Love is messy. It’s not always a bouquet of roses or a slow-dance in the rain, and honestly, that’s exactly why the Modern Love TV series found such a massive audience on Amazon Prime Video. Based on the iconic New York Times column, this anthology didn't just try to sell us a fairy tale. It gave us the gritty, the awkward, and the sometimes devastating reality of human connection in a world that feels increasingly disconnected.
Remember the episode with Anne Hathaway? "Take Me as I Am, Whoever I Am." It wasn't just about dating; it was a raw, neon-lit portrayal of living with bipolar disorder while trying to maintain the facade of a "normal" romantic life. That’s the magic here. The show treats a platonic bond with a doorman with the same emotional weight as a marriage on the brink of collapse. It’s rare to find a show that understands that the person who holds your hand during a panic attack is just as much a "love story" as a spouse.
The Anthology Format: Why One Story Wasn't Enough
Most romantic dramas fail because they drag out a single premise until it’s paper-thin. You know the drill. Will they? Won't they? By season three, you just don't care anymore. The Modern Love TV series sidestepped this trap by adopting the anthology format. Each episode is a self-contained universe.
One week you’re in a high-speed car chase of a first date that ends in a hospital room, and the next, you’re watching an elderly couple find love in their sunset years while running marathons. This structure allowed showrunner John Carney—the genius behind Once and Sing Street—to experiment with tone. Some episodes feel like a Broadway musical. Others feel like a quiet, indie short film shot on a grainy camera.
The casting certainly didn't hurt. When you have Dev Patel, Tina Fey, Andrew Scott, and Kit Harington showing up for thirty-minute snippets, you’re going to get high-level performances. But the real stars were always the essays themselves. These were real stories written by real people who sent their most private thoughts to an editor at the Times. That DNA of truth is something you can't fake with a writers' room alone.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the "Modern" in Modern Love
A common critique I hear is that the show is "too New York" or "too wealthy." People see the brownstones and the fancy coats and think, this isn't my life. But "modern" in this context isn't about the gadgets or the zip code. It’s about the complexity of the labels we use today. We’re living in an era where "it’s complicated" is a legitimate relationship status. The Modern Love TV series dives into the gray areas:
- Open marriages that are actually failing despite the "freedom."
- The phantom limb syndrome of an old flame you haven't seen in decades.
- Adopting a child as a gay couple and navigating the birth mother’s presence in your life.
Take the episode "Hers Was a World of One." It explores the friction between a nomadic, free-spirited pregnant woman and the buttoned-up couple adopting her baby. It’s uncomfortable. It’s tense. It’s modern. It shows that love requires a level of tolerance for someone else's chaos that we often forget in our curated, Instagram-perfect lives.
The Music as a Character
John Carney’s influence is all over the soundtrack. Music isn't just background noise in this series; it’s the heartbeat. The theme song, "Setting Sail" by Gaz Coombes, sets a specific mood—wistful but hopeful. In an age where we usually skip intros, I find myself sitting through this one every time. It prepares you for the emotional workout that's about to happen.
Is Season 2 as Good as Season 1?
This is the big debate. Season 1 had the "viral" hits. The "Minnie Driver in a vintage car" episode and the "Anne Hathaway grocery store" scene. But Season 2, which dropped in 2021, took bigger risks.
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It went global. Sort of. It stayed mostly in New York and Dublin, but the stories felt more expansive. "Strangers on a (Dublin) Train" capitalized on the weird, shared experience of the early pandemic without being "cringey" about it. It captured that specific 2020 anxiety of meeting someone perfect right as the world shuts down.
Then there’s the episode with Sophie Okonedo and Tobias Menzies. It’s a story about a divorced couple who rediscover each other, only to face a medical crisis. It’s heavy. Really heavy. But it’s beautiful because it reframes "ending" a relationship. Sometimes a divorce isn't the end of the love; it's just the end of the contract.
Why the Critics Were Split
Look, the show isn't perfect. Some critics called it "sentimental mush" or "bourgeois fantasy." And yeah, if you're looking for The Wire, you're in the wrong place. This is a show that unironically believes in the power of a heartfelt conversation.
Some episodes definitely land better than others. In any anthology, you're going to have duds. There are moments where the dialogue feels a bit too "written," like something you'd read in a literary journal rather than hear a human say in a coffee shop. But when it works? It’s arguably some of the best television of the last decade. It’s a quiet show. It doesn't rely on explosions or dragons. It relies on the twitch of an actor's eye when they realize their partner is lying to them.
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Actionable Takeaways for the Modern Viewer
If you haven't seen the Modern Love TV series yet, or if you're planning a rewatch, don't binge it. This isn't a show meant for a twelve-hour marathon with a bag of chips.
- Watch one episode at a time. Give yourself space to breathe. Each story is an emotional meal. If you watch five in a row, the nuances start to blur together and the "magic" starts to feel like a formula.
- Read the original columns afterward. Go to the New York Times archives. Seeing how a 1,500-word essay was adapted into a visual narrative is a masterclass in storytelling. You'll see what they kept and, more importantly, what they changed to make it "TV-ready."
- Start with "Minnie Driver’s" episode. If you’re a skeptic, "On a Serpentine Road, With the Top Down" in Season 2 is the one that usually hooks people. It’s about a woman holding onto an old car because it’s the last physical connection she has to her late husband. If that doesn't make you feel something, you might be a robot.
- Pay attention to the background. The show is a love letter to cities. The way the light hits the pavement in the West Village or the way a rainy street in Dublin looks at 2 AM—the cinematography is intentionally romanticized. It's meant to make you look at your own surroundings with a bit more wonder.
The Modern Love TV series serves as a reminder that everyone you pass on the street is the protagonist of their own incredibly complex, painful, and beautiful story. It’s a call for empathy. In a world that’s currently obsessed with "red flags" and "ghosting," this series asks us to look a little closer at the human being on the other side of the screen. It’s not always pretty, but it’s definitely worth watching.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
- Check out the Modern Love Podcast. Many of the original essays are read by celebrities like Sandra Oh and Jake Gyllenhaal, often followed by an update from the original essayist.
- Explore John Carney’s filmography if you liked the vibe. Begin Again and Flora and Son carry that same "musical-emotional" DNA.
- If you’re a writer, use the episodes as prompts. Ask yourself: "What is the one story in my life that felt like a movie?" That’s usually where your best work is hiding.