The Lovers series 1 review, unexpected and clever

The Lovers is a comedy from the UK. From the poster it looks like a typical romcom, but it is surprising, unexpected, and more than a romcom.

Janet (Roisin Gallagher) works in a supermarket in Belfast. She’s miserable and unhappy. She leaves work one day determined to kill herself.

Seamus (Johnny Flynn) is a television presenter in London with a well-known political interview show. He’s sent to Belfast in order to do a show from there.

On the first day in Belfast, Seamus is standing in front of a camera saying some ignorant stuff about The Troubles when a gang of rough boys start knocking him around and chasing him. To escape, he climbs a fence into Janet’s back yard just as she is about to pull the trigger of the gun pointed at her head.

So there’s a romcom style meet cute when the two of them save each others lives. The two of them clash over everything. Of course they fall in love. Seamus has an actress girlfriend named Frankie (Alice Eve) to deal with. If he has the courage.

Janet has a secret past. Well, so does Seamus. They argue and lie a lot while motifs such as suicide, politics, religion, love, forgiveness, and honesty percolate through the episodes. There are twists and revelations that are perfectly timed.

Janet thinks no one cares about her, but a lot of people do. Her boss Philip (Conleth Hill) is a father figure for her. Many people in her neighborhood watch out for her. Roisin Gallagher is outstanding as Janet. I’ve never seen her in anything before. Now I want to look up her entire filmography.

Seamus, on the other hand, thinks he is famous. He always expects to be recognized but seldom is. He and Frankie share their “perfect” lives on Twitter and Instagram and think they are happy until Janet throws a wrench in things.

For a comedy series about two unlikely people falling in love, I thought this series had a lot going for it. It was funny, but it was serious too. The first season is streaming on Acorn TV, AMC+ and possibly on Sundance Now. It looks like a second season is happening, but there’s no indication as to when it will be available.

With 6 episodes of 30 minutes, it’s a fast and interesting series.