Lovesick

Who doesn’t love a good sitcom? Created by Tom Edge and formerly known as Scrotal Recall, Lovesick is a British TV comedy revolving around Dylan and his group of friends living in Scotland. Dylan is a guy who finds out that he has an STD and is now facing a task to call all his previous partners and inform them of the unpleasant diagnosis. Humour ensues. The premise may be head-scratching, but as it turns out Lovesick is one of the finest British romantic comedies we’ve had in years. Great shows are sometimes given bad names - that’s why Scrotal Recall was renamed upon its second season and its Netflix launch in 2016. Now praised as Lovesick, the British TV gem shouldn’t be cast away as another British Friends rip-off, because it’s not one.

A Visit to a Sexual Health Clinic Kicks off the Show

Dylan lives with best friends Luke (Daniel Ings) and Evie (Antonia Thomas), sharing a house in the West End of Glasgow. Dylan works as garden designer and in his free time goes from one casual relationship to another. However, he isn’t a dude-bro sex-feat addict - he is merely an inept romantic. After he gets diagnosed with chlamydia he sets his mind to doing the right thing - he will call all the women he’s been intimate with to inform them of his recent diagnosis. He proceeds to do so and every episode is marked with a story of another girl. In a way, each episode is a walk down memory lane (successfully and cleverly executed through flashbacks) where we see how Dylan and his love interest met and how they parted. Each episode begins with a title card showing the name of a woman and it’s presented like a case, almost like a mystery. It starts with her name and it goes from there, describing the past relationship with hilarity. The flashback scenes are intercut with Dylan and his housemates Evie and Luke going about their lives in the present.

Lovesick ticks not only as a love story, but also a jigsaw puzzle style show that surpasses the whole ‘calling someone with unfortunate STD news’ as something seen as a gimmick. The show’s writers are merely using the premise as a frame to unveil the depth of love and friendship. The trio of friends consists of characters the viewer cares about; the audience is rewarded with emotional insight into their bonds. As the series progresses, important moments are revealed such as how Dylan, Evie, and Luke first met or what happened when they took a trip together.

When Regular People Fall in Love

Evie is a photographer. A sarcastic girl, usually single. Luke is shallow and often irresponsible, but an impeccable friend who would do anything for his flatmates; he works as an app developer. Together with Dylan, they make an awesome trio, who crosses paths with other main and recurring characters as well - fiancés, former lovers, university acquaintances, strippers and barmaids. Although the show hosts several guest stars over the course of the existing three seasons, the regular cast is superb, generating natural and warm chemistry. At the beginning of the series, the character of Evie is engaged to be married, but as the show moves on it becomes apparent that Dylan and Evie are the two best friends destined to end up together - they just need to deal with life's continual obstacles. If slow-burn love stories are your catnip, then your eyes will be glued to the screen as you’re binging Lovesick on cold weekends and any free time in between.

The show is surprisingly mature on the subject of love, especially taking the initial title and the general premise into consideration. Plot twists aren’t forced and mini stories within the course of the series never approach the levels of a soapy drama. Here, there will be no dramatic declarations of feelings. Instead, you’ll witness real relationships and how they actually feel like, in spite of pop culture postulates about love. Maybe love and happiness don’t always happen together, maybe true love can be felt with a one-night stand and it may never be felt in a long-term relationship. Lovesick is committed to exploring these notions, using the tools of clever writing and charming lead actors. It is a perfect 24-minute format show, so feel free to hop to it.