What/If

Did You Know?

• The series was described by Deadline Hollywood as a neo-noir thriller exploring 'the ripple effects of what happens when acceptable people start doing unacceptable things.'
• Each season was planned to tackle a different morality tale inspired by culturally consequential source material.
• Juan Castano plays Marcos Ruiz, Lisa's brother and an attorney.

Cast and characters

Jane Levy portrays Lisa Ruiz-Donovan, CEO and founder of the biotech startup Emigen Molecular Sequencing. Blake Jenner plays Sean Donovan, Lisa's husband and a former San Francisco Giants pitcher now working as an EMT. Keith Powers appears as Todd Archer, Sean's best friend and fellow EMT. Samantha Marie Ware plays Angela Archer, Todd's wife and a surgical resident having an affair with Dr. Ian Evans.

Dave Annable portrays Dr. Ian Evans, the chief of surgery. Saamer Usmani plays Avery Watkins, the new COO of Emigen. Daniella Pineda appears as Cassidy Barrett, Lisa's best friend and the company's CFO. John Clarence Stewart plays Lionel, Marcos' boyfriend and a real estate broker.

Louis Herthum portrays Foster, Anne's right-hand man. Renée Zellweger stars as Anne Montgomery, a San Francisco venture capitalist. Other cast members include Derek Smith, Nana Ghana, Monique Kim, Allie MacDonald, Gabriel Mann, Julian Sands, Marissa Cuevas, and Keegan Allen.

Production

Netflix ordered a first season of ten episodes on August 17, 2018. Mike Kelley created the series and was expected to write for it. Executive producers included Kelley, Melissa Loy, Alex Gartner, Charles Roven, Robert Zemeckis, and Jack Rapke, with Jackie Levine as co-executive producer. Phillip Noyce was set to direct and executive produce the first two episodes. Production companies involved were Page Fright, Atlas Entertainment, Compari Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Television. Renée Zellweger was cast in the lead role at the time of the series order. Jane Levy and Blake Jenner joined in August 2018. In September 2018, Samantha Ware, Juan Castano, Keith Powers, Saamer Usmani, Dave Annable, and Louis Herthum were cast. Daniella Pineda joined the main cast in December 2018, with Tyler Ross, Derek Smith, Nana Ghana, Monique Kim, and Marissa Cuevas appearing in recurring roles.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, What/If holds a 44% approval rating from 32 reviews, with an average rating of 5.35/10. The critical consensus states: 'A deliriously delicious performance from Renée Zellweger can't save What/If from its own mediocrity, but boy is she fun to watch.' Metacritic gave a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews. Haider Rifaat of The Express Tribune praised the writing, dialogues, nuanced characters, and Zellweger's performance. NPR's Linda Holmes described the show as not good but entertaining in a specific way, noting Zellweger's committed performance and the series' tendency toward revelation and glitter-bombed presentation.