Close Enough

Close Enough
Genre	Animated sitcom Adult animation Surreal comedy
Created by	J. G. Quintel
Developed by	J. G. Quintel Sean Szeles Matt Price Calvin Wong
Directed by	Sean Szeles Calvin Wong J.G. Quintel Animation Director: Randy Myers
Voices of	J. G. Quintel Gabrielle Walsh Jason Mantzoukas Kimiko Glenn Jessica DiCicco James Adomian Danielle Brooks
Composer(s)	Mark Mothersbaugh John Enroth Albert Fox
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	16 (31 Segments)
Production
Executive producer(s)	J. G. Quintel John Aboud Michael Colton Co-Executive Producers: Chris Kula Jordan Young For Cartoon Network: Rob Sorcher Brian A. Miller Jennifer Pelphrey
Producer(s)	Ryan Slater
Editor(s)	Rob Getzschman Bobby Gibis
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	Cartoon Network Studios Studio T
Distributor	WarnerMedia Direct Netflix (international)
Broadcast
Original network	HBO Max
First aired	July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
Last aired	present (present)
Chronology
Related	Regular Show

Close Enough is an American adult animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for HBO Max. Originally, the series was created for TBS in 2017, but was shelved. After the AT&T purchase of Time Warner, the show was put on hold. It was released exclusively to the HBO Max streaming service on July 9, 2020. The series has received positive reviews, with several critics comparing it favorably to Quintel's previous series, Regular Show. On August 6, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on February 25, 2021. On February 10, 2021, prior to the second season's debut, the series was renewed for a third season. On May 19, 2021, it was announced Close Enough will air on TBS in October 2021.

Premise

The series revolves around a couple who are in their early thirties who have a five-year-old daughter and live with their divorced friends in a Los Angeles duplex. As they get into what seem like normal domestic crises that usually escalate in surreal, often science fiction-esque, ways.

Cast and characters

Main

• Joshua "Josh" Singleton (voiced by J. G. Quintel) – an aspiring video game developer who works for Plugger-Inners; a television installation company based on Geek Squad. His appearance and mannerisms are based on those of Quintel.
• Emily Ramirez (voiced by Gabrielle Walsh) – Josh's wife, who works as an assistant for a food corporation called FoodCorp. She is based on Quintel's own wife, Cassia.
• Candice Singleton-Ramirez (voiced by Jessica DiCicco) – Josh and Emily's six-year-old (as of "Birthdaze") daughter, who struggles with school work.
• Alex Dorpenberger (voiced by Jason Mantzoukas) – Josh's best friend, who works as a community college professor. He is a conspiracy theorist.
• Bridgette No Stress Yoshida (voiced by Kimiko Glenn) – Emily's best friend and Alex's ex-wife. She is a Japanese-American social media influencer, and a part-time comedy singer-songwriter in a band with Emily. Her middle name was revealed in an episode from the first season, which also revealed that it was the result of a legal name change that she authorized while she was under the influence of drugs.

Recurring

• Pearle Watson (voiced by Danielle Brooks) – A retired LAPD cop, and the landlady of the duplex.
• Randall "Randy" Watson (voiced by James Adomian) – Pearle's adopted Caucasian son, and the duplex's property manager. He was adopted by Pearle after his biological parents, Wyatt and Deborah Trickle, were arrested for siphoning gas from multiple cars.
• Mr. Timothy Brice Campbell (voiced by John Early) – Candice's hippie teacher at Chamomile Elementary.
• Mr. Salt (voiced by Fred Stoller) – Emily's boss at FoodCorp.
• Dr. Glandz (voiced by Cheri Oteri) – A physician who works at a hospital called Pretty Good Samaritan.
• Dante (voiced by Eugene Cordero) – One of Josh's coworkers at Plugger-Inners who has a prosthetic lower arm.
• Jojo (voiced by Mo Collins) – A biker woman who is the leader of the Cool Moms, and the mother of Candice's classmate, Mia.
• Trish (voiced by Kate Higgins) – A member of the Cool Moms, and the mother of Candice's best friend and classmate, Maddie.

Additional voices

• William Salyers
• Max Mittelman
• Roger Craig Smith
• Erica Lindbeck
• Fred Tatasciore
• Kevin Michael Richardson
• Matthew Mercer
• Grey Griffin
• Ali Hillis
• Eric Bauza
• Kate Micucci
• Vanessa Marshall
• Marc Evan Jackson
• Eden Riegel
• Ashley Johnson
• Courtenay Taylor
• Chris Cox
• Travis Willingham
• Scott Whyte
• Troy Baker
• Lauren Lapkus

Guest stars

• "Weird Al" Yankovic as himself
• David Hasselhoff as himself
• Noel Fielding as Snailathan Gold
• Dave Foley as Dr. Ferguson
• George Lopez as Wurst Bros. leader
• Matt Besser as Bush Guy
• Rachel Dratch as Meredith Breedmore
• Seth Morris as Robot guards
• Jane Lynch as Barb
• Suzy Nakamura as Ms. Yoshida
• Chris Parnell as Ron
• Jessica St. Clair as Joy
• Rich Sommer as Keith Nash
• Brent Weinbach as Lee
• Steve Agee as Davey Wegman
• Judy Greer as Nikki
• Diamond White as Caitlin Olsman
• Kate Berlant as River Lake
• Paul F. Tompkins as The Amazing Sardini
• Lea DeLaria as Prisoner
• Horatio Sanz as Raoul
• Lennon Parham as Toluca Lake
• James Urbaniak as Commercial Bot
• Whitmer Thomas as The Goosh
• Jordan Black as Pterodactyl
• Skyler Gisondo as Cameron
• Rachel Bloom as Kira
• Michaela Watkins as Brienne Bishop
• Nicole Byer as Ophira
• Heidi Gardner as Becca
• Beck Bennett as Luc
• David Koechner as Wyatt Trickle
• Wendie Malick as Deborah Trickle
• Keith David as "World's Greatest Teacher" mug
• Ken Marino

Release

The series was announced in May 2017, four months after Quintel's previous series, Regular Show, concluded, and was originally planned to air on TBS, but it was delayed several times, and TBS's plans for the animation block to premiere it fell through when production on The Cops was shut down due to Louis C.K.’s admitted sexual misconduct. On October 29, 2019, it was announced that the series would instead make its home on HBO Max. The second half of the third episode was premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 15, 2020. On September 14, 2020, the series was broadcast internationally through Netflix and Adult Swim. The second season premiered on February 25, 2021 on HBO Max. The second season was released on Netflix internationally on May 26, 2021.Template:Better source needed

Episodes

Season		Segments	Episodes		Originally released
	1	15	8		July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
	2	16	8		February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)

Season 1 (2020)

The first season was originally set to run for ten episodes, but only 8 episodes were released when the series launched.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboard directors	Original release date
1	1	"Quilty Pleasures" "The Perfect House"	Sean Szeles Sean Szeles & Calvin Wong	Minty Lewis, Ryan Pequin & Madeline Queripel Minty Lewis	Aminder Dhaliwal, Ryan Pequin, Madeline Queripel & Andres Salaff Aminder Dhaliwal & Andres Salaff	July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
"Quilty Pleasures": After Candice fails to turn in a quilt she was supposed to make as a class project, Emily and Josh enlist the help of British street urchins at the local fashion district to make one. Things turn quickly when the urchins turn out to be not what Josh and Emily expected them to be. "The Perfect House": Emily enjoys going to open houses to escape from the stress of her life, and forms a fake family with a stressed father and a pre-teen pop star so they can go to open houses for the same reason, but things get weird when Emily's reality turns into a cheesy 1980s family sitcom. Meanwhile, Josh buys a family bike.
2	2	"Logan's Run'd" "Room Parents"	J.G. Quintel & Calvin Wong	Chris Kula Aaron Burdette	David Davis & Siti Lu Janice Chun & Cal Ramsey	July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
"Logan's Run'd": While Josh and Emily are enjoying their first night without Candice (who is at a sleepover), Bridgette tells them (and Alex) that they are getting old, so all three of them join Bridgette on a night out to a club where anyone over 30 gets a deadly VIP treatment. "Room Parents": Josh inadvertently volunteers to be a "room parent" (after he ducks out to use the bathroom and misses out on the other parents murdering each other and committing suicide to get out of it), and befriends a single mother named Nikki, whom Emily suspects is out to steal Josh from her. Songs: "Turn Down for What" by DJ Snake and Lil Jon; "Crazy on You" by Heart
3	3	"Skate Dad" "100% No Stress Day"	Calvin Wong Sean Szeles	Minty Lewis & J.G. Quintel Bill Oakley & Marlena Rodriguez	Owen Dennis, Ryan Pequin, Andres Salaff & Sam Spina Chris Allison, Benton Connor, Aminder Dhaliwal, Madeline Queripel, Ryan Pequin, Andres Salaff & Sam Spina	July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
"Skate Dad": Josh is determined to teach Candice how to skate so as not become a neglectful father like his dad once did. This backfires when he damages his testicles, and his goal may be overthrown when a pro skater, named Goosh has better teaching material for her, so he challenges him. "100% No Stress Day": Emily is diagnosed with stress, so Bridgette shows Emily how to relax by smoking marijuana. Meanwhile, Josh, Alex and Candice go to buy ham, only to end up being chased by both a scam distributor that sells stolen ham and a band of stripper clowns looking for Alex. Song: "Stay Fly" by Three 6 Mafia
4	4	"Prank War" "Cool Moms"	Sean Szeles	Minty Lewis, Ryan Pequin, Matt Price & Madeline Queripel Alison Agosti & Matt Price	Owen Dennis, Ryan Pequin & Sam Spina	July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
"Prank War": Wanting to relive his youth, Josh sets up a prank war with the roommates who are none too impressed. He ends up befriending a "bush guy" to scare Emily and Bridgette, but thinking that he is assaulting them, they beat him into a coma. The two are arrested and Josh must wake Bush Guy or else Emily and Bridgette get charged for manslaughter. Meanwhile, Alex gives Candice candy. "Cool Moms": Mr. Campbell sets Emily up with the cool moms clique and she befriends their leader Jojo. However, Jojo's style of teaching affects Emily and messes up her relationship with Candice. Meanwhile, Josh and Alex take Randy to a getaway to "rescue" his mom, Pearle. Song: "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen
5	5	"Robot Tutor" "Golden Gamer"	Sean Szeles Calvin Wong	Matt Price	Chris Allison, Ryan Pequin, Madeline Queripel & Sam Spina Mike Bertino & Sam Spina	July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
"Robot Tutor": Josh and Emily plan to spend their Spring Break by going to the beach, but must stay when Candice is revealed to have trouble learning and are equipped with a robot they cannot leave unattended. Meanwhile, Alex and Bridgette go in their stead for "divorce sex", but end up with different plans. "Golden Gamer": After Josh meets a fellow game designer who has become a huge success, Josh tries to revive his unfinished game Dude Man, resulting in him reverting to an immature twenty-something. Meanwhile, Alex tries to earn the respect of his students by performing a dangerous stunt.
6	6	"So Long Boys" "Clap Like This"	Calvin Wong	Matt Price & Deepak Sethi Deepak Sethi	Chris Allison, Aminder Dhaliwal, Ryan Pequin & Andres Salaff Chris Allison, Mike Bertino, Owen Dennis, Ryan Pequin & Sam Spina	July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
"So Long Boys": After having a pregnancy scare, Josh agrees to have a vasectomy and brings Alex to the procedure. They discover that the facility is corrupt and Josh begins to have doubts just as Emily does so as well. At the facility, they meet two teens whom Alex is convinced are his offspring. "Clap Like This": Josh manages to sell his game Clap Like This as he, Emily and Candice will now be rich. When the deal falls through, Josh is forced to pick up extra shifts at his old job in secret. Meanwhile, Bridgette is cut off at 26 and gets a job at a clothing store where the mannequins come to life.
7	7	"First Date" "Snailin' It"	Calvin Wong Sean Szeles	Marlena Rodriguez & Kristy Grant Minty Lewis	Mike Bertino, Andres Salaff & Sam Spina Aminder Dhaliwal & Andres Salaff	July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
"First Date": Feeling that they have lost their "spice", Josh and Emily decide to recreate their first date at a haunted attraction that is all too real. Meanwhile, Bridgette goes on a date with a man who is conjoined to his ex and brings Alex along as her wingman, leading to some personal issues. "Snailin' It": Emily does not have enough time to spend with Candice due to her job. A seemingly friendly snail allows her to use his magical time hat to get things done. Unfortunately, this causes her to rapidly age with every use. Elsewhere, Josh spends the day with Randy. Song: "Too Much Time on My Hands" by Styx
8	8	"The Canine Guy"	Calvin Wong	Andres Salaff & Deepak Sethi	Aminder Dhaliwal, Salaff & Sam Spina	July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
In this half-hour special, Alex bails on their annual Medieval Times Dinner/Jim Carrey celebration, Josh ends up meeting a genetically modified dog-human hybrid named Tery, Bridgette gets Emily away from home so that they can write more comedic song material, but Emily is constantly distracted by things Candice is doing back home, and Pearle becomes suspicious of a cold case involving Meredith Breedmore, Tory's creator, and recruits Candice and Randy to resolve the case. Song: "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds

Season 2 (2021)

Every episode in this season was directed by J.G. Quintel & Calvin Wong.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Written by	Storyboard by	Original release date
9	1	"Josh Gets Shredded" "Meet The Frackers"	Gabe Delahaye Aaron Burdette	Jen Lee & J.G. Quintel Janice Chun & Cal Ramsey	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)
"Josh Gets Shredded": After breaking his back trying to lift Candice, Josh is told that he must exercise his core. He goes to a special gym that works its visitors until they are absolutely ripped. Soon, Josh becomes more obsessed with keeping his muscles than he does with wanting to play with Candice and tries to reach his peak. "Meet the Frackers": Randy learns through a DNA test that his parents are not only still alive, but are ex-cons who became wealthy oil barons. Randy is ready to embrace his parental lineage until he learns that they plan to frack the oil underneath his home. Meanwhile, Josh buys Candice a leaf blower as a toy.
10	2	"Sauceface" "Houseguest From Hell"	Chris Kula Melissa Hunter	Raul Guerra & Jessica Xu David Davis & Siti Lu	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)
"Sauceface": In this parody of Goodfellas and Scarface, Candice and her friend, Nadia, start an illegal hot sauce ring (after Mr. Campbell bans hot sauce from the school cafeteria) to raise money for remote-controlled drones. "Houseguest from Hell": Emily is reunited with her obnoxious friend Becca (voiced by Heidi Gardner), who ends up crashing at their apartment after breaking up with her latest boyfriend, Luc (voiced by Beck Bennett). Things get worse when Becca reveals she is pregnant and Luc turns out to be Lucifer. Song: "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" by The Rolling Stones
11	3	"Joint Break" "Cyber Matrix"	Gabe Delahaye	Raul Guerra & Jessica Xu David Davis & Siti Lu	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)
"Joint Break": In this parody of the 1991 action crime film, Point Break, Pearle reluctantly takes water aerobics (after discovering her hip replacement surgery is not covered by her insurance) where she meets a group of elderly women who live life to the fullest by robbing banks. "Cyber Matrix": Alex is finally convinced to get a new phone called Fractal which has the Siri-esque A.I. Kira. Alex becomes addicted to his new phone until he is in a suspended cocoon. The rest of the gang must rescue Alex from having his consciousness downloaded with Josh entering the cyber matrix while the rest take Kira's power. Song: "All Star" by Smash Mouth (Close Enough Mix)
12	4	"Haunted Couch" "Man Up"	Alison Agosti Chris Kula	Johnny Koester & Jen Lee	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)
"Haunted Couch": After getting ghosted by her recent boyfriend, Bridgette comes home to a new couch that Josh and Alex found and cries on it. She meets the ghost of a French aristocrat named Henri and starts a relationship with him. However, Bridgette begins to see that she that might be the problem. "Man Up": In this parody of the 1988 action movie Die Hard, after bailing on Emily and Candice during an alien invasion at Hollywood bank (which turned out to be a publicity stunt), Pearle teaches Josh the art of "manning up" and the skills get put to the test when a group of European terrorists hold everyone hostage at Emily's boss' holiday party. Song: "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers
13	5	"Handy" "Birthdaze"	Marlena Rodriguez John Aboud, Aaron Burdette & Michael Colton	Raul Guerra & Jessica Xu Jen Lee	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)
"Handy": Upset that Pearle would rather hire another handyman than her own adopted son, Randy goes out to sea and ends up shipwrecked on a desert island, where Bob Vila, Tim "The Toolman" Taylor from the 1990s sitcom Home Improvement, and the IKEA Man help Randy become a competent handyman. "Birthdaze": Sick of the forced, cheesy fun of children's birthday parties, Emily and Josh decide to have another party in the garage just for the adults while having a birthday party for Candice, but a birthday party magician takes the children to another dimension to teach Emily and Josh a lesson in being there for their daughter.
14	6	"Time Hooch" "World's Greatest Teacher"	Chris Kula & Craig Rowin Chris Kula	Raul Guerra & Jessica Xu Janice Chun & Cal Ramsey	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)
"Time Hooch": After Bridgette finds out that Alex never signed the divorce papers, he and Josh get drunk on some homemade moonshine the two made in college that gives them the power to time travel. Alex keeps going back to try and salvage his relationship with Bridgette, but ultimately decides to try and prevent himself from meeting her. "World's Greatest Teacher": Mr. Campbell is upstaged by a more competent female teacher named River Lake who can sing and is better at interacting with the kids. Campbell's "World's Greatest Teacher" mug urges him to sabotage River, but she catches on and decides to toy with him leading to a sing off. Songs: "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston; "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" by George Michael and Aretha Franklin
15	7	"Where'd You Go, Bridgette?" "The Erotic Awakening of A. P. LaPearle"	Marlena Rodriguez Chris Kula	Janice Chun & Cal Ramsey Marcy Bones & David Davis	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)
"Where'd You Go, Bridgette?": Pearle opts for Bridgette to go on a no phone cleanse and she begins to go cold turkey. Due to not posting anything, Josh, Emily, Candace and Alex believe that she has been kidnapped and team up with a pair of podcasters who cover kidnappings. However, the podcasters believe that they killed and ate Bridgette. "The Erotic Awakening of A.P. LaPearle": Alex's new erotic novel does not please anyone except Pearle who loves it. When they try to get it published, the publisher finds Alex unappealing as an author and they decide to use Pearle as the face while Alex ghost writes the novels. Pearle quickly gets swept up in the fame, making Alex feel miserable.
16	8	"Men Rock!" "Secret Horse"	Stephanie Amante-Ritter Alison Agosti	Marcy Bones & David Davis Janice Chun & Cal Ramsey	February 25, 2021 (2021-02-25)
"Men Rock!": Emily and Bridgette write a song called "Men Rock" which is meant to be an ironic song about misogyny. They end up getting a fan in the form of a Cromanian dictator and he invites the women, along with Candace and Josh, to the nation to perform. However, they quickly learn that they take the song literally and hold them hostage. "Secret Horse": On a day affected by California's Santa Ana winds, a fat, wall-eyed horse named Pickles escapes a farm and ends up at the duplex. He interacts with Candace, Josh, Bridgette, Alex, Randy, Pearle and Emily and individually gives each of them a moment of clarity. When they all learn that they have met the horse, a chase through the city ensues.

Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 100% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 7.82/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Completely absurd and yet, utterly relatable, Close Enough captures the strange experience that is being an adult." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

External links

• Close Enough on HBO Max
• Close Enough on IMDb

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