Maggie Alderson once said that your twenties are for making mistakes and your thirties are for paying for them. If you’ve seen Everything I Know About Love, you know it’s actually about surviving them with your best friends by your side.
The show dropped on BBC iPlayer and later Peacock, and honestly, it felt like a punch to the gut for anyone who has ever shared a cramped rental with three other people and a mold problem. Based on Dolly Alderton’s 2018 memoir, this isn't some polished Sex and the City fantasy. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s frequently embarrassing.
The chaos of 2012 London
The series leans hard into its 2012 setting. We’re talking about the specific era of Topshop high-waisted jeans, indie-sleaze eyeliner, and the absolute tyranny of BlackBerry Messenger.
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Maggie, the fictionalized version of Dolly played by Emma Appleton, is the center of the storm. She’s charismatic but exhausting. She’s the girl who thinks she’s the protagonist of the world, which is a classic twenty-something delusion. Beside her is Birdy (Bel Powley), the grounded best friend whose shift in priorities—specifically falling in love with a "boring" guy named Nathan—triggers Maggie’s total existential tailspin.
Most TV shows treat female friendship as a static backdrop for romantic plots. This series does the opposite. Romance is the catalyst for the friendship breaking, which is a much more painful story to tell.
It isn't just a memoir adaptation
While the book is a series of essays and personal reflections, the Everything I Know About Love series had to build a narrative arc. Dolly Alderton wrote the screenplay herself, which is probably why it maintains that specific, self-deprecating wit.
She didn't just copy-paste her life. She created a world where the house they live in, a drafty place in Camden, becomes a character. It's the site of legendary parties and catastrophic hangovers. You can almost smell the stale beer and cheap perfume through the screen.
There's a specific scene where Maggie realizes she’s being left behind because she hasn't "grown up" at the same pace as Birdy. It’s uncomfortable to watch. It reflects a very real psychological phenomenon called "social clock" anxiety. We compare our milestones—promotions, relationships, savings—to our peers, and when the gap widens, it feels like a breakup.
Why the Birdy and Maggie dynamic works
Bel Powley and Emma Appleton have this frantic, lived-in chemistry. They finish each other's sentences and then use those same sentences to hurt each other five minutes later.
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- The "codependency" trap: The show highlights how Maggie relies on Birdy to be her emotional anchor. When Birdy finds Nathan, Maggie loses her mirror.
- The realism of "The First Serious Boyfriend": Nathan isn't a villain. He’s just a guy. That makes Maggie’s hatred of him even funnier and more tragic. He isn't stealing Birdy; Birdy is choosing to leave the "girls-only" bubble.
It captures that specific transition from being a "we" to being an "I."
The music and the vibes
The soundtrack is a time capsule. If you were in your early twenties in 2012, hearing those tracks is like a Pavlovian trigger for a hangover. It uses music to ground the emotional stakes.
The fashion, too, is aggressively accurate. It avoids the temptation to make 2012 look "cool" by modern standards. It embraces the chunky necklaces and the questionable layering. This commitment to the era makes the Everything I Know About Love series feel grounded in a way many "period" pieces (yes, 2012 is now a period piece) fail to achieve.
Addressing the "Privilege" Elephant in the Room
Critics often point out that the characters are mostly middle-class, white women living in London. Alderton has addressed this in various interviews, noting that she could only write from her own perspective.
The show doesn't pretend to be a universal manifesto for every woman on earth. It’s a specific slice of life. However, the feelings of inadequacy, the fear of being unloved, and the terror of your friends outgrowing you are universal. Whether you’re in a London flat-share or a suburban basement, those themes land.
The Supporting Cast
The other roommates, Nell (Marli Siu) and Amara (Aliyah Odoffin), provide necessary friction. They aren't just there to nod while Maggie rants. Nell’s storyline about workplace dissatisfaction and her own relationship struggles adds layers that the memoir didn't necessarily focus on.
Amara’s pursuit of a dance career provides a different kind of stakes. It’s about the "dream" vs. the "reality" of a London paycheck.
What the series gets right about love
Most people think the "love" in the title refers to the guys Maggie dates. It doesn't.
- It’s about the love for a younger version of yourself that you eventually have to bury.
- It’s about the platonic love that is often more demanding than any marriage.
- It’s about the realization that "the one" might actually be the person who has seen you throw up in a taxi and still loves you the next morning.
The ending of the first season—without spoiling the specifics—doesn't give you a neat bow. There's no "and then they lived happily ever after." There’s just a "see you tomorrow." That is much more honest.
Actionable insights for fans and newcomers
If you’ve already binged the show and are looking for more, don't just stop at the credits.
Read the book. The memoir is structured differently and includes recipes, satirical emails, and lists that didn't make it into the show. It’s a great companion piece.
Listen to The High Low archive. Dolly Alderton co-hosted this podcast for years with Pandora Sykes. It gives you a massive insight into her writing style and the cultural conversations that birthed the series.
Watch "Girls" or "Fleabag" if you haven't. While different in tone, they share the same DNA of "difficult" women navigating a world that expects them to be "nice."
Re-evaluate your own "Birdy." The show is a great prompt to check in on your long-term friendships. Are you the Maggie? Are you the Birdy? Identifying your role in your friendship group can actually be a pretty useful bit of self-reflection.
The Everything I Know About Love series remains a standout because it refuses to apologize for its characters' flaws. It reminds us that your twenties aren't a launchpad for the rest of your life; they are your life. And if they’re messy, you’re probably doing it right.
To get the most out of the experience, watch it with your oldest friend. You'll spend half the time pointing at the screen saying "that was you" and the other half feeling deeply, personally attacked by the accuracy of the 3:00 AM street-food scenes.