It’s crunch time for Liza in the final season of Younger, now on Showmax

11 June 2021

It’s crunch time for Liza in the final season of Younger, now on Showmax

Set in the publishing world of New York City, Younger has kept us guessing for six seasons: will Liza choose Josh (Nico Tortorello from The Walking Dead: World Beyond), the gorgeous tattoo artist who made her feel she’d rediscovered her true self as a fake 26-year-old in a competitive, ageist industry; or her boss, the suave, romantic and, yes, traditional, Charles (Peter Hermann from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Blue Bloods)?

As the final season opens, it’s crunch time. The cliffhanger question that left us screaming at the screen at the end of Season 6 is still hanging in the air. And Charles is waiting for an answer…

Younger earned Sutton Foster (Bunheads) and Miriam Shor (The Americans, The Good Wife) Critics Choice nominations as Liza and Diana, not to mention Teen Choice and People’s Choice nominations for Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire, A Cinderella Story).

Season 7 has a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “A breezy, bittersweet farewell that captures everything that made the show so successful to begin with, Younger’s final chapter is one for the ages.”

“The final season brings back the wit, heart, and binge-ability of Younger’s finest moments,” says AV Club, while The New York Times hails the series as “escapism at its fantastical best.”

Emmy nominee Janeane Garofalo (Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion) joins the cast this season as Cass, along with Matt Passmore (Ted in 13 Reasons Why) as dishy surf legend (…curve-ball alert!) Kai Manning.

Younger on ShowMax
Nico Tortorello as Josh, Hilary Duff as Kelsey, Sutton Foster as Liza, Miriam Shor as Diana and Debi Mazar as Maggie

“It’s definitely bittersweet to end this series, but I’m so happy with this season [and] with the final episode, which is actually an hour. I think it gives all the characters such great, satisfying conclusions to seven years of Younger,” Emmy-winning series creator Darren Star (Emily in Paris, Sex And The City) told ETonline. “As writers, we’re the audience too, so we’re writing it for ourselves in a way and we want to give the characters that we care about endings that feel right for them and satisfying. And I think we did it. I really do.”

Sutton, too, is happy with how it all turns out for Liza. “Once I read how it ended, I went, ‘It could not have ended any other way.’ I feel like the writers nailed it. I’m sure people are going to have lots of opinions, but for me, it felt incredibly true,” she told ET.

On her favourite memories over the past seven years, Sutton says, “We have amazing times doing scenes, but a lot of my memories will be off set, like teaching Hilary and Molly how to crochet, or bringing our dogs to set… there’s all these little things that I’ll miss.”

Younger Season 5 is only on ShowmaxYounger is only on Showmax

Nico wrapped six weeks earlier than the rest of the cast to start work on The Walking Dead: World Beyond. “My last day on set was a lot. I could barely get through the scenes to be honest with you…,” he told ET. “It’s emotional for sure. The world has been so crazy – not that it ever has not been crazy, but it’s been exponentially more unhinged this past year – and the fact that we were all able to come together and pull this off amidst everything that is happening is a feat.”

The cast have grown very close over the years. Posting on Instagram, Debi Mazar, who plays Maggie, shared a touching tribute to her co-star, Hilary: “Last night I filmed my final scene with @hilaryduff after 7 seasons on #YOUNGER!!” she wrote. “I adore this woman & I’m so proud of her. Not only is she a FIERCE broad, [and] an amazing mother, but also a generous, seasoned actress with a wicked sense of humor.”

“Hilary was brave enough to finish out this season in NYC (she’s a Los Angeles gal) during a pandemic, and VERY pregnant!” Debi revealed, adding a heartfelt “Thanks for the laughs and the love, Hil. It’s been great!”

Hilary’s daughter Mae, the actress’ third child, was born on 24 March, and her co-star Molly Bernard, who plays Lauren, flew to LA for the birth.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLKi7RShkJN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

(Look out for the careful maneuvering they pulled off in the final episodes of the season, positioning Kelsey behind other characters or holding objects to conceal Hilary’s growing baby bump.)

“Some of those really simple memories stand out in my mind in the biggest way, because it’s that juxtaposition of, ‘This is so hard and brutal but I’m with the people I love and we’re laughing’,” says Hilary. “I think that really sums us up as a cast.”

Although Hilary has admitted she’s not ready for Younger to end, a spin-off series starring Kelsey, which was announced to be in development last May, has yet to be confirmed.

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