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‘Love Life’ Marks A Promising Debut For HBO Max Originals With A Sharp Performance By Anna Kendrick
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ou may think you’ve seen HBO Max‘s Love Life already in countless permutations, and you might even believe that you’ve seen a few of these variants (Girls, Sex and the City, Insecure) on HBO. That assumption might even persist for a few episodes, but as the Anna Kendrick-led, romantic-dramedy series continues to unfold, Love Life evolves into a complex affair. Yes, we’re watching another young New Yorker looking for love in almost every wrong place. This protagonist, Darby, is also one of those 20-something New Yorkers who happens to live a life that resembles a lot of romcom heroines (good job, nice apartment). She pushes through disastrous relationships with all the wrong men while supportive presences float in and out of the frame. The set-up certainly feels familiar, but somehow, the show still feels novel in many ways.
Feeling fresh is a tricky balance to achieve. Yet there’s a hell of a lot of talent involved, both in-front-of-and-behind the camera, with Love Life. It also happens to be an interesting choice for HBO Max to slide into their first wave of original offerings that are timed to the streaming service’s launch. Will original shows weigh into people’s choice to pay for HBO Max (if they’re not rolled in through existing subscriptions)? That’s tough to say because the 10,000+-titled library will also get people in the door. Yet follow-up moves will grow more competitive for the Netflix and Disney+ rival, including the decision to release the nerd-divisive “Snyder Cut” of Justice League. And first impressions matter a lot, so Love Life has a large burden to shoulder, much like Darby, who the show follows for a decade, almost like a case study. (See, the title makes sense in that context.)
