I recently watched the new series ‘Love Life’ on BBC iPlayer, and I’ve not written a series review in a few weeks so I thought I’d share my review of this fantastic new show.
‘Love Life’ follows Darby (Anna Kendrick), a modern young woman navigating her career, relationships, and friendships in New York City.
Starting when she’s young and just starting out her career, the series follows her all the way to the birth of her first child- narrating all the relationships that she has along the way.
Each episode focuses on a different person in Darby’s life, all while running in chronological order to see how this young woman finds her feet at her work, and finds the right relationships for her. There are a myriad of relationships throughout the show, from manipulative Maxum to overly-political Augie, and one night stands with a number of unidentified men.
This is supposed to be an honest tale of modern love, and a portrayal of the various relationships a young woman will experience before settling down with “the one”.
While focusing on Darby’s love life, the show also shows how she finds her perfect career, climbing up the career ladder and working in a successful gallery. Darby also must battle with her past, understanding why she has the attitude towards love that she does, and starting a relationship with her Mother which is fractious and fragile.
I really enjoyed this show. I thought Anna Kendrick played the character of Darby brilliantly, and I think it was a very honest portrayal of modern relationships– the ups, the downs, and the unexpected events that happen in life. Darby experienced heartbreak, casual relationships, and divorce as she went through the loves of her life. I loved getting a snapshot into the various men in Darby’s life as she struggled to find “the one”.
And the men were fantastic characters in themselves, some of them mean and some of them romantic, but all of them helping Darby realise who she is, what she needs, and who she really wants to be with.
I also liked the myriad of other characters in Darby’s life. Her dysfunctional friends, Sara and Jim, were interesting characters. I liked seeing how Sara matured and went through life, struggling to find herself as she becomes an adult.
I thought there were some really comedic parts of this show, as Darby matures and changes throughout her life. Darby made mistakes in all the relationships she was in, and the fact that her love life is not like a fairytale made this an honest, real, gritty representation of a young woman’s experiences with men as she grows up and matures.
However, there were a few things I didn’t like about this series. I thought the ending was quite abrupt, and after lots of episodes chronicling Darby’s life I was surprised by the sudden ending. I’m also not a huge fan of narration, but this series kept it to a minimum so it didn’t put me off too much.
Overall, I really enjoyed this show and I think it was a brilliant portrayal of one woman’s journey to find her “one true love”, experiencing heartbreak and disaster along the way. It showed the unexpected ups and downs of life, and it reminded me a little of ‘This is Us‘ in its honesty.
What do you think of my review of ‘Love Life’? Would you consider giving it a go? Are you a fan of Anna Kendrick?
Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below 🙂
Happy reading x
Not-So-Modern Girl 
I love Anna Kendrick and this show seems right up my alley! I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!
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She’s great 🙂 I really hope you enjoy it!
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I’m a sucker for anything with Anna Kendrick in it! This has been in my queue forever but I still haven’t found the proper time to invest in it. With shorter days I’m hoping to start binge watching shows again!
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Yes I really recommend it as a binge-watch! I hope you enjoy it, let me know 🙂
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Great review! I didn’t know about this series until I read this and I definitely want to watch it now! Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you! I know it’s one that I found by chance- I really recommend it 🙂
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I havent heard of this show, but Anna Kendrick is really funny, and I can see her pulling off this part. I’ll have to check it out!
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I hadn’t heard of it either! I hope you enjoy it if you give it a go 🙂
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I absolutely loved this show, and I agree, I think Anna Kendrick played Darby perfectly! It was a great balance of drama and comedy, and I’m so happily I stumbled upon it. I’m excited to see what they do for the second season. Great review!
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
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Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed the show- I was starting to think no-one else had watched it haha 🙂 I’m excited too, it was definitely a hidden gem
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It is the first time I’m coming across this series…. Awesome review 🙂
I love to watch series in this genre… I’ve just now completed ” The Capture” series….
I’m hoping to start this series from this weekend…..
Thank you for sharing this valuable information on that series 🙂
JENISH | https://knowafactfromj.blogspot.com
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Thank you! I hope you enjoy the series 🙂
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Anna Kendrick has been one of my favorite actresses for years. I haven’t had the opportunity to watch this show yet, but it sounds really good! I’ll have to check it out in the future. There hasn’t been much buzz around it – but sometimes that makes a show more enjoyable. Less hype to live up to haha!
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I am a fan of Anna Kendrick (her social media is goals) so I’ll definitely have to check this series out. Great that it’s on iPlayer too as I don’t have Netflix or Sky! 🙂
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Her social media is great 🙂 ooh get over to BBC iPlayer now then!
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I am a huge fan of Anna Kendrick, but I hadn’t heard of this series before. That being said, I’m definitely going to have to check it out. Thank you for bringing this to our attention!
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I only dropped onto it by chance! I really recommend it, it’s on BBC iPlayer 🙂
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I really like Anna Kendrick which is why we watched this. I absolutely loved the show. It was a great half hour, light hearted filler.
Great review x
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Thank you Claire 🙂 yes it was so light-hearted and I can’t wait to give it a re-watch at some point x
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