Television series
Wanderlust
Other titles called Wanderlust: the 2012 film.
Wanderlust is a sharp, unflinching drama about a long marriage in crisis. When a cycling accident forces a couple to confront their relationship's dead zones, they make radical choices about desire, fidelity, and what it means to stay together. It's sexy and uncomfortable in equal measure—the kind of show that makes you squirm and think in the same breath.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like slow-burning marriage dramas where the tension lives in small looks and unspoken resentments, and you trust a performance from Toni Collette to carry a quiet, unshowy story.
Skip it if you want a story that moves briskly or resolves its questions neatly; this one lingers on awkward silences and the discomfort of couples talking around their problems.
What it asks of you: Six hour-long episodes, unhurried and deliberately quiet, with dark undercurrents of infidelity and frustration; you need patience to sit with characters who rarely say what they mean.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Normal People2020
Another BBC production that treats adult desire and messy relationships with rare intelligence. It's intimate, unshowy, and genuinely moved by what people do to each other when they love.
But Slower paced than you might expect, and the repetitive cycle of connection and separation can feel deliberately punishing rather than revelatory.
Fleabag2016
Phoebe Waller-Bridge's masterpiece about a woman avoiding intimacy through charm and sex. It shares Wanderlust's willingness to make its protagonist culpable, and finds dark humour in real emotional damage.
But The stylistic flourishes—fourth-wall breaks, rapid editing—can feel self-congratulatory if you're not already on board with Waller-Bridge's sensibility.
The Affair2014
Explores how infidelity fractures a marriage from multiple perspectives, refusing easy judgment. Each episode reveals new truths, making you reconsider what you thought you knew about these people.
But Five seasons is a long commitment, and the quality wavers. Some plotlines feel like they're spinning wheels rather than deepening character.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Wanderlust
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Togetherness2015
Both interrogate the fantasy of partnership and ask whether monogamy can survive honest conversation and real need. Both suggest the answer might be no.
An HBO ensemble comedy-drama about two couples learning to live together and falling apart in real time. Bracingly honest about desire, boredom, and the impossibility of sustaining attraction in domestic life.
But The comedy is deadpan and the drama is suffocating—tonal whiplash. It was cancelled after two seasons because it was too uncomfortable for viewers.
More like this (7)
Happy Valley2014
Sally Wainwright writes about damaged people trying to hold their lives together with bleak, matter-of-fact tenderness. It's darkly funny and emotionally honest in ways most drama isn't brave enough to attempt.
But The grimness accumulates—this isn't escapism. If you're looking for comfort, look elsewhere.
Bodyguard2018
Another BBC drama that trusts its audience to sit with moral complexity. A tight, propulsive thriller that's genuinely gripping, with Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden delivering career-best work.
But The plot mechanics occasionally override character psychology. It's slicker than Wanderlust, which might feel like a step backward if you loved that show's messiness.
The Leftovers2014
A show about grief, marriage, and what remains when everything changes. It's visually stunning and emotionally devastating, with a willingness to experiment that most drama wouldn't risk.
But Extremely dark and occasionally surreal. The mythology can feel impenetrable, and the pacing is meditative rather than propulsive—not for everyone.
Scenes from a Marriage2021
Limited series that remakes Ingmar Bergman's original with Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. It's a masterclass in acting and a profound examination of how couples destroy each other while trying to connect.
But Deliberately painful to watch. The conflict is so acute and unresolved that it can feel like punishment rather than catharsis.
The Fall2013
Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan in a taut psychological drama about hunter and hunted. The relationship between detective and killer becomes the real drama, charged with an almost erotic tension.
But Sexual violence is depicted unflinchingly. It's necessary to the show's moral questions, but it's not easy viewing, and some feel it crosses into gratuitousness.
Giri/Haji2019
A Japanese-British co-production following a detective torn between duty and family. It's visually inventive, deeply felt, and willing to live in ambiguity rather than resolve its moral questions.
But The plotting is genuinely confusing at times, and the tonal shifts between noir thriller and family drama don't always land. Patience required.
The Good Lie2014
Same compression of emotional crisis into a finite time, same refusal to let either character off the hook, same understanding that there's no way out that doesn't involve loss.
A feature-length drama following a single weekend where a couple's lie to protect their daughter unravels everything between them. It's tight, intimate, and builds an impossible moral situation with absolute clarity.
But Confined setting, two characters, no plot resolutions—it's all subtext and accumulated dread. If you need forward momentum, this will feel static.
