With just one standalone season, this roamnce drama makes the perect binge-watch
If you can’t get enough of Pride and Prejudice’s lovers-to-haters trope, there’s a modern version with all the complications of 21st-century love, and it’s equally as heartbreaking.
First a renowned best-selling novel by Sally Rooney, the show was later adapted to the TV screen and transformed into a story that shook the world. As viewers continue to discover it, they are continuously moved by the award-winning acting and “devastating” love affair.
Normal People, when it was first released in 2020, was thought to have given BBC Three its best ever week on iPlayer as it received over 16.2 million programme requests. Since then, it has become a culture reference point, and yet there are still many TV fans who are yet to give it a go.
The Irish BBC drama follows two central characters, Marianne Sheridan, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Connell Waldron, played by Paul Mescal, and their tumultuous relationship as it grows from secondary school to university. Over the course of their young adult lives we see how their relationship changes, friendship dynamics shift and childhood traumas grow to the forefront in a tragic display of modern love.
One fan of the show wrote a review on Rotten Tomatoes, saying: “Normal People is a quietly devastating and profoundly moving exploration of first love and human connection.
“Anchored by the remarkable performances of Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, the series captures the subtle chemistry, vulnerability, and emotional depth of its central characters with exquisite precision.”
It’s a slow burn across 12 episodes, but as one fan claims, it’s “the BEST drama series” they’ve ever seen. Writer Sally Rooney worked alongside Alice Birch and Mark O’Rowe to develop their lives from the paper to fit a linear story on screen, and it was directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald.
The TV show’s viewings broke BBC records(Image: PA)
It was the sheer chemistry between the two performers that helped to propel the show and continues to draw new viewers in. Whether it’s the realistic and sultry sex scenes or their kind and gentle dialogue between one another, the characters resonate with viewers and helped to launch the actors’ careers.
Another review says: “Sublime. One of the best of its kind I’ve ever seen. Daisy and Paul are perfect in every way. You really are with them every step of the way.”
Similar to popular period dramas, their relationship begins in secret, but as they both begin seeing other people and their lives begin to take shape, it grows more and more complicated. It’s impossible for the two of them to be friends, and yet they know that being together won’t work in the way that they hope it would.
One fan summed it up well by writing: “Real, raw and vulnerable. This highly emotional show had me hooked from the beginning.”
All 12 “moving” episodes of BBC’s Normal People are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer, Netflix and Disney+, but it’s advised you come armed with tissues, as viewers couldn’t help but cry.