The second season of Apple TV+’s Platonic concluded on October 1, 2025, leaving the central friendship facing its biggest challenge yet: becoming business partners. The finale, titled “Brett Coyote’s Last Stand,” sees Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne‘s characters making a decision that promises to test their bond in entirely new ways.
How Season 2 Built to a Business Partnership
The sophomore season of the comedy series followed former best friends Will (Seth Rogen) and Sylvia (Rose Byrne) as they attempted to navigate new midlife challenges. After calling off his engagement to his boss, Jenna, in the middle of the season, Will focused on his dream of opening his own bar. However, in the finale, his plans are jeopardized when Jenna enforces a non-compete clause from his old employment contract.
With Will’s bar venture stalled, a solution emerges. Sylvia’s husband, Charlie, and his lawyer friend explain that the only way around the legal hurdle is for someone else to be the public face of the business. In a surprising move, Sylvia volunteers for the role. This sets the stage for the two friends to go into business together, a plot point the show’s creators had considered before.
“We tried to do it this season over a few episodes and even in the first season, but it’s such a massive plot point that we realized this is not an episode idea, but a season idea,” said co-creator Nicholas Stoller.
For the creators, this new dynamic solves a practical storytelling problem. Francesca Delbanco explained that it gives the characters “an excuse to be together all day, every day,” which fits better with the lives of adults in midlife than simply having them hang out.
A Friendship Built on Truth and Chaos
Throughout the season, Will and Sylvia’s friendship has been defined by their ability to be completely honest with each other, even when it leads to trouble. This season saw Will living in Sylvia’s garage after his broken engagement, while Sylvia struggled with her new career as an event planner and her husband Charlie’s decision to quit his stable job as a lawyer to write a novel.
The show explores the relatable feeling of midlife questioning. Francesca Delbanco noted, “The path of adulthood is, by necessity, about closing doors to things that you might have also liked to do. It doesn’t mean you don’t like the choices you made. It means you miss having a choice.”
Byrne and Rogen have described their characters’ journey as a “de-evolution.” Rogen mentioned, “It’s like a de-evolution. That’s much better for comedy than evolving, generally speaking. They somehow found a way to [put] us both in worse positions than we were last season. [The characters are] even more dysfunctional, which I thought was very funny and very smart.”
Regarding her character’s approach to friendship, Byrne said, “She’s too opinionated, too controlling, too possessive.” She also highlighted that Sylvia acts as a truth-teller in Will’s life, even if her approach is flawed. “Will’s in this relationship… He’s embarking on a marriage with no intimacy, and she’s trying to hold her tongue and then eventually she’s like, ‘This isn’t going to last, and I know it’s hard to hear.’ And she does it in the worst way.”
The Actors on Their Characters and Collaboration
Both Byrne and Rogen serve as both stars and executive producers on the series, a role that Byrne finds meaningful. “You get a seat at the table,” she said. “It’s awesome. You get to weigh-in on casting and creative consulting and ideas, and your opinions and your feelings.”
Reflecting on her character, Byrne contrasted herself with Sylvia, stating she is personally “way more hands-off.” If she could give Sylvia advice, it would be to “let go. Loosen up. It’s okay. Let go. Let him be.”
The working relationship between the two leads remains strong. Byrne described working with Rogen as “lovely. It’s really easy. We just immediately on the Neighbors set, I was like – oh, this really works. We have a good thing.”
A Non-Romantic Friendship in a Post-‘Friends’ Era
The show continues to firmly focus on the platonic nature of Will and Sylvia’s relationship, deliberately avoiding a “will they or won’t they” storyline. While on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Rogen acknowledged that fans are sometimes fixated on the idea of the characters getting together romantically.
“People are very fixated on this idea that we will one day get together,” Rogen said. “And I get why, honestly. Like, we grew up with a show called Friends, and they all f–ed each other. Every friend f–ed every other friend.”
He jokingly added, “F– Friends,” before clarifying that he understands the expectation was set by such precedents. The creators have been clear about their intentions from the start. Francesca Delbanco stated, “It is the lowest fi idea in history. There’s no suspense or tension about ‘Will they or won’t they?’ They’re just buddies. We thought it was important to try to represent that, the possibility that men and women can be friends.”
What Lies Ahead for Will and Sylvia
As of October 2, 2025, Apple TV+ has not officially announced a third season renewal for Platonic. However, the finale’s setup provides clear direction for future stories. The show was initially conceived as a potential anthology series, with the first season focusing on Rogen and Byrne’s characters and subsequent seasons following different stories. During the making of the first season, the creators changed their minds.
“They have such amazing chemistry together, and it was such a great experience, that we decided to ask them if they would be open to doing more, and they said yes,” Stoller recalled. He said that Apple also felt that Rogen and Byrne were the show’s identity, asking, “Who is going to want to watch a season two without them?”
The stars are open to continuing. “I would love to keep doing Platonic,” Rogen has said. “I think there are really great storylines for the season. And it’s something I would love to keep doing as long as people enjoy watching it.” Byrne echoed this sentiment, stating, “I’d love to [return]. They had great ideas for Season 2, and I feel like that could come to life for another one.”
The actors have also shared ideas about potential guest stars, expressing a desire for a Neighbors reunion with co-stars Zac Efron and Ike Barinholtz. “I don’t understand why that hasn’t come to fruition yet. Now I have it in my head that’s what we need to do,” Byrne said.
Entering business together will likely strain Will and Sylvia’s friendship. Rogen was direct when asked how he thinks the business partnership will affect their bond: “Badly. I think it will have a negative impact on their friendship.” Byrne simply agreed, “I agree.”
This new venture could also create waves in Sylvia’s marriage. Luke Macfarlane, who plays Sylvia’s husband Charlie, suggested an interesting dynamic for the future: “I think it would be interesting to see what would happen if Sylvia actually became the major breadwinner and all of a sudden this money was rolling in. I think that would be interesting to see what that does to Charlie.”
Also Read: Platonic Season 2 Finale: Does Will Lose His Shitty Little Bar?
