Is the Netflix comedy series Unstable based on a true story?

Premiered March 30, 2023, the latest comedy series from Netflix Unstable sees Emmy nominee Rob Lowe (Parks and Recreation) alongside his youngest son John Owen Lowe (grace point).

Created by the Lowe duo and Victor Fresco (Santa Clarita Diet), Unstable follows the relationship between Rob’s “widely admired, eccentric, narcissistic biotech entrepreneur” Ellis Dragon and John Owens Jackson Dragon, who is tired of living in his brilliant father’s shadow.

After the death of his wife, Ellis — the creator of the bruise-free avocado — struggles to keep them together. Despite their broken relationship, a cautious Jackson moves back to LA to help his clumsy father get back on his feet and get back to the lab, repairing their bond in the process.

Well, something like that. Considering Ellis Jackson says he wants him to be “exactly a version of [himself],” there is clearly still a lot to do.

Although Rob and John Owen have previously collaborated on projects such as the 2019 rom-com Vacation in the wilderness and the Unsolved Mysteries Documentaries of 2017 The Lowe Files, Unstable is their most personal collaboration to date. In that sense, is it based on a true story?

While Unstable Not technically based on a true story, the father-son duo steered heavily away from their real-life social media relationship when creating their characters. John Owen has been known for trolling and roasting his dad on Instagram (even replacing Rob’s face with John Stamos’s) – no comment section is safe!

“Yes, online heckling had gotten to a point where I couldn’t give an interview, whether it was on CNN or Jimmy Fallon, without being asked,” Rob said United States today. Because he doesn’t take breaks to prank his dad, John Owen chimed in, “Did you do a lot of CNN back then?” We can feel the grin.

In 2019, Rob posted a post-workout selfie on Instagram with the caption, “If you’re not wet from working out, you’re probably not working hard enough!”

After (presumably) rubbing his hands, John Owen commented, “The subtle art of taking a selfie before your Emmy nominations.” Boom, toasted!

Sure, the goofy central relationship is inspired by the Lowes’ quips, but Ellis’ wacky personality is a cocktail of several real-life personalities, including Elon Musk. Accordingly United States todaythe makers looked to the newspaper headlines for inspiration.

“We picked fun traits from a wide range of people,” Rob shared. “It’s a comedy about our modern-day obsession with brilliant and possibly insane billionaire innovators.”

Speaking of Elon, John Owen described him as “a man who has been given too much power and influence and doesn’t know what to do with it”.

In Unstable, Ellis uses his infinite strength to prance around his office in his birthday suit. There are worse things!

Seriously, John Owen knows what it’s like to grow up in the shadow of a superstar dad. With memorable roles in projects like The outsider, Parks and RecreationAnd 9-1-1: Lone Starto name a few, Rob Lowe is undoubtedly one of the most famous (not to mention sculpted) faces in Hollywood.

“Part of the show is about the humor and misery of a child who wants to emerge from his father’s shadow and can’t escape him,” explained John Owen.

“And John Owen’s answer to that was, ‘Hey, let’s do a show with Dad,'” Rob joked. “And that’s why I’m in therapy,” John Owen replied.

One scene involving a heated tennis match caught Rob’s attention. As he read the lines about Ellis interjecting Jackson trying to enjoy a serious game of tennis, Rob thought back to John Owen’s days on the court.

“I was like, wow, did you really think I did that when you were in high school tennis? asked Rob.

“Unfortunately yes, these scripts are an accurate portrayal of my childhood,” confirmed John Owen. While it may be obvious, it’s important to note that John Owen’s creativity was incorporated into the scripts. His unique perspective plays a big role in the series.

While John calls Owen Unstable “a documentary” (which it absolutely isn’t), Rob calls it “revisionist history”. Perhaps this famous father-son duo can agree to disagree.

Unstable Premiered March 30, 2023 on Netflix.