10 Unexpectedly Awesome Netflix TV Shows That Need Binge Watching

Set aside your misgivings at the awful, awful title and give this unheralded comedy drama a try. You’ll be pleased you did.

Created by Judd Apatow, star Paul Rust and his wife Lesley Arfin, some combination of the three had a hand in the writing of a significant proportion of all three seasons, allowing for a powerful and consistent voice to the usual ‘writers room’ feel of American television.

Running to three seasons, Love sees Rust play supposed ‘nice guy’ Gus, alongside his onscreen love interest Mickey, played to perfection by Community alumnus Gillian Jacobs. Addict and party animal Mickey is never an easy match for Gus, and the show delights in exploring ground that most romantic comedies don’t have the space or the inclination to even touch.

Accordingly, Love is unflinchingly honest and almost humiliatingly intimate as well as genuinely hilarious when it needs to be, anchored by a career best performance by Jacobs, who plays the role like she’s been told it’s her last time on television.

Love is searingly realistic in investigating the contradictory intimacies of this invented relationship, so much so that you wonder how much of Rust and Arfin’s own relationship is in the bones of the show. It’s heartfelt and really rather wonderful… just try pretending it’s called something less teethgrindingly pretentious.