Love Life (TV Review)
The new Stan rom-com series exploring love, relationships and life. Keighley Bradford gives ‘Love Life’ the YAK stamp of approval.
Love Life (2020) is a new rom-com series, starring no other than the talented Anna Kendrick as the lead. Presented by HBO Max, the show launched on 27 May, on Stan, and has already been approved a renewal for Season Two only a few weeks in.
We start off this series with Darby Carter (Kendrick), a museum tour guide in New York City, and her first love, Augie Jeong. Following Augie’s departure to follow his dreams, Darby’s love life transitions between a series of casual hookups, short term flings, and serious relationships, but what sets Love Life out from your typical young New Yorker romance is they have re-defined the concept of love by expanding and encompassing some of the closer pre-existing relationships in Darby’s life, such as those with her friends and family.
“Some relationships are not meant to last. Others seem obviously pointed toward forever. And then there are ones that are less clear cut.” – Narrator, Love Life
Darby begins this journey as a hopeless romantic with big dreams about how she sees her life, but through these experiences, Darby is forced to learn and grow, which we see as she slowly builds new expectations of what she wants her life to be.
This series is staged around the journey of love; however, it certainly runs much deeper than this, focusing on personal growth and other realities of life. What makes this show so addictive is, in some way or another – be it our dreams, our aspirations, or even our past experiences, the narrative resonates with each of us. In addition to many relatable moments, the character of Narrator adds a whole other element to the narrative construct which keeps audiences hooked with intrigue. While the narrator’s accuracy of these anecdotes and commentaries may be up for debate, it is a strong theme and motif within each episode which adds value to the storyline.
“…by the time the average person ends up with the love of their life, they will have been in seven relationships. Of those, two are often long-term relationships, while the rest are a mix of short-term flings, casual dating and one-night stands. The average person will also fall in love two of those times, and have their heart broken twice as well.” – Narrator, Love Life
While the series is only ten episodes long, it does not disappoint, and ends on a sweet level of satisfaction rather than a cliff-hanger – and for good reason. Showrunner, Bridget Bedard, and creator and co-showrunner, Sam Boyd, noted in an interview with LA Times, they intend for each season of Love Life to follow a new protagonist’s journey, with the aspiration to represent persons regardless of gender, age, race and sexual orientation.
If you love rom-coms, then I highly recommend you give Love Life a watch.
Intrigued? All episodes of Season One of Love Life are currently streaming on Stan.
“I just want to be the kind of woman who knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to go after it.” – Darby, Love Life
Feature Image: Alice Kjoller, Yak Media Designer
