Newcity’s own editorial staff had scenes in the first season of “Easy,” Joe Swanberg’s Netflix anthology show, which the Chicago indie filmmaker wrote and directed in his usual observant fashion. Taking to the half-hour format, Swanberg goes outside his usual roster of folks with concerns like his own to feature characters from all across the social, racial and sexual spectrum of Chicago. There’s an episode entirely in Spanish (and subtitled). Familiar players from his stock company (Orlando Bloom, Jane Adams, Jake Johnson, Emily Ratajkowski) are joined by figures from all across the city as bit players, including cartoonist Chris Ware, Hannibal Buress as a Newcity reporter and Dark Matter owner Jesse Diaz. Making his time capsule of 2016 even more piquant is an eye for locations around Chicago, from cafes and bars to streets and skyline, of which a second season, in post-production, promises further bounty.
