Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Lots of (mostly clothed) sex and romance in enjoyable show.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Love Life
What's the Story?
LOVE LIFE's creators call the show an anthology, because it jumps through time depicting the two leads in many stages of their lives and involved with many different people romantically and otherwise, working their way through jobs, friendships, and other entanglements. Season 1 stars Anna Kendrick as Darby, a young woman who progresses from relationship to relationship in search of her true love, and herself. Season 2 stars William Jackson Harper as a married man who gets divorced and goes on a similar search. Will they find the love they seek?
Is It Any Good?
Both Kendrick and Jackson are very good in this romcom, which isn't particularly strong on either the rom or the com but moves along pleasantly enough, mostly due to their charmingly off-kilter performance. Kendrick is a sweetly sardonic delight, whether she's getting bowled over by the sudden betrayal of a boyfriend, pulling support duty for a substance-addicted friend, or arguing with her neurotically needy mom (Hope Davis, also fantastic). Jackson reinforces that he's a leading man after his breakout in The Good Place. Love Life's structure is a little hard to grasp, true. The show starts out with the premise of investigating how Kendrick found "her person" by seeing her through a series of failed romances.
Yeah, except for after doing that for a few episodes, Love Life drops that construction and zeroes in on Darby's relationships with other people who loom large in her life: her best friends, her mom, her boss, who would be absolutely horrible if he weren't played by the incomparably charming Scoot McNairy. In fact, that's a bit of a theme with Love Life: pros who have done amazing work elsewhere, doing work here that's enjoyable but unremarkable. Executive producers include Paul Feig, the genius behind Freaks and Geeks and Bridesmaids, as well as Brigitte Munoz-Liebowitz (One Day at a Time, Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Bridget Bedard (Transparent, Ramy). Maybe it's too much to expect, that these bringers of greatness elsewhere will score every time, and certainly Love Life is no dismal failure. If it never gels into anything fantastic, neither does it curdle into anything awful.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how often TV shows center on relationships and romance. Why? What's compelling about the setup? Is it relatable to most, or many, people?
On television, people generally get together despite something that stands in their way. What stands in the way of Darby and Marcus' romances? Why are complicated romances more common than simple ones on television? Are the reasons why Darby's relationships fail realistic? Or not?
How does Love Life communicate that it's taking place in a different era than one we've seen before? Consider setting, costumes, dialogue, and other cues. Do you prefer to be told directly when something is taking place, with a date or time on the screen, or would you rather that period productions let you know the setting more subtly?
TV Details
- Premiere date : May 27, 2020
- Cast : Anna Kendrick , Scoot McNairy
- Network : Max
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Award : NAACP Image Award - NAACP Image Award Nominee
- Last updated : August 17, 2025
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