Stephen King Calls Out “Hollow” Trope In Apple TV’s 84% RT Crime Series: “People Don’t Do That Sh*t”

Stephen King isn’t mincing words about one Hollywood trope.

Known as one of the best and most prolific authors in the horror genre, King has been writing hits for decades, and many of his works have been adapted for the big and small screen. Most recently, Edgar Wright adapted The Running Man (2025). Now 78 years old, King continues to release new novels, but he is also active on social media, sharing his unfiltered thoughts on new movies and TV shows.

Though many of King’s posts celebrate new Hollywood titles, his latest takes issue with a trope featured in Apple TV’s Your Friends and Neighbors. King retweets a post from crime novelist Linwood Barclay who calls the show “empty” and says it has “no heart.” The Shining author seems to agree, but he focuses his criticism on a scene in the season 2 premiere in which fully clothed characters jump in a pool.

“That rich folks party with everyone jumping in the pool? Fire eaters? Sexy violinists? Rich people don’t do that sh*t,” King writes. “Not even in F. Scott Fitzgerald. It’s hollow at the core.”

Starring Jon Hamm as a hedge fund manager who resorts to stealing from his wealthy neighbors after losing his job, Your Friends and Neighbors has been met with a generally warm reception from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the Apple TV series has an 84% critics’ score, with the audience-driven Popcornmeter coming in only slightly lower at 80%.

Major points of praise for the series include the Your Friends and Neighbors cast. Hamm’s charismatic lead performance as Andrew Cooper is a highlight, with Olivia Munn, Amanda Peet, and James Marsden also generally charming critics. The show generally makes for an easy watch, with enough star power and light tension to keep things entertaining.

Interestingly, however, Greg MacArthur’s Your Friends and Neighbors season 2 review for ScreenRant also calls the series “hollow.” MacArthur awards the series only five out of 10, writing:

To quote one character from Your Friends & Neighbors season 2, this series is “missing a reason to exist.” Between its overstuffed ensemble of hit-or-miss characters whose greatest common denominator is that they are wildly insular, hypersexual, and embarrassingly self-important, it’s still unclear even after two seasons whether this show is a satire of the wealthy elite or just another vapid soap opera in disguise. Either way, it’s mostly ineffective, forgettable, and worst of all, mildly entertaining, despite season 3 already being confirmed.

Created by Jonathan Tropper, Your Friends and Neighbors premiered in 2025, recently returning for season 2 on April 3. A month before the sophomore season’s first episode, Apple confirmed that Your Friends and Neighbors season 3 is a go, but there’s no firm release date for that just yet. Given there was only a year between seasons 1 and 2, it’s possible season 3 could arrive in April 2027.

Though it’s unclear exactly what awaits audiences with future seasons of Your Friends and Neighbors, King’s latest post suggests he may not be watching when it eventually returns. New episodes of the series drop Fridays on Apple TV.

Release Date

April 11, 2025

Network

Apple TV

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