Sitcoms come a dime a dozen, but so few of them are able to make a lasting impact on the world beyond accumulating a few seasons with moderate success on one of the big basic cable networks. A truly well-done sitcom is something that anybody can enjoy: a funny, light-hearted, and relatable show that can be made for easy viewing, but also tells a compelling story. Unfortunately, the last truly remarkable program that fits that billing is NBC’s The Good Place, which relied on some otherworldly elements. Those that are looking for a truly funny and enjoyable experience that takes place in a mundane setting might have to go back to Brooklyn Nine-Nine or even Parks and Recreation to fill that itch. That is, unless they look beyond regular television programming and into streaming where they can find the perfect show in Netflix’s Love.
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Love is a little different from the traditional sitcom and is more so a rom-com-meets-television, as the story takes place in a serial manner as the two protagonists go through the ups and downs of a relationship over time. Audiences won’t be able to just drop in on any episode and have a good time like they could with The Office or 30 Rock, even though those shows also have a loose narrative structure that they follow. That being said, though, Love does offer the easy viewing, relatable characters, and laughs that any sitcom lover would enjoy and needs to be exposed to a greater audience.
Love is Actually Funny
Netflix
One of the biggest reasons why a sitcom can fail to catch on in today’s media climate is that it fails to be consistently funny. Whether it be Rutherford Falls, A.P. Bio, or The Mick, countless attempts to craft the next classic have fallen flat on their face regardless of the resume of their leads, as Ed Helms, Glenn Howerton, and Kaitlin Olson can all regale. Regardless of how stacked the cast may be or how charming the characters are on the screen, if a sitcom isn’t funny, it simply won’t last, even if it has the support of being on a major cable network — see CBS’s The Odd Couple, CBS’s Man with a Plan, or ABC’s Splitting Up Together, all of which landed on Screen Rant’s article outlining the worst sitcoms of the last decade. Household names like Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, and Jenna Fischer couldn’t carry the shows past their cliché writing and flat jokes. After all, how successful can a situational comedy be if it’s not really comedic?
Love certainly doesn’t have that problem. Rather than relying on an established star to try to sell cheap jokes, the show leaned on the lesser-known actor but talented comedian Paul Rust as its co-star. His humor and timing are also deeply embedded in the series, as he was a co-creator along with his wife, Lesley Arfin, and producer Judd Apatow, according to Den of Geek. Rust’s quirky hilarity keeps audiences laughing even when the show delves into some heavier or harder-hitting moments. Appearances from comedy regulars like Brett Gelman, Mike Mitchell, and David Spade keep viewers laughing throughout every episode. Gillian Jacobs also provides her trademark sarcasm and wit, offering a perfect foil and co-star for Rust’s Gus as Mickey Dobbs — the love interest in the show.
Features Relatable Storytelling
Of course, no sitcom is complete if it’s just all jokes, all the time. A truly groundbreaking one will tell stories that audiences can identify with and invest their time in. As Love follows the growth, highs, and lows of a relationship between two people in their early-30s, plenty of viewers can identify with the themes in the series. What Love does better than nearly every other romantic comedy series is how well they portray the difficulties of dating and maintaining a partnership. Very rarely is either Gus or Mickey the clear and only correct person when they have an argument, nor are their spats solved with a simple conversation that magically dissolves all the underlying issues that caused the skirmish in the first place.
Both Gus and Mickey are very complicated characters — just like people in real life! — with endearing qualities and faults that they must work through, individually and as a couple. The relationship progresses naturally, they have realistic bumps in the road, and none of it feels forced, romanticized, or fantastical. Watching through Love will make a viewer nostalgic for the early days of the relationship but also glad that they are either currently single or settled which is a testament to how well they portrayed the duality of dating. None of the characters in Love are too over the top, nor does the show ever “jump the shark.” The narrative that they’re able to string together through three seasons is one that every viewer should be able to relate to, one way or another.
Genuine Character Development
For a show to have believable characters, they have to have flaws and development, but without ever becoming a perfect person: something that simply does not exist in the real world. Love does an excellent job of showcasing the faults in all of their important players, subtly without spelling them out for the audience. The show takes a character’s personality trait and slowly reveals why it can be problematic at times. Take, for example, Gus’ silliness. Often, it’s an endearing quality that makes everyone around him adore him for his humor and aloofness. But being too unserious will rear its ugly head in the real world, and Love makes sure that Gus can’t just be goofy all the time without consequence.
Instead, he has to identify the problem — or have it identified for him — and address it in a mature and progressive manner. It doesn’t mean that he can’t ever be silly again — a trope that can be found in way too many stereotypical sitcoms — but that he has to realize when’s an appropriate time and place for certain behaviors. This is one way how Love handles its characters and storylines with care, bringing resolutions to their developments that are both grounded in realism but also satisfactory.
