Everything I Know About Love

The Cuffing Season Series - #4

Premiered June 2022

This series for Cuffing Season, may not entirely fit as snugly into the ‘romance’ genre but in a way it does. In its exploration of identity and friendships, it wholeheartedly spoke directly to LOVE and ROMANCE… Love of self, friends, family and partners is romantic. It is a dance that we all participate in whether we are aware of that or not. We may get twirled and lifted but we’ll also get our toes stepped on. Figuring out how to keep dancing and never losing the joy that comes from the dance is true romance. Below is my initial assessment of this series and after re-watching it, I’m thrilled that it brought me the same joy. So snuggle up with that hunny or your girlfriends, sister or self and treat yourself to romance…

This weekend I indulged in a series that kept popping up on my Peacock feed since I watched The Resort. The trailer struck me as frivolous and after the week I had, it was exactly what the doctor ordered. Another plus was that it is a British series! As a self proclaimed Anglophile and in the shadow of the end of an era (the death of The Queen), the setting of the series being close to the time I lived in London, well it catered to my nostalgia which always brings me comfort in times of turmoil. Following the lives of four female friends, newly moved to London post University, this series explores their foray into adulting. Ah to be young and have the world at your fingertips...

The lives of young women have long held people’s fascination. Their real and fictional lives have acted as muses for writers, artists, musicians and of course, filmmakers since the beginning of time. As complicated creatures that everyone, women included, seek to interpret, their choices and motivations are constant wells of inspiration from which creators drink. That was just a very convoluted way of saying that women are bewitching, captivating and enchanting. That desire to figure us out means an abundance of work dedicated to various times in a woman’s life. Of late, there is a preponderance of female focused productions, Everything I Know About Love is the one of the newest British renderings.

As stated earlier, this premise is not novel and to be frank neither is its treatment. It’s not especially serious or theme laden, like some of its predecessors, nor is it overtly camp or simplified, like other predecessors. What it is, is completely refreshingly honest or at least a version of it that feels authentic. The characters are flawed and messy at times and endearing and relatable. This foursome fully captured the essence of young women coming into their own as they figure out their identity and relationships with each other and the opposite sex.

Everything I Know About Love is based on the book of the same name by Dolly Alderton. A distinctly female voice emanates from this series and it is without the entrapment or influence of ‘mansplanations’ that many of these productions can fall into. This series doesn’t take itself too seriously, except when it does and when that happens it is golden! Themes relating to identity, friendship, responsibility, racism, and love are filtered throughout because quite simply how could they not be in a coming of age scenario. What was refreshing was that their injections were organic and not heavy handed or overtly highlighted. They were run-offs from circumstances as the characters navigated their lives, much like reality.

Though the primary voice used to tell this story was Maggie’s, the young actresses emitted a tangible chemistry between themselves. Emma Appleton’s (Maggie) and Bel Powley’s (Birdy) were the epitome of childhood friends whose friendship evolves after school as each learns to forge their own identities apart from each other. Marli Siu’s (Nell) and Aliyah Odoffin’s (Amara) is the supporting duo of the foursome, yet they each play a different role in their capacity and their lives are no less complex. As friend groups go, this quartet succinctly captured the dynamic without it feeling manipulated for the camera. It honestly felt genuine which is a testimony to the ability of the actresses, the writers and their directors.

Everything I Know About Love perfectly captured a period of time, Camden circa 2012 with the music and fashion and all the nostalgia that accompanies it. The series was equal parts exasperating, aspiring and wistful as it reminded me what life was like when I held my dreams in a paper cup and the world was at my feet waiting for me to jump right in...

Everything I know about Love is available to stream on Peacock (in the US) and BBC One. The book is available where all books are sold. Full disclosure, I did not read the book so I don’t know where changes were made and if it was for the betterment of the plot and its characters. That said, re-watching the series this week, reminded me to move the book up my TBR list :)