Now Is the Time to Give Apple TV+'s 'Trying' a Try

Is there a more charming TV series than Trying? For 24 episodes, the AppleTV+ comedy has followed Jason (Rafe Spall) and Nikki (Esther Smith) on their journey to become parents. It all culminated in the third season finale when they formally adopted Princess and her younger brother Tyler.

For its fourth season, which premieres with two episodes on May 23, the series leaps forward six years, making Princess (Scarlett Rayner) and Tyler (Cooper Turner) now 16 and 12, respectively. The show skips over Princess’s tween years and lands her right when she’s the most curious about her birth mother and why she and her brother were given up for adoption when Princess was only five years old.

Nikki lives with the constant low-key fear that Kat, Princess and Tyler’s birth mom, will return. Maybe at Christmas or a birthday. Maybe at a significant family event (the premiere episode begins with a funeral). “If Kat didn’t come back today, she’s never coming back. I think we can afford to relax a little bit now,” Jason tells her. But Nikki’s fears are not quelled. “It’s been six years. I’m still so scared of losing them,” Nikki says. What Nikki hasn’t considered is that Princess may have questions Nikki is unable to answer. That even if Kat doesn’t come looking for her children, her children may come looking for her. (Anyone who has ever watched a TV show can probably guess whether or not viewers will meet Kat this season).