Michael Lawson

**Michael Lawson** is the main character in Season 1 of Netflix's *Uncoupled (TV Series)* portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris. He is a real estate agent who thinks his life is perfect until his partner blindsides him by walking out the door after 17 years together. Overnight, Michael has to confront two nightmares: losing what he thought was his soulmate, and suddenly finding himself a single gay man in his mid-forties in New York City.

## Physical appearance

Typically, he is always put together, and wears suits due to his job. He also works out to stay fit as well.

## Character traits

When working as a real-estate broker in Manhattan, New York, Michael is very confident and sure of himself. But as gay man in his late 40s who thought his relationship with Colin would last forever, now that he’s been dumped, he is forced to confront his self-absorbed, overbearing tendencies and re-enter the dating scene.

## History

In Chapter 1, Michael hosts a surprise 50th birthday party for his partner of 17 years, Colin. Michael worries that things ended for good with his partner of 17 years, after meeting with Claire Lewis, who is selling her apartment after being divorced by her husband. He attends couples therapy with Colin and dominates the conversation. Colin subsequently breaks up with Michael afterwards. Michael's business partner Suzanne Prentiss tells him that she found the apartment Colin is living in and who he is with.

In Chapter 2, Suzanne eventually reveals that Colin's new man is apparently their younger co-worker, Tyler Hawkins. Michael is in shock. As he frenetically starts to rethink when Colin and Tyler might have first met, he recalls that it might have been at their company’s Christmas party. He was the one who introduced them and they even looked at Tyler’s Instagram that night. Unfortunately, Michael has a showing tomorrow but has trouble going to sleep as he finds more and more imprints of Colin in his apartment. He has a nightmare about Colin and Tyler together, making love against the glass window opening up in the street. When he wakes up, Michael realizes he is running late. Michael keeps writing and erasing texts he wants to send to Colin. However, he has to keep his pain aside and help sell the apartment to the couple with his co-worker Horst. They are moving in together from different cities to start a new family and Michael feels emotional seeing them together. He reminisces of when Colin and he were first moving in together and seeing the new space. In present day, his friends and people in the building including Jack console him. At a charity event, Michael is forced to confront Tyler. But the young realtor reveals that he is not in a relationship with Colin. The only communication he had with him was getting him an apartment and what Suzanne saw through the windows was just a courtesy he extends to all his clients. He again reiterates Michael should stay away from Claire as Tyler is the only one in the running. He is even seated next to Claire at the party. Tyler’s prophecy comes true as Suzanne receives a message from Claire’s assistant that she will not be considering Michael and her for the apartment. Michael, already heartbroken and slightly drunk, follows Claire in a cab to her apartment building. He shouts for her from the back, breaking the “no shouting in the lobby” rule. But Claire asks Freddy the lobby man to calm down. Michael beseeches Claire not to list her apartment with Tyler and explains how he can understand what Claire is going through. The sudden disruption in the domestic life by the other partner when there were no indications whatsoever has happened with him as well. Claire is impressed and agrees to wait and consider Michael. He promises to do everything possible to get her the best price and also have fun in the process. As he walks past his mailbox in the apartment building, Michael scratches out Colin’s surname, “McKenna”, from it, possibly looking at a new chapter in his life.

In Chapter 3, Michael’s trying his best to move on from Colin is him trying to pick up single men in nightclubs with loud music. His friends Stanley James and Billy Burns push him to get back on Grindr and meet new people. They feel this is the best way for him to get on with his life. However, Michael states that he doesn’t want his next “sexual encounter” to be with an anonymous person. Michael wonders if the lonely life will get him but Stanley comforts him. Michael thinks about the Grindr app and in the morning confirms his plans to Stanley to look out for a prospective partner. But he is not initiated with the new norms of dating. These modern sensibilities baffle him but the game is the game. Suzanne and Michael discuss the opening for Claire’s house’s listing. Although the commission would be huge on a sale, they will have to spend to attract buyers to the house. The former gets a call and informs Michael that Paolo Forella, an Italian furniture importer, is interested in staying in New York. He picked out their agency to set up viewings for him. Suzanne is excited to meet the handsome divorcee, while Michael still can’t understand why he picked them. Later, Michael is just about to get his lonely, miserable night in the apartment when he gets an emergency text from Claire. She is in disarray, having disheveled her living room with a hammer. The reason is her husband visiting their daughter at her college with his younger girlfriend. Michael stays on to keep company. He suggests that Claire go out more with her friends. His have become the support system that has seen him through the bad phase. Claire lets Michael know she appreciates his genuine efforts to connect with her and be emotionally present. The next morning, Suzanne and Michael await Paolo’s arrival. The former is decked up and the latter accidentally shows a picture of his private parts when sliding through houses for Paolo. Suzanne calls for a car to take them to a place Paolo selects from the gallery. Surprisingly, the two men are already in contact with each other on Grindr under different aliases. The Italian hunk asks to be dropped at his hotel and Michael soon follows. Although he is reluctant to engage sexually with Paolo, Michael is convinced when he takes his shirt off. Michael is proud of his worst venture out into the world of being single and a free bird. He lets his friends know. Billy is out of town but can not meet up. Stanley is just finishing up with a viewing and calls him to the gallery. The clients, as it turns out are acquaintances of Michael. They mention in conversation about Colin’s dinner party the last week to which Stanley also went. Michael is extremely upset with him for “betraying” him, despite Stanley’s attempts to explain to him that he went only to find out what happened. Michael is not ready to listen to him and leaves angrily.

In Chapter 4, Billy and Michael complete a run together in the park. The weatherman is having an event that he invites Michael to. He asks if Stanley will be there but Billy replies that Stanley has a tradition every Friday evening to have a peaceful night at a bar, reading a book. He is also a bit annoyed with the teensy fight between Michael and Stanley. Michael does not give a firm commitment to Billy citing his mother’s visit to the town and apparently her being in the dark over Colin. The only worrying thing is that she absolutely adores Colin and will be very antsy when she learns about this. Later, Michael has lunch with his mother where he finally reveals Colin and his separation and she does not take it well. She pushes him to introspect and find out “what he did wrong”. Later, Suzann and Michael show the house to a prospective couple, who seems annoyed with the smallest of things. Just then, Stanley arrives up the lift with a new painting that Claire bought from him. Michael gives him the cold shoulder despite Staley trying to reconnect with him. Suzanne tries to cover for him but Stanley decides to confront him about it. Michael is still unconvinced by Stanley’s reasoning that he went to Colin’s for Michael's benefit. Suzanne then gets a call from one of the people who visited the open house. He is interested in buying it and the offer is only a smidge off the asking price. She is really excited and feels that they can convince Claire to sell. While waiting for Claire, Michael expresses his concern over the second notice on the liquor bill from Colin’s party. He is a little low on cash but does not want to ask Colin for it. Eventually, Michael pays a visit to her mom, and ignores his father's warning that his son not to go straight away to the bedroom to check on his mother. He goes anyway and discovers that Colin has come to visit too. Michael suspects that his mother called Colin to push both of them back together. But Colin reveals that he is still on the family thread and read the text about Michael’s mother. He felt concerned and came in to visit her. Michael gives him a cold send-off but is prompted by Lisa to run after him and ask about him. The two have a very touching and genuine conversation. Until Colin mentions that he got a new dog. That is enough to send Michael on a rant and angrily come down on Colin for refusing to get a dog when they were together and Colin said he never wanted a dog. Colin walks off. Michael and Suzanne meet up with Claire for the showing but they instead go to Billy’s party. At the party, Michael separates and Suzanne and Claire are left alone together. Michael meets up with Billy, who introduces him as an “eligible bachelor” to his friend group. One of them takes an interest in him. One other friend eavesdrops on the conversation and joins in to hear Michael’s sob story. Michael is offered a threesome by the two friends of Billy’s he was just talking to, who are actually a couple. He declines their offer out of pity. Instead, he latches on to Dr. Sweeney, who as it turns out, is the drag performer at the event. Michael approaches him but Sweeney reveals the truth to Michael. There was never a chance for them to get back because Michael only heard what he wanted to and didn’t even let Colin speak. He instead asks Michael to cherish the people in his life who decided to stay. Colin is not coming back and Michael must accept that. Suzanne overhears that and Michael expresses his newfound gratitude to her. He then goes to the bar where Stanley goes on Fridays. The two make up and Michael notices on his phone that Colin has left the family thread after Michael’s mother sends a text on it.

In Chapter 5, Michael has a raunchy make-out session with a stranger on the street, but in the middle of it, they realize it is going to the next phase. Michael asks if the other guy has condoms with him. To which the stranger asks if Michael is kidding. Michael discusses this with Stanley and Billy over brunch the next day. The consensus is that Michael does not understand the new norms of relationships. Colin has ruined his evolution with time and changing cultural paradigms. Stanley has news to share. Wilhelm Munsch, is a talented artist, who is about to exhibit his work at the gallery and apparently, local gay art collector Irwin Stossel will freak out when he sees it. Stossel is known to be an obsessive collector with great resources. So it is positive news for Stanley. Meanwhile, Dr. Gibson is Michael’s father’s choice for a quickfire relationship. He is Ben’s dermatologist, and Michael is surprised by this turn of events as his parents were rooting for him to get back together with Colin. At the healer’s convention, Michael is called up by him to the stage. The healer snaps around sixteen times in front of Michael’s face and he is apparently healed. The next morning, Michael wakes up a changed man. He is noticeably less angry at everything else and feels that he is over Colin. He even cries in front of Stanley for Colin, sympathizing with him. Josh Gibson has a date with him later in the day and he is gorgeous. They really hit it off on the date but decide to take things slow. Among other things, they agree on the use of condoms and safe sex. Suzanne finally knows what the healer meant by the man in her bed: Kai. They have become too close and Kai needs to find his own place. They also go to Stanley’s Munsch exhibition together the next day, where Stossel berates Stanley in public and leaves. Billy saves the day as he dramatically fake purchases a couple of paintings to get the buying going. While looking at the pornographic paintings, Michael and Josh decide to take the next step. They have a great time at his apartment. But there is a slight problem for which Josh wants to use an “anal paralytic”. Michael is scared and leaves in a hurry. Later, Jack catches up with Michael, and the latter learns that the other man was trying to get together for drinks with Michael; not in a sexual manner, but just as a casual way to spend time together. Later that night, he catches him at the building’s doorstep. It turns out great for the realtor because Jack was actually trying to rope him in to sell his apartment. He says the winters in New York bother him too much nowadays and he is thinking of moving to Miami. He also has some warm words of encouragement and sage advice for Michael about getting over Colin. Time is the best healer. You don’t even know when you are over someone without even thinking about it.

In Chapter 6, Michael and Suzanne make a promotional video for Jack’s apartment, and it is a big hit so they anticipate that they will make a sale soon. Michael invites Suzanne to Billy’s skating event that night but she says she needs a night off. Michael reiterates that he cannot bear having dinners alone and that is why indulges in dating. And Billy’s silly events. While skating, Michael bumps into Luke, a stranger who leaves his number on Michael’s phone to check on him, who by the way, has broken a toe. Michael is still hunting for an apartment for Claire, who insists everything has a price, even if it is not for sale. Luke invites him to dinner that night. He is a primary school teacher and the two have a charming night together. They revel in each other’s criticisms of their exes’ habits. The two seem to be hitting it off, going out with each other for five nights consecutively. Michael seems happy and boasts about Luke to Stanley and Suzanne. Michael decides to sell the apartment in a way that she wouldn’t be interested in buying it. Suzanne, of course, counters him the next day in front of Claire. But she gets hung up on the fact that the apartment has only two bedrooms. Michael promises he will find her something nearby. Luke texts Michael for a night at his house to “Netflix and chill”. He invites Jack to the game and Luke comes over to his apartment. When he mentions the poker game, Luke insists he comes as well. Michael’s hand is forced and he obliges. The Jonathans, Michael, Jack, Billy, and Luke are at the game. Everyone seems impressed by Jack’s poker skills and Luke’s healthy but tasty food. He even calls him “babe”, which throws him off and makes him rather uncomfortable. Things go awry when Luke lets out a fart and indicates that he is getting comfortable with Michael. The realtor himself is disturbed and breaks up with Luke as he has not given him adequate space in their courtship and thinks Luke is taking things way too fast. Luke leaves with his stuff. A knock on the door leaves Michael even more distressed. It is Claire who reveals she has bought the penthouse in the building.

In Chapter 7, Michael, Billy, and Stanley go on their customary escape from city life. Not even two minutes into the trip, Billy already has the receptionist’s number and Stanley has the customary sigh of disgust and familiarity on his face. Michael is right next to them and is scoping out the people at the cabin. He spots Corey, a cute guy he met a few years ago at a realtor conference. Although Michael was hitched at the time, he is finally free now and is encouraged to approach Corey. Michael spots Corey and goes up to him. They flirt but before Michael can get in his “I am single and available” bit in, an innocuous push from Corey takes him down the hill. Billy comforts him by saying that the weekend is long and he will see Corey again. Just then, Horst spots Michael on the couch. He offers fake sympathies to him about breaking up and even mentions that Colin is in a new relationship. This catches Michael unaware and he instead goes into over-thinking mode. Horst says that Colin has hooked up with someone he knows and he saw photos on Instagram too. Billy and Stanley try to calm him down saying he has Corey to look forward to and must focus on him. To calm his nerves, Michael takes another “fireball shot” and the saga continues for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, Michael has gone overboard with the drinks. Corey finds him and invites him to the hot tub. Billy and Stanley leave him but Michel instead sees Horst and goes after him. He forces Horst’s hand into seeing Robbie’s Instagram. Horst then tells him that he is a successful architect. Michael feels jealous and upset when he sees the two together. A very drunk Michael makes his way to the hot tub. He gets straight to business and makes out with Corey. Until the alcohol in his stomach wants to come out and it does in the tub. Stanley and Billy take Michael to his room. But while Stanley opens the door to his room, Billy drops Michael and he gets injuries to his face.

In Chapter 8, it is the big wedding day for the Jonathans’ and Michael has still not recovered from the injuries to his face from his ski trip. He calls over Suzanne to put makeup on them to cover for the wedding. He does not want to see Colin there with his hot architect boyfriend looking like this. Suzanne also brings Claire’s commission check for Michael, which is huge. While they’re talking, he mentions that he is thinking of buying out Colin’s part of the mortgage to own the entire apartment because it feels like home to him and he wants to start over. At the wedding, Suzanne and a nervous Michael meet up with Billy and his new boyfriend, Wyatt. They all point out that it is kind of unusual to see Billy with the same man twice but he feels it might be different this time. Billy and Michael then turn toward Stanley, who looks upset. They take his state for his usual lonely sad-guy vibes surfacing. But they’re shocked to know that Stanley actually has first-stage breast cancer. He asks Michael to accompany him to the doctor’s on Monday to learn how to proceed. Michael then spots Colin with his boyfriend and goes up to say hi. The man with Colin is actually not Craig, and Colin has come there alone. Just as he is about to mention the mortgage, the ceremonies start to kick in. The Jonathans say their vows to each other and are over the moon. It is dinner time and Michael’s table of friends stands tall compared to Colin’s empty table. Michael then announces that the ban for his friends to talk with Colin has been lifted as it is too exhausting to stay mad anymore. He goes up to his table and has fun chit-chatting. The mortgage thing is just about to come up as a drunk Teresa, the mother of one of the Jonathans gives a toast. She actually cites the splitting up of Michael and Colin as the reason why her son went ahead with the decision to marry. Both exes take it like champs and revel in the celebrations. Colin then expresses to Michael that he wasn’t unhappy in their relationship. What prompted him to separate was an urge to write new pages in his life every day and not have his fate decided beforehand. The mundane continuity of domestic life was suffocating for him and he decided to act on his instincts. Michael says he is okay and relieved with his explanation and then mentions the mortgage. Colin is circumspect and asks Michael to give him time to think it over, “financially”. Surprisingly, Michael agrees and goes back to his table. They all dance as a group and Michael even has a dance with Colin. The group teasingly probes but Michael says it is nothing. They are not getting back together, but that maybe some day they can be friends. They disperse and each has a moment with themselves while going back home. When Michael arrives back to his apartment, he is shocked to see Colin there, waiting for him. He says he thinks he has made a mistake and wants to get back together with him.

## Appearances

### Season 1 - 8/8

* Chapter 1
* Chapter 2
* Chapter 3
* Chapter 4
* Chapter 5
* Chapter 6
* Chapter 7
* Chapter 8