HBO Forgot to Tell Us About the ‘Youth’
HBO forgot to mention that 'Youth' is coming in September.
I am aware that we should probably go a little easy on HBO right now. If it weren’t for the current lawsuit filed by the states to block the Paramount/Skydance-Warner Media merger (referred to around town as “WarnerMount”), the company would be days away from being swallowed whole by David Ellison and his American State Television, where it would digest for a thousand years in the entertainment equivalent of a sarlacc pit. People are quitting left and right; apparently, the exodus is so bad that Warner filed a lawsuit.
So the marketing team can be forgiven if it’s a little distracted right now.
However, the treatment of Sharon Horgan’s upcoming comedy series Youth should be sounding serious alarm bells about how bad things are there right now.
Consider the following: In March 2026, we saw a short blurb go by about Horgan working on a new comedy series about a 50-year-old divorcee experiencing what’s being called “the sandwich generation,” heralding the end of her Apple TV series Bad Sisters. Then, a few weeks ago, in an unrelated article in the RadioTimes, there was a reference to a show being produced by HBO called Youth, which led to an earlier article that stated Horgan was writing it and had cast Harriet Walter, among others.
Imagine our surprise then, when the HBO September premiere listings arrived in our inbox, and there was an announcement that Sharon Horgan’s Youth, a comedy about a “50-year-old divorcee’s search for sex and love whilst juggling caring for her ailing parents and parenting her should-be grown-up son” would premiere in a couple of weeks.
Thankfully, Horgan herself is pretty good at self-promotion, and we lucked into finding a Vanity Fair interview she did that included all the things HBO failed to provide, like... character names, a plot synopsis, and the actual cast list. (You know, minor details.)
Anyway, since HBO is apparently crumbling before our eyes, let’s all do Horgan a solid and check out her show, despite their failures to promote it.
Here’s the series’ synopsis:
Youth revolves around Alex, a London literary agent who is just about holding her life together. Her teenage son Ruari, is emotionally unraveling and her actor ex-husband is moving to another country with a younger woman. Meanwhile, her best friend Sam—who is also her boss—keeps trying to fix her up with older men, but Alex is still infatuated with Patrick, a rogue-ish Scot who seems more suited to a hookup than a long-term relationship.
(HBO)
Horgan (Motherland) stars as Alex, with Aran Murphy (War) playing her son, Ruari. Sharlene Whyte (Mr. Loverman) plays BFF/Boss Sam, and Rupert Friend (Anatomy of a Scandal) is Patrick.
The cast also includes Walter (Brian & Maggie), Freddie Fox (Slow Horses), Anne Reid (Sanditon), and Robbie Gee (Supacell).
Horgan wrote all eight episodes of the series, with director Dawn Shadforth (Trespasses) helming all episodes. The two also executive produce, alongside Jim Kleverweis and Faye Dorn for Merman.
Youth will premiere on Sunday, September 20, 2026, with two episodes on HBO and HBO Max. The series will then follow with one episode a week through mid-October.
Sign up for full access to Telly Visions' recaps and reviews!
