Made for Love

I've seen the first four episodes. My guess is the other reviewer has seen just the first episode. I don't think the pacing is a bit of a problem, but deeply flawed and makes for an unenjoyable experience. Also the show dropping the viewer into the middle of the timeline and going forward and backwards comes as an artificial and compensatory gimmick that makes a mess of the narrative. (that is not a spoiler it is obvious in the first 30 seconds)

The set up is pretty much dystopian rom-com, and it has been done better elsewhere. Really instead of subtle dark humor, the vibe is just generally a drawn out creepiness. This all comes down to bad writing. The acting is quite adequate. Yoeman talent level for TV acting. The lead actress overdoes the quirkily schtick just a bit much, but it looks like that is more bad directing than an acting problem. The dialogue and screenplay are not clever by golden age of TV standards. Not even a sliver or bronze effort. There is an unevenness and a lot of tedious sections. Once gets the sense that the writers take the audience for granted. 4/10.

Cristin Milioti plays the charismatic, yet acerbic Hazel in this creative non-linear story about the ethics of technology, agency and relationships. It is an extended Black Mirror episode, a union of The Collector (movie) and Upload (TV series), presented with a cynical, sinister core wrapped in flippant humour.

MfL tackles serious issues without being preachy or pulpit polemic and the half-hour episodes allow for a brisk pace and regular changes of tack. Ray Romano is fabulous as Hazel's father and his issues reflect Hazel's from a different viewpoint.

This is well worth the watch.

This fascinatingly obtuse series adapted by the novelist Alissa Nutting from her own book has a vibe hovering somewhere between Black Mirror and Veep - about a woman escaping a seriously problematic relationship with tech billionaire and thinly-veiled allegorical caricature Byron Gogol. Not all of it works, it gets increasingly cluttered over the second season and some plot threads straight up dissolve away but the unsettling vibe and an incredibly strong cast lend it some serious weight. As a narrative reflection of contemporary issues around technology, assent and control it's super intriguing - as a straight up story it feels a little cold and lacking, the two combined make it a weird bit of TV that may genuinely end up having more to say in ten or twenty years than it does now.

This opens with Hazel Green (Cristin Milioti) escaping out of an underground hatch. She is married to tech mogul Byron Gogol who implanted a micro-chip in her head as his next great invention. Ray Romano plays her dad.

Cristin Milioti is a good comedic actress. She has those big eyes and sad face. She's a clown at heart. Ray Romano is doing some weirdness with some heart. It's a quirky weird sci-fi sitcom with heart and a take on the tech dystopian destruction of the self. It's a good binge. I don't know if it got good viewership. It got canceled after two seasons and a media merger secret doings.

3 episodes in, I cannot think of anything negative to say.. The cast is solid, the production solid, the story (get ready) is entertaining, funny, interesting, timely, relevant, well done, well told and, unfortunately in a sense, necessary.

But if you disagree, I'd respect that.