Television series

The Lovers

Other titles called The Lovers: the 1958 film, the 1994 film, the 2015 film.

A Belfast-set romantic comedy that finds magic in the collision between opposites: Janet, a caustic supermarket worker with nothing to lose, and Seamus, a polished London broadcaster with everything to protect. It's sweet but unsentimental, funny without trying too hard, and genuinely interested in how two people from different worlds might actually talk to each other.

TVMaze rating3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like romcoms built on bickering strangers who are funnier than they are nice, with a sharp Belfast voice and a willingness to be unlikable.

Skip it if you need polish and warmth from the start; the early episodes are abrasive, profane and deliberately prickly, so the charm has to be earned.

What it asks of you: Six episodes of roughly half an hour each, so it is a short, quick commitment that rewards paying attention to who says what and to the bickering rhythm.

If you liked this

Normal People2020

Another Irish love story that trusts its audience to find romance in quiet moments and awkward silences. The chemistry between leads feels earned rather than imposed, and it's unafraid to let conversations breathe.

But Some find the pacing deliberately slow, and the relationship cycles can feel repetitive if you're looking for conventional plot momentum.

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Schitt's Creek2015

A fish-out-of-water comedy about privilege meeting reality, where snobbishness gradually cracks open to reveal actual warmth. The tone shifts from laugh-track broad to genuinely moving without losing its humor.

But The first season is broad and a bit clumsy. It takes time to find its emotional register, and early episodes might feel sitcom-standard.

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Fleabag2016

A British character comedy built on voice, attitude, and the gap between how someone presents themselves and who they actually are. It's whip-smart but never cold, and it understands that funny people are often running from something.

But The tone can feel relentlessly arch, and if you need your comedy grounded in plot, the looseness might frustrate you.

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Lovers

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Banshees of Inisherin2022

Both find the deepest feeling in characters who seem hard on the surface, and both trust that a great conversation is enough to carry a scene. They share a specifically Irish bleakness dressed up as comedy.

A Dublin-set story about two men whose friendship ends, told with bitter wit and sudden tenderness. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson create a relationship that's as complex and fraught as any romance, with dialogue that cuts and stings.

But It's claustrophobic and cyclical—two men arguing in circles—and Martin McDonagh's style prioritizes mood and dialogue over forward momentum.

The Banshees of Inisherin poster
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Catastrophe2015

Two damaged people tumbling into love through honesty and mess rather than meet-cutes. It's Irish-British cross-cultural comedy with real stakes, and it doesn't soften its characters to make them likable.

But The humor can veer crude, and the relationship drama becomes genuinely heavy by the end—it's not a comfort watch.

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Ginny & Georgia2021

A mother-daughter story that also works as a romance between two people with secrets. It balances soap-opera stakes with genuine character work and unexpectedly tender moments.

But It sprawls across too many subplots, and the tonal shifts from comedy to serious crime drama don't always land cleanly.

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Derry Girls2018

A Belfast comedy about outsiders and misfits that finds hilarity in specificity and cultural detail. It's warm without being saccharine, and it loves its characters without ignoring their flaws.

But The humor is very local and period-specific; if you're not tuned to that register, the comedic timing can feel off-beat.

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Love2016

An unglamorous, unglamoured look at how two flawed people actually fall into and navigate a relationship. It refuses to make either character conventionally appealing, which makes their connection feel real.

But It's deliberately shapeless and sometimes tedious—the point is messy reality, not narrative momentum, which won't work for everyone.

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People of Earth2016

A weird-premise comedy that's really about loneliness and connection. It mixes sci-fi with genuine character warmth, and it's interested in how broken people find each other.

But It was cancelled after two seasons and doesn't resolve its larger mythology, which can feel frustrating if you wanted a complete story.

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Killing Eve2018

An obsessive, toxic relationship dressed up in a spy thriller. The dialogue crackles, the chemistry is electric, and it's unafraid to make its central dynamic genuinely unsettling rather than conventionally romantic.

But The later seasons lose focus, and if you need your relationships to be healthy or your plotting tight, the messiness might derail you entirely.

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After Life2019

Both feature characters who present as too damaged or too difficult for connection, then discover they aren't—but they refuse to make that discovery sentimental or easy. Both trust that people can be awful and still worthy of love.

Ricky Gervais's most unexpectedly tender work: a man so angry at the world that he can barely feel anything suddenly having to engage with love again. It's gruff and offensive and heartbreaking in equal measure.

But The comedy comes from cruelty and provocation, and the tonal lurches between cynicism and sentiment can feel manipulative. Some viewers will find it mean-spirited rather than humanizing.

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