditative"[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/). James Poniewozik of The New York Times called it "a narratively nimble show that's thematically about routine, emotional fidelity and the possibility, or impossibility, of reinvention"[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/). Hank Stuever of The Washington Post wrote that he would make it "mandatory viewing for couples considering marriage"[4](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film524131.html). More reserved takes came from Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall, who found the show shifting between kitchen-sink realism and stranger detours, and Slate's Willa Paskin, who scored it 40 and judged the central relationship mannered[1](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/). Caroline Framke of Variety wrote that where the show stumbles is in shading out the fantastical elements of its premise[4](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film524131.html).
The season received a 2018 [Writers Guild of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/writers-guild-of-america) nomination for Best Episodic Comedy[4](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film524131.html).
## Availability and other series of the same name
The series streams on Amazon Prime Video, including an ad-supported tier, with no free streaming options; [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) lists audio or subtitle options in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Portuguese[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/forever-2018). FlickFinder reports availability on Prime Video in 133 countries[9](https://www.flickfinder.net/tv/forever-2018-81317).
The title "Forever" has been used by other television series. An ABC procedural crime drama of the same name, created by Matt Miller and starring [Ioan Gruffudd](https://www.edgepedia.org/ioan-gruffudd) as an immortal medical examiner, ran from September 22, 2014 to May 5, 2015 and was canceled after one season[10](https://reactormag.com/getting-the-most-out-of-life-revisiting-televisions-forever/). A separate Netflix romantic drama series, an adaptation of [Judy Blume](https://www.edgepedia.org/judy-blume)'s 1975 novel created by [Mara Brock Akil](https://www.edgepedia.org/mara-brock-akil), premiered in 2025[11](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81418639).
## References
1. [Forever (2018) Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forever-2018/)
2. [Forever: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forever_2018/s01)
3. [Forever (2018), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/forever-2018)
4. [Forever (TV Series) (2018), Filmaffinity](https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film524131.html)
5. ["Forever," explained, admired, and spoiled, The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2018/10/11/forever-explained-admired-and-spoiled/5b7Ed0iQDZv9ZKmjGTjY1N/story.html)
6. [Love after life: how TV imagines relationships beyond the grave, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/oct/11/the-good-life-forever-tv-shows-about-afterlife)
7. ["Forever": A Couple's Comfortable Coexistence Comes To A Crossroads, KCCU](https://www.kccu.org/arts/2018-09-14/forever-a-couples-comfortable-coexistence-comes-to-a-crossroads)
8. [Certified Fresh TV Shows 2018, Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/certified-fresh-tv-2018/)
9. [Where to watch Forever (2018), FlickFinder](https://www.flickfinder.net/tv/forever-2018-81317)
10. [Getting the Most Out of Life: Revisiting Television's Forever, Reactor](https://reactormag.com/getting-the-most-out-of-life-revisiting-televisions-forever/)
11. [FOREVER, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81418639)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Family and relationship drama › Family and domestic drama › Romance and couple dramas*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license