Starstruck

So not my genre, not cheesy, so cringey, so the type of comedy I do not find funny.....

Yet this show sucked me in like a vacuum after 5 minutes and spat me out at the end - it really is crazy, fun, well performed, unique and oh so well done.

Today's version of Notting Hill! I thoroughly enjoyed this story, connected with the characters and laughed in almost every episode. Definitely worth a watch!

Rose Matafeo's sitcom debut is quite a shallow story on the surface - being entirely about an aimless twenty-something who becomes romantically entangled with a film star. The series takes place over a year and manages to be both frustratingly inconsistent and strangely compelling. Whereas it doesn't have the emotional depth of other similar comedies, Matafeo and Patel have solid chemistry and the smartly framed deflation of romantic tropes helps give the central premise some real life. The problem comes whenever they're apart - and the series often feels colder the further you get from Matafeo, with the surrounding characters barely getting much agency or story of their own outside of their relation to her - which makes you wonder where the much-touted second series might actually go. The great Al Roberts feels hugely underused and Minnie Driver (as Tom Kapoor's cynical agent) barely get a look in, which feels like a huge shame, and the whole thing is shot with this wildly abstract wide-screen lens which looks dead fancy but robs it of even more warmth. So, overall, not as charming as it could be, but an intriguing start.

EDITED REVIEW - Originally given an 8 for Seasons 1&2 combined, down to a 5 when you include Season 3 (which is terrible).

There was a danger the show was going nowhere - and Season 3 has just proved it. Silly situations that force a retread of the same old ground, an unconvincing "new" romantic interest, the ongoing weakness of the supporting cast, and a very downtempo atmosphere makes it a hard watch.

When you find yourself booing Nikesh Patel's character when he appears on screen, you realise the charm of the first season is long gone.

Please do not make any more.

ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW: Season 1 is fantastic - brilliantly written, with a great performance by Rose Matafeo and many of the supporting cast, especially her flatmate Kate (Emma Sidi). Brave enough to explore the vulnerability and mis-steps that we've all made in relationships, with plenty of laughs and heartwarming moments.

Season 2 suffers from a lack of a clear dramatic arc. More supporting characters are introduced (which was necessary to broaden the scope of the show), but generally speaking they don't add much to the story, or are quite unconvincing. Still has a good share of laughs, but the relationship between the two leads is less engaging.

I would like to see a third season. But I'd also like the writing team to be a bit clearer about the direction they want the show to take.

Jessie is your typical 'Messy Millennial Woman' and comes ready baked with all the tropes you'd expect from that stereotype. Casual jobs she's not really interested in? Tick. Chaotic dating pattern of her own making? Tick. Speaks her thoughts with no filter? Tick. Being impulsive, flaky, spontaneous and self-destructive? Tick, tick, tick. What does Tom see in her?!

And what does she see in him? He's pleasant enough but dull and boring with no discernible personality. His family seem great with bags of wit - why did he not inherit any of those genes? He's a famous film star, is that the attraction? Why would MMW be interested in that? Wouldn't MMW take that Cinderella idea and reject it for the nonsense it is?

And together they are a terrible couple. They lack chemistry which is one thing (though if they had that the show would be much, much better). But here are two adults completely incapable of having a normal conversation. Jessie, forward and brash in nearly all situations, is suddenly incapable of telling Tom she likes him and recognising, despite all the obvious signs, that he likes her. Instead, inexplicably, the baseline expectation is that the other one doesn't really want to be there and just wants an excuse to go home. Maybe that makes sense in the beginning but after they start 'seeing' each other it's still happening and it's just daft - they never seem anything other than strangers speaking different languages.