Long Story Short (TV series)

In 1996, the Schwooper family are traveling by car to the funeral of Naomi's mother. During the journey, Yoshi cannot stop poking at Shira, and Avi discusses with his parents the Jewish non-belief in the concept of Heaven.

In 2004, Avi brings his girlfriend Jen to his childhood home to meet his seemingly dysfunctional family. Naomi acts stand-offish towards Jen by making passive-aggressive comments towards her. The conflict is only exacerbated when Jen gifts Naomi a vase, which Naomi complains about having to find something to put in it, and Jen uses the wrong sponge to wash some dishes that were kosher. The couple attend Avi's brother Yoshi's bar mitzvah, where Yoshi has an existensial crisis prior to the candle lighting ceremony after his friend Danny Wegbreit denounces the existence of God. The situation worsens when Jen is announced to light the last candle; a spot that had been reserved for Yoshi's Uncle Barry until Naomi changed the names on the call sheet. The ceremony ends with Naomi and Uncle Barry having a physical altercation as a flower arrangement burns down due to Naomi's interference with Jen lighting her candle. Naomi and Barry make amends and attempt to revitalize the party, encouraging everyone to dance.

After the bar mitzvah, Jen and Avi fly back and reaffirm their mutual affection.

In 2022, as the episode ends, an older Avi sits alone in a car, with the Paul Simon song "The Obvious Child" playing.

In 1991, the siblings and Naomi are at Jersey Shore with Naomi's sisters. Avi and Shira play "lifeguard" until Avi's older cousins pressure him into playing with them instead, leaving Shira alone in the water.

In 2014, Shira and her wife Kendra want to conceive a child. While attending a Christmas pageant show starring Hannah, Avi and Jen's daughter, Shira asks Avi to donate his sperm, leading to an awkward falling out between the siblings where they argue throughout the venue. Shira ends up opening up about her traumas, including the time at the beach in 1991, where she reveals she almost drowned and had to be saved by a stranger after Avi left her alone. Avi does not take her trauma seriously. Shira also berates Avi for not checking in regularly with the rest of the family. The two ultimately reconcile, although Shira no longer wants Avi as her and Kendra's sperm donor and instead asks Yoshi, but does not tell Yoshi he was her second choice. After the show, Avi tells Jen he appreciates her and ponders the idea of giving Hannah a sibling, to which Jen reacts awkwardly.

Meanwhile, during the production, Jen is approached by Hannah's dance teacher, a homosexual French man by the name of Jean-Pierre, who asks for her help during the show. Jen helps make new costumes for the girls, as the previous ones were too big, which causes Jean-Pierre to try and kiss her. She rejects him and he reveals he is actually American, straight and single. Back in the audience, Kendra, who was tasked with saving Avi, Shira and Jen's seats ends up giving two preteen girls relationship advice. When they ignore her, Kendra happily realizes that, as a mother, she would only be seen as such rather than for the color of her skin; something she had been insecure about at the start of the episode.

In 2006, Naomi and Elliot learn of Yoshi's diagnoses of ADHD and executive dysfunction, and the psychologist reveals, in rare cases, they can be caused by cleaning a baby's pacifier by rubbing it on a shirt—to which Elliot sheepishly admits, infuriating Naomi.

In 2013, after being dismissed from his latest job, Yoshi is due to attend a job interview for a factory set up by Naomi and Elliot. On his way there, he meets a stranger with an expensive car who takes a liking to Yoshi. The man takes Yoshi to his startup business "TAMIT" (There's A Mattress In There), a company selling mattresses which deploy out of cans for convenience, and offers him a position. Yoshi buys hundereds of TAMIT cans to sell and initially does very poorly, causing Naomi to doubt him, although Elliot shows him support. Eventually, however, Yoshi is able to sell all of the cans taking up his family's garage. Naomi advises Yoshi to seek new opportunities, but Yoshi doubles down and requests Elliot, a professor, to set up a meeting between Yoshi and his university's dean so he can pitch selling TAMIT to college students. The meeting is successful and Yoshi tells 10,000 mattresses, but they are recalled when it is found the TAMIT cans randomly detonate, causing property damage and injuries whenever they do so. As Yoshi is removing the recalled mattresses out of his family's home, many of them go off, destroying much of the house in the process.

The episode ends with Elliot and Yoshi sitting outside, where Elliot reassures Yoshi. He tells Yoshi he won't always understand him, but will always love him, through a metaphor about Bob Dylan. The two sit and watch as more mattress cans detonate in the distance, with carnage being heard around them.

In 2012, Shira meets Kendra Hooper at the supermarket after they argue over Kendra having too many items for the express lane. They find common ground when they discover they are both Jewish.

In 2021, Shira and Kendra are preparing to enroll their twin boys, Walter and Ben, into elementary school. The two attend an open day and love it. Walter and Ben's potential teacher tells them there are only 12 slots left and invites them to attend an upcoming potluck.

Despite being a poorly skilled cook, Shira plans to impress the administration of the upmarket school by cooking knishes, a meal the now-deceased Naomi used to make for Shira and her siblings. At the same time, Kendra is attempting to coordinate work meetings remotely, but is repeatedly disturbed by Walter and Ben without Shira's assistance. Shira is successful at making the knishes, but throws them out when they don't taste the same as her mother's. Shira calls Elliot, who brings Naomi's recipe and takes Walter and Ben to their soccer practice alongside Kendra.

As Shira struggles to follow the recipe, Elliot tells Kendra about Naomi's cooking process and how she complained each time, intercut with Shira struggling in the same manner. Elliot says Naomi cooked knishes because Shira was a picky eater, but always ate the knishes, and that the struggle of cooking is part of the process as doing something hard shows your family that you love them. Shira then reads the last part of the recipe, where Naomi noted down to add more garlic as Shira liked the knishes that way. Shira finishes the knishes and is satisfied since they finally taste like her mother's. She goes to bed, only for Shira and Kendra's dog to destroy the knishes afterwards. Kendra then spends the entire night following the recipe and cooks them again without Shira knowing. The next day, they arrive at the potluck, only to immediately leave after Shira realizes it would be breaking COVID social distancing rules and decides to enrol Walter and Ben into another school. The episode ends with Shira, Kendra and the boys eating the knishes, with Kendra telling them Shira made them "with love", only for Walter to begin screaming that he wants pizza instead.

In 1998, Shira and Rachel "Baby" Feldstein play a basketball variant called "Horse." Yoshi wants to play but Shira will not let him because the game is only for teenagers. Shira finally lets Yoshi do one shot because Baby is hoping Yoshi will help her score. While trying to make a shot, he accidentally causes Shira to have a nosebleed.

In 2015, Yoshi is getting ready to help Shira and Kendra conceive a child by donating his sperm. He is given strict instructions to only ejaculate at certain times, with the sampling of his sperm taking place in the morning. Until then, Yoshi intends to stay with his friend Danny. On his way there, Yoshi crosses paths with Baby once again and the two share a meal at a new food truck. They then go to a bar, where after a spiky interaction, they begin to part ways. Yoshi realizes he left his bag containing Baby's purse at the food truck and the two rush back to get it, only to find it has left. They track it down to a neighborhood in San Francisco. On the way, their interactions becoming more flirtatious and Baby opens up about her failed relationship with Shira when they were younger. Eventually, they find Yoshi's bag and return to Baby's apartment, which is mostly barren as she is due to leave for Shanghai the next morning. Although initially hesitant, Yoshi returns and begins making out with Baby, causing him to immediately ejaculate in his pants, ruining his strict schedule.

Yoshi calls Avi, who arrives with a new pair of pants and proposes they use his sperm instead of Yoshi's as he is on schedule and shares the same genes. The two brothers consider not telling Shira, but decide to be honest. Shira reacts poorly to the news, especially after finding out Yoshi was with Baby and slams the door in their faces. Later on, after having apparently found a new donor, Shira and Kendra find out the latter is pregnant with twin boys.

In 1997, the family tries to play Avi's fantasy board game; Avi gets annoyed because they do not understand it. The game ends when Naomi discovers the game is set in Germany.

In 2021, Avi drops Hannah off at a bus stop, where she ponders the idea of having a bat mitzvah, which Avi reacts uncomfortably to. After speaking with Jen, his now ex-wife, Avi discovers Hannah was hinting at not having any friends. When Avi brings this up to Hannah, she casually reveals she cannot join any social clubs due to wolves being present at her school, which moved in whilst the school was empty during COVID-19 lockdowns. Avi attends a school meeting where he tries to address the issue of wolves being on the campus, but the administration are not taking it seriously. A group of concerned parents seemingly hear Avi out and invite him to a gathering, where they also don't take the wolves seriously and instead complain about menial issues stemming from their overprotective nature. Their leader, Caitlyn, also downplays COVID-19 safety restrictions, inadvertedly offending Avi as Naomi died from COVID. After the parents stage an obnoxious protest and get arrested, the school administration closes the school and move back to remote learning. Hannah is harassed online by her fellow pupils at first, but becomes friends with the children of Avi's new acquaintances by bonding over their dysfunctional parents.

Avi attends another meeting with the concerned parents, where they announce further plans, including starting a podcast. Avi leaves, finds Hannah and apologises for his actions. He acknowledges the other parents took things too far, but stands by his concern over the wolves. The two then travel to the school, where Hannah's new friends are enacting a plan to evict the wolves. Avi and Hannah watch from a distance as the wolves exit the school, with the latter pointing out the wolves' social behaviour and uses it as a metaphor for her and Avi's own relationship. The next day, Avi drops Hannah off at the bus stop once again, only this time, her new friends are waiting for her.

In 1993, Kendra's father gives her a princess party room at BJ Banana Fingers, a children's birthday funhouse, for her birthday. Kendra does not enjoy the gift due to her tomboy style. A princess sees Kendra not having fun and takes her to the skateboarding room, which she enjoys more.

In 2007, before she meets Shira, Kendra is a competitive floor supervisor at "BJ Banana Fingers". Kendra spends so much time working she fails to pay attention to the rest of her life, including her former girlfriend and her younger brother David. Her intense commitment escalates when she is accepted into a managerial training program. Kendra tries her hardest to excel on the program, much to the concern of her loved ones, who believe she is putting too much effort into her work life. In the midst of a stressful work routine, Kendra's father suffers a heart attack and she goes to visit him in hospital, where he is comatose. Kendra is forced to wait until he wakes up, despite needing to work later in the day. The combined stress causes her to have a panic attack, requiring her to now stay as a patient. Kendra's father wakes up and Kendra encourages him to slow down, as the stress of his life has caused him to have six heart attacks in total. Her father believes them to be a source of pride, as they were the biproduct of a hard-working life that enabled Kendra to receive a good education.

The next day, Kendra's boss demands an explanation for her absence and Kendra lies about celebrating Rosh Hashanah. Her boss accepts this excuse to avoid looking discriminatory. As Kendra leaves, another co-worker, Noah, questions her about being Jewish. Kendra lies about her lifestyle and Noah believes her, inviting her to his shul for Yom Kippur. Kendra later goes on a date with a Jewish man simply to find out more about Jewish culture. The next day, Kendra is told to fire one of the mascot employees and forces them to unmask, revealing the employee to be the princess from her birthday party in 1993. Despite this, Kendra reluctantly fires her, impressing her boss, but leaving herself emotionally devastated.

The following day, Kendra visits a synagogue and joins in on the prayers of confession. She breaks down over her firing of the employee, but finds comfort within the Jewish community.

In 1959, a young Naomi tries to get her parents and big sisters' attention, but they are all absorbed in their own arguments or tasks. She manipulates them by taking a butterfly brooch and stabbing herself in the leg, prompting everyone to pay attention to her. When they do, Naomi simply announces that she rode an entire block on her bike by herself.

In 2019, the family meets in Los Angeles for an intervention for Yoshi, who Naomi supposedly believes is addicted to some kind of substance. The intervention is framed as Naomi and Elliot's anniversary celebration so Yoshi does not become suspicious. However, when the rest of the family arrive, they begin to believe Naomi is lying and it was all a ploy to actually celebrate her anniversary. Tensions rise when Naomi gifts Hannah a mobile phone and Shira is forced to wear a gaudy dress and make-up at Naomi's request.

After Yoshi arrives, the family confront him on his suspicious behaviour, seemingly confirming he may be an addict. In reality, Yoshi is now Orthodox and is hiding it from his Traditionally Jewish family. In an attempt to play into the addict narrative, Yoshi secretly asks his friend Danny to bring him drugs. After showing his family the drugs, he pretends the intervention worked instantaneously and tries to move on, but Naomi does not believe him. Yoshi reveals his new Orthodox lifestyle, much to her dismay. Later, after dinner, Naomi tries force feeding Yoshi non-Kosher food. Shira defends Yoshi, whilst Avi blows up at Naomi for her reaction to Yoshi's new life, giving Hannah a phone and tricking everyone into visiting. Naomi is hurt and Avi's siblings acknowledge he went too far.

Avi apologises to Naomi, but points out her overbearing nature and how she is never satisfied with anything her family does. He leaves after telling her he wants to have a better relationship with her, but something has to change. Naomi then joins Yoshi in a hot tub and the two are able to reconcile after she reaches out to him about his shul

In 2014, Avi and Naomi are at the playground with Hannah; they discuss Hannah's biting of a kid in her class. Naomi blames Avi because Hannah is an only child. Later in the conversation, Naomi talks about the all-female, sibling rock band HAIM, and how she wishes her own children were close enough to do something similar together.

In 2002, the family attends a celebration for Naomi at the Jewish Community Center, which falls on the same day as Shira and Baby's prom, although Shira did not want to go anyway. Shira attempts to discuss their relationship, but Baby does not want to confirm if they are official or not.

At the celebration, various guests tell stories about Naomi, where they praise her qualities and her ability to see the good in people. Avi takes issue with this, as he is constantly criticized by Naomi over small things. He also realizes there are several things he never knew about his mother. During the celebration, Yoshi is also trying to avoid Uncle Barry, as he sold many family members some passover candy that failed to arrive in time and Barry is particularly displeased about it. Yoshi hides in a bathroom with his friend Danny and gets drunk on wine to cope with the situation.

Meanwhile, Shira decides to attend prom after all, where she finds Baby kissing a boy. Baby reveals she kisses a lot of people, including Shira, and the two begin arguing in front of everyone. Shira tries breaking up with Baby, who tells her they were never in a relationship to begin with. Shira leaves and rejoins her siblings at the celebration.

Avi, Shira and Yoshi are called on stage to make a speech in honor of their mother, where Avi struggles to come to terms with all the other guests praising Naomi, whilst he has a complicated relationship with her. Shira also breaks down crying, which Naomi believes is due to her finding the ceremony emotional. Yoshi drunkenly announces he ate Barry's passover candies in the bathroom, making him "even" with everyone he sold them to. Barry responds by slowly clapping, seemingly respecting the choice. Back home, Avi is puzzled at Naomi praising their speech, given its quality, but Yoshi reassures him to accept it. He then pukes as his siblings rush to help him. Naomi listens through the door and is happy, telling Elliot that the kids are "helping each other" before the two go to bed.

In 2000, Naomi and Avi are visiting Uncle Barry in New York. Barry is planning to move from New York to Las Vegas because he cannot afford to live in a big, expensive house since the death of his wife, Sylvia. Barry invites Naomi to take items from the house; she finds the butterfly brooch that belonged to her mother but Barry wants to keep it.

In 2022, Uncle Barry dies and his funeral is held in Las Vegas. The funeral will be the first time the family is all together again since Naomi's passing. Once in Las Vegas, Yoshi is visibily uncomfortable and leaves to get coffee, but is distracted by a cat, which he chases throughout Vegas. After returning and realizing he missed the entire funeral and burial, Yoshi decides to go back to Los Angeles, as he cannot handle another family member's passing after his mother's. Meanwhile, Avi and Hannah attempt to steal Naomi's mother's brooch, which is now worn by Barry's girlfriend. They fail, but Shira reassures Avi that Naomi wouldn't want them to get the brooch back, but to be together. He reluctantly accepts this.

Yoshi, who has stopped at a motel on his way back to Los Angeles, is visited by the rest of his family, who intend to help him celebrate Shabbat. They gather the necessary supplies from a local 7-Eleven, including candles, which Yoshi says they cannot light as the Sun has already set. Hannah volunteers to do it, as she is the only non-Jewish person there, and Shira shows her how to perform the ceremony. As the family partakes, Avi abstains, but imagines visions of his mother throughout her life performing alongside them. Everyone then tells stories about Naomi and Elliot concludes they need better reasons to be together instead of only attending funerals.

The next day, Avi is at the bus stop with Hannah and she brings up the idea of having a bat mitzvah once again. She believes it could be a good reason to have all the family together, but also expresses insecurities about her non-Jewish upbringing compared to her family, especially Naomi. Avi assures Hannah that Naomi loved her and that it doesn't matter "how Jewish" she is. Hannah leaves for school. Avi is unable to say he loves her (something he is also shown to do with Shira throughout the season), but she reciprocates. The season ends with Avi waving to Hannah and making faces at her, before his expression sullens as he sits alone in the car.