Critic Reviews

By probing Sheila’s mental health with care, complexity, and humor, we’re offered a fresh new kind of female antihero, one that isn’t just meant to be a compelling character study, but an engrossing exploration of the ways that American empowerment culture continues to fail us all.

[Rose Byrne] nails the woman’s painful awareness of her true inner ugliness and poignant desperation, often while maintaining a serene facade. It’s a performance that always looks great yet, somehow, never displays an ounce of vanity. Those are just a few impressive aspects of this year’s most observant new sitcom.

It’s through Byrne’s cutting insults and screams buried under her pained smile that Physical truly finds its voice. ... Shelia and her near-constant self-flagellation become Physical’s driving force. It’s a positioning that’s pointedly brilliant.

There are a lot of roadblocks before Sheila gets everything she is working for and none of them are rehashes of those she navigated in Season 1. This is a brand-new hell for Sheila, with enough redemptions along the way to keep you rooting for her.

Ultimately, an emotional, exhilarating, and surprisingly uplifting conclusion to this series matches the energy of Sheila’s classes and makes sure Weisman’s show lands its final steps.

It’s darkly funny at times but also deals with serious themes in a way that could turn off some viewers. It lacks the universally appealing, feel-good nature of a show like Ted Lasso. ... But it’s also well made, frequently compelling, and features episodes that come in at under 30 minutes.

“Physical” flirts with messiness at times (and has to occasionally rely on coincidences to make things fit together), but it’s built on an intriguing and idiosyncratic overlap of fiefdoms and credos. The show’s smartest decision, other than Byrne’s casting, may be its tendency to evoke rather than spoon-feed.

[Viewers] will get sucked into the story, which after three or four episodes may call out to the viewer the way a bag of free burgers and an empty motel room would to Sheila.

By the season’s end, Physical finds itself more energized than ever before, its protagonists galvanized and merciless. It’s just a shame that it took so long to get there. ... Its second season confirms that all it really needed was some extra time to lace up and find its footing.

Physical‘s third season is as dark as ever, but thanks to the (darkly funny and decidedly not adorkable) addition of Deschanel, we’re invested and can’t wait to see how Sheila’s story ends.