Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.
This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan join 5 Live presenter Nihal Arthanayake to review ‘One Day’.
‘One Day’ is adapted from the book by David Nichols. This 14-part series tells the story of Dexter (played by Leo Woodall from The White Lotus) and Emma (Ambika Mod from This Is Going To Hurt).
Dex and Emma meet at the end of their studies at university, and each episode looks at their friendship (with feelings) on the same day in each subsequent year.
Photo credit: Netflix
Nihal: "Hayley, is One Day a Must Watch?"
Hayley: "Yes, but it’s a small, lower case ‘yes’. I approached this from the perspective of someone who tried to read this book back when it came out and I didn’t like it.
"It was one of those books that everyone loved, and I didn’t get. But there are loads of those, so we can’t judge this based entirely on that.
"But I just wanted to explain that I was already approaching this show with a feeling like I am not really going to like this, this isn’t really my thing."
Photo credit: Netflix
Hayley: "So, when I started watching the show, I also didn’t like it. I thought it was kind of basic. I thought it was coasting on its soundtrack, I found the leads incredibly annoying, but in different ways and I just didn’t buy that they would ever find each other interesting. However, the longer you stay with it, it changes."
Photo credit: Netflix
‘I didn’t expect to like it and it won me over’
Hayley: "They change, they grow up because we’re watching them year by year, the stuff they go through gets darker. It’s really good at highlighting what it's like to be in your 20s working a rubbish job and having richer friends who don’t have jobs, come and visit you like they’re going to the zoo. That happened to me many times.
"It was also really good at showing how cruel it can be to keep stringing someone along through years and years. I think they’re irritating at the beginning because when we’re young, we are irritating and maybe careless with people’s hearts. This one is a grower. I didn’t expect to like it and it won me over."
Photo credit: Netflix
Nihal: "Scott, is One Day a Must Watch?"
Scott: "It is for me; this I would say is a triumph of a series. I have watched all 14 episodes, I did not expect to watch all 14 episodes in one sitting, I did.
"So, this follows Emma and Dexter at each stage of their life. Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall are just phenomenal in this, you completely believe their relationship. They are so compatible with each other from the off and their chemistry is absolutely unbelievable.
"I’ve been a fan of Ambika particularly since “This is Going to Hurt.” I think she has managed to be even better in One Day than she was in that show, and that is a real high bar."
Photo credit: Netflix
‘It is a show that will make you think about where you were in your life’
Scott: "With each episode following a different year from their lives you get to see how both main characters evolve. You see how trauma and fame and disappointment twists and changes a life and changes that person. And I think the way that you see these move their way through adulthood is just absolutely sublime.
"The attention to detail in this show, with each episode set in a different year, you hear the music from that year, you see the technology from that year.
"There’s been so much emphasis on trying to capture all of those little trends. It is a show that would make you, if you grew up in this era, make you think about where you were in your life."
Photo credit: Netflix
‘It makes you think about all the romantic mistakes you may have made’
Scott: "This show is also a mirror to your life. It will make you think about all the romantic mistakes you may have made, all of the people you may have strung along or may have strung you along. I think it’s a show that manages to capture love, falling for people you don’t expect, but also the risk of losing something so close to you, if you happen to get it wrong, or not being sure whether to make that step."
Photo credit: Netflix
‘One of my highlights of the year so far, this series is a triumph’
Scott: "The music throughout this series is absolutely sublime. You’ve got absolutely everybody from, New Order, Soul to Soul, The Cranberries and Massive Attack.
"The last couple of episodes, no spoilers, utterly gut punching, brilliantly acted, just leaves on a high bar, not a second wasted. This series is one of my televisual highlights of the year so far. One Day is an absolute triumph."
All episodes of ‘One Day’ are available to watch on Netflix now.
Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening from BBC Sounds and all other podcasts providers.
This week the team also reviewed ‘Alice and Jack’ and ‘Bring the Drama’.
