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1[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/younger.jpg]]
2 [[caption-width-right:320:[[{{Tagline}} It's only a lie if you get caught]].]]
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4''Younger'' is a {{romantic|comedy}} {{dramedy}} series on TV Land, based on the Pamela Redmond Satran novel of the same name. Darren Star (''Series/SexAndTheCity'') created and executive produces it.
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6After being mistaken for younger than she really is, 40-year old single mother Liza Miller (Creator/SuttonFoster) decides to take the chance to reboot her career and personal life as a 26-year old.
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8With the help of her best friend Maggie (Creator/DebiMazar), a sharp-tongued lesbian artist, Liza moves to Brooklyn and sets up an entirely new identity, even landing herself a job as an assistant at a publishing house. She also strikes up a flirtation with her neighbor Josh (Creator/NicoTortorella), a 26-year-old tattoo artist who thinks they're the same age. Music/HilaryDuff, Creator/MiriamShor, Creator/PeterHermann, and Creator/CharlesMichaelDavis also star.
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10''Younger'' premiered in March 2015 and became a surprise hit for TV Land, with its viewership figures rising each successive season. A seventh and final season is set to air on Creator/ParamountPlus in 2021, while a spinoff based around Duff's character, Kelsey, was reported to be in development as of October 2020, however in June of 2021, Darren Star stated that the spin-off was off the table and not moving forward.
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13!!''Younger'' contains examples of:
14* AgeLift: The premise of the show is essentially giving Liza an InUniverse AgeLift, de-aging her with the help of fashion and Internet scrubbing in order to make her appear age-appropriate for her new career.
15* AmicableExes:
16** Liza grows to be more civil with her ex-husband, mostly for their daughter's benefit.
17** Season 7 is all about Liza and Charles trying to forge this bond, as they break up due to her rejecting his proposal, who despite loving him so much, never wants to get married again. While they do decide to get back together in the series finale, he also realizes that while he does love her, after the lie she had maintained against him and everyone for multiple years, he can never fully trust her again, something she understands. He does however realize she is a wonderful person, and when he steps down from the company to focus on himself and his daughters, he makes her Editor-In-Chief of Empirical in his place, with the two resolute to end their relationship as friends.
18* AndStarring: "And Creator/HilaryDuff."
19* TheBeautifulElite: Everybody on this show, basically. Liza, being able to pass as a twenty-something despite being forty, deserves a special mention.
20* CelebrityParadox: Liza tap dancing at a "Roaring 20s" themed party, all while being backed by a recording of "Forget About the Boy" from ''Theatre/ThoroughlyModernMillie'', sung by "Creator/SuttonFoster".
21* CerebusRetcon:[[spoiler: Edward L.L. Moore's dirty old man persona is played for laughs initially, however in "Liza Too" it's revealed that his comments are less than innocent and go into sexual harassment and abuse territory as he's groped countless women. After Liza comes forward after learning he's been doing it to a lot of women, Charles is forced to cut him loose.]]
22* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler:After Thad finds out Liza's secret, he uses it as leverage against her telling Kelsey about his bathroom trysts with his secretary, however Liza decides to inform Kelsey anyways, telling Thad that he can do whatever he wants effectively ending her career. Thad is none too happy and tries to convince her otherwise but she gets away just as a crane drops its load of steel directly on top of Thad, killing him, ensuring Liza's secret remains safe for the time being]].
23** [[spoiler: Not long later Liza is forced to return to her hometown with Empirical to present a check to a bookstore, thus having her secret outed. She even prepares Charles for this by saying he will learn some stuff about her that he's not aware of. However their benefactor pulls out at the last minute forcing them to turn the helicopter around. When Charles inquires what he was going to learn, Liza covers by saying she was "a huge slut in high school"]]
24* {{Expy}}: In "Secrets & Liza" it's shown that Empirical's biggest success is the ''[[Series/GameOfThrones Crown of Kings]]'' series by [[Creator/GeorgeRRMartin Edward L.L. Moore]]. Also counts as a TakeThat, given Charles calls the books the overwritten fantasies of a [[DirtyOldMan handsy old man]] (and Liza agrees), and the author isn't flatteringly portrayed.
25* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The show takes place in roughly real time with each episode taking place over several days to a week and not much time between them this leads to each season taking place over a couple months with no time skip between them leading to the show's 6 year run taking place over around 2 years.
26* GayBar: Hoping to lift her spirits, Diane takes Kelsey to one after [[spoiler: Thad's death]].
27* IntergenerationalFriendship:
28** Liza and Kelsey, though the latter isn't aware of their secret age difference for the first few seasons. Also true of Liza's relationships with Charles and Diane.
29** Played with, in regards to Liza and Maggie; Kelsey and her friends believe Maggie is much older than Liza.
30* JewishMother: Lauren has one, who also acts this way toward Kelsey and, to a lesser degree, Liza.
31* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Liza's Jane Austen Twitter features such gems as "Oh my! Mr. Darcy just sent me an etching of his manhood!".
32* HyperAwareness: Annabelle, in her forties herself, immediately deduces Liza's age by looking at her hands. Lauren doesn't realize the the meaning of this, but she also notices some little physical traits of Liza suggesting that she is not 26.
33* LampshadeHanging: There is more casual talk about age, maturity, generation gaps, etc. than you have heard anywhere else.
34* LoveTriangle: Liza, Josh, and Charles.
35* MakeoverMontage: The pilot features one as Liza is transformed into her "younger" self- highlights, makeup, and new clothes all make an appearance.
36* MayDecemberRomance: Well, May-September and September is incredibly spring-looking, but Josh is still significantly closer in age with Liza'a daughter than with Liza. Kelsey and Anton also qualify as a May-September variety, and as for second season to do [[spoiler:Lauren and Maggie]]. Given that half of the cast is in their twenties and the other one in their forties, it's not surprising.
37* MrFanservice: Especially Josh, who presents his ripped, tattooed body on some occasions, though Thad, and for the older generation Anton, Charles and David are also very easy on the eyes. Visual standards for males has clearly risen since the times of ''Series/SexAndTheCity''.
38* OfficeRomance: Charles is romantically interested in Liza, despite her relationship with Josh.
39* OlderThanTheyLook: The central premise hinges on the fact that Liza can conceivably pass for about 15 years younger than her actual age. In-universe, Maggie mentions that Liza was being carded until she was thirty.
40* RelationshipReveal: [[spoiler: Liza learns that an exciting new author she meets at Pitchfest is none other than Charles' ex-wife, right during a steamy encounter with him]].
41* ShipTease: Liza and Charles. It mainly serves to show how she sometimes can get along better with an older man than with Josh, and he thinks she is much younger than him, and an assistant to boot, but it's there. And [[ClingyJealousGirl Diana]] certainly notices.
42* ShoutOut: During a small confrontation between her and Liza, Quinn compares Liza to Maria von Trapp, while comparing herself to The Baroness, a role Creator/LauraBenanti played in NBC's ''[[Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic The Sound Of Music Live!]]''.
43* SpiritualSuccessor: Being produced by Darren Star, set in the Big Apple, and focusing on someone working in the publishing/literary field, even Star himself said he hopes this show will be to the currently-gentrifying Brooklyn what ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' was to Manhattan.
44* SpoiledBrat: Liza's daughter, Caitlin, is pretty well-off for someone her age.
45* StrawFeminist: The series introduces a ''male'' one in the second season.
46* VitriolicBestBuds: Liza and Anne's relationship seems to be this.

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