#WILLIAM JACKSON HARPER INSIDE JOB NETFLIX SERIES#

Some were loving, some were sexual, some were friendly, some a combination of all three, but each of the strands came together to form a neat and charming series about modern life and romance in an arty social corner of New York City. Three more episodes will be released November 4, with the final four entries available November 11.T he first season of Love Life (BBC One) centred on Darby Carter, played by Anna Kendrick, and the relationships that defined her life. “Love Life” Season 2 premieres its first three episodes Thursday, October 28 on HBO Max.

Here’s hoping he gets even better material moving forward - and if “Love Life” merits a Season 3, even more change is on the horizon. No matter how much you can appreciate the character’s journey, it’s not easy for any actor to carry this type of story, but Harper would make you believe otherwise. (He also gets to flex for real, via several shirtless scenes that should satisfy the Swole Chidi fanbase.) Despite his early distress and various drug trips, Harper never pushes into over-the-top comic territory, preferring to subtly shift Marcus’ base demeanor while building his emotional maturity. Because “Love Life” skips through time, hopping past months to land on the episode’s chosen developmental moment, Harper gets to flex how far he can stretch one rather mundane man. The fan-favorite from “The Good Place” has already proven his romantic chops, whether it’s in indie gems like “We Broke Up” or sweeping epics like “The Underground Railroad.” Here, he’s dialed in to each scene in a way that allows his natural charisma to blend nicely with Marcus’ fluctuating mental state. It’s a testament to Harper’s ease and attentiveness that he nearly convinces us otherwise.

#WILLIAM JACKSON HARPER INSIDE JOB NETFLIX FREE#

Its structure gives the show a free pass from any awkward conversations or tricky transitions it wants to avoid, and it leaves Marcus a bit hollow as a result - an archetype you don’t want to see yourself in, yet the show insists you should. “Love Life” is just self-aware enough to recognize Marcus needs to regret much of what he’s done, but not courageous enough to force any real retrospection. He recognizes what they mean to him and his path forward, but Marcus just coasts through the pain he experiences and inflicts until he doesn’t feel bad anymore. It’s not that Marcus is a mess or unlikable - messes can make for great characters and likability is an errant basis for judgment it’s that the scripts don’t acknowledge how his actions affect others, and he doesn’t either.

This is a guy who texts an attractive “friend” of a few weeks that she understands him better than his wife a guy who has a moral awakening after he sleeps with a college senior (who he’ll never speak to, or even text, after sneaking out of her dorm room) a guy who’d rather hook up with a girl he used to tutor than be with his parents on their big anniversary.Īnd these are just the early, non-spoiler-y character traits. (Rom-coms don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but they still have to get the details right.) All of Harper’s innate charms and nuanced deliveries can’t fully distract from his character’s innately selfish and shallow nature, even if they do create a slight disconnect between what we see him do and what we hear he’s done.

Unfortunately, that means spending the majority of your time with a fairly bad man, which spoils any shot of finding comfort in the clichés. You can guess the answers, as well as just about every step in Marcus’ 10-episode journey toward being a good man. Will they find a way to be together? Are they even ready for each other? Maybe it won’t work out. (The series still bases each episode around one of Marcus’ new relationships.) Throughout it all, Mia lingers in the background as the semi-platonic, perpetually unavailable friend.

#WILLIAM JACKSON HARPER INSIDE JOB NETFLIX FULL#

“Love Life’s” grounded tone prevents any of these understandable post-breakup dalliances from being all that funny, while each bump in the sidewalk still gets a full episode to go half-explored.

He’s sure of what he wants, then only sure he wants nothing. Marcus experiments with drugs, sleeps with inappropriately young women, and over-commits to the first adult prospect who’s nice to him. These steps should be familiar to anyone who’s seen a man go through any kind of early/mid-life crisis. Jessica Williams and William Jackson Harper in “Love Life” Sarah Shatz / HBO Max

William jackson harper inside job netflix