Love Life (HBO Max) S01: C+

I wasn't impressed by this first "big" launch of the streaming service HBO Max. Anna Kendrick stars and produces this show from creator Sam Boyd, who doesn't really have that much experience as a writer. I don't want to say that it shows, but there was definitely something off on this series that never really got me invested in it.

Love Life would be an anthology series, it was recently renewed by HBO Max. A second season would focus on a whole new story, with probably a different cast.

This first season focus on Darby (played by Anna Kendrick) a young woman trying to find love in New York City, each episode focus on a lover of Darby and her incredibly sad story with them. She really learns from past mistakes, but as much as anyone else she is not a quick learner. We can't really blame her for that, but in fact the best episodes of the season are when she is finally learning from those mistakes.

Kendrick is charismatic, but even with all that star light that she has, and that smile that can melt anyone regardless of their sexuality. She cannot save those first episodes where Darby is a complete mess and makes us think that the whole series would be a train wreck.

From episodes 4 to 6 we have a story arc that gives us a look at Darby's past and why she behaves the way she does when it comes to love. And those were the best episodes of the season, when we take a look at her past, as she is recalling it and learning where that pain and insecurity comes from, to finally move on.

The rest of the cast don't particularly shine and this was another problem for the series, because it kinda looks that they are not important characters, that this is a one woman show. The only one that manages to have some sort of story arc is her best friend Sara (played by Zoe Chao) and as much as Darby she is also a complete mess. Even though when they tried to show a friendship that complemented each other. If Darby was being immature Sara was the one pushing her forward and acting like an adult and the other way around. But both characters seemed completely out of control of their own lives. Never really bought that whole "we help each other" type of friendship.

Love Life is painfully romantic at times, Darby is the type of girl waiting for prince charming and we all know pretty well how that ends. And probably being so cheesy at times was also a problem that I had with the series, right at this moment, I don't fully buy this type of stories, maybe the moon and the planets are in the wrong quadrants for me and love.

For this series to be the first major launch of HBO Max is disappointing. New streaming services have to begin with a BANG in order to catch some attention in an already saturated market. Quibi is already downsizing its company after a couple of weeks of its launch. The are rumors that some layoffs would occur this month for the Jeffrey Katzenberg streaming company. I already talked about how Apple TV+ didn't really make a big impression. Disney+ is basically living from past hits but not really making that many new ones.

The next big launch for this streaming service would be the second season of Doom Patrol that was moved from DC Universe to this new service. Let's see how that show fares.

But Love Life is kinda a mess, just like Darby's love life.