Jon Hamm really blew me away in “Mad Men” nearly 20 years ago, so I was excited by the prospect of seeing him lead a similar show set in modern times.

While “Your Friends & Neighbors” might not be at the same level as “Mad Men,” it is still a compelling story that is filled out by an intriguing ensemble.

Hamm plays Andy (a.k.a. Coop), a down-on-his-luck hedge fund manager who has just lost his wife and his job. To solve his cash flow problem, he turns to a life of petty crime, stealing valuable items from his neighbors. Things take a spicy turn when he winds up breaking into a house with a dead neighbor.

Amanda Peet is great as always as Andy’s estranged wife, Mel, who cheated on him with his best friend, Nick (Mark Tallman). The young actors playing their kids, Isabel Gravitt and Donovan Colan, also do a great job of reacting to the turmoil around them while also achieving standard teenage milestones.

Aimee Carrero, Olivia Munn, Hoon Lee and Heather Lind also give solid performances as some of the titular friends and neighbors.

The real breakout star of this show, though, is Lena Hall as Andy’s sister, Allison/Ali. Andy moves in with her at the start of the show, and she delivers some of the show’s best dialogue.

One unique feature of “Your Friends & Neighbors” is the voiceover narration by Andy. In his post-“Mad Men” years, Hamm has been well known for doing voiceover commercial work. While the show seemingly started Hamm’s voiceover narration being self-aware of this, it is still distracting and off-putting, even more so as the series goes on.

My favorite part of “Your Friends & Neighbors” has to be that Andy is always staying up late watching classic movies, something I can obviously relate to given my love of film.

I’m excited to see what season two has in store for this cast of characters.

Rating: 4/5