Neil Patrick Harris Tackles Dating Apps, Millennials in ‘Uncoupled’

Neil Patrick Harris is back on Netflix for the first time since his role as Count Olaf in A Series of Unfortunate Events. This time, he is taking the screen in his first main role as a gay man. Although Neil Patrick Harris has been a well-known gay icon for decades, he’s rarely played a queer character on screen until now. Neil Patrick Harris is starring in Netflix’s Uncoupled, where Harris’s character Michael gets broken up with out of nowhere by his boyfriend of 17 years. Michael now has to delve into a new modern dating scene after 17 years.

Uncoupled shows the challenges of dating in the era of Grindr, dating apps, dick pics, and hookup culture from the perspective of middle adulthood. A lot more queer stories and representation are making their way into the media, but Uncoupled is refreshing because of its perspective. There aren’t many queer stories shown on TV that center on adults in their 40s and 50s sharing their dating experiences.

“It’s interesting to me to be telling a gay breakup story and have it feel like nothing within it seems salacious or groundbreaking. I love that we’ve been telling gay stories for long enough that a gay divorce or generational dating show exists at all,” Harris says.

Uncoupled highlights the generational differences and the vast change and advancement of gay culture between generations. These differences bring a comedic air to the show, as we see Michael figure it all out on his own but with the help of friends around him.

“I feel like we’re using ageism more as a comedy trope and less as a heartfelt pathos, as if I’m getting old and losing importance in any way… Fifty does not feel aged to me. I might also just be delusional. But the show is hopefully universal in showing the appeal of the idea that someone of a different generation is still vital and is now, like, fucking millennials,” Harris tells Them.

Check out Uncoupled which is streaming now on Netflix.