The very premise of Conversations with Friends is addictive – young twenty-something women finding their own world and getting tossed into relationships and affairs with people much older. But the show just seems lacking when you watch it. I’m not sure if it’s the slow pace that is more fitting for a two-hour movie (but the show stretches it over 12 episodes so over 6 hours), or if the relationships really aren’t as compelling as you would expect. Then again, I could just not be the target market for this show since nothing about it was appealing while watching the show.
Sure, toss in some young and “impressionable” twenty-somethings – who can’t have frank discussions as adults with their parents into adulterous relationships. Somewhere out there, I’m sure there is an audience for this show, but with acting that seems as forced as the drama that is created in the show – it’s hard to pay attention and even harder to continue to watch the show. You don’t want to connect with any of the characters, as their only very surface level, albeit beautiful people – but hard to relate to in any conceivable way.
The eternal optimist in me hopes that the series gets better as it goes and leaves the contrived and forced conflict at the door. But until then, these Conversations are ones that would be absolutely left on read.
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About Conversations with Friends:
Some relationships can’t be defined. Watch the trailer for Conversations with Friends, featuring an original song “Sidelines” from Phoebe Bridgers created for the series. Conversations with Friends premieres May 15, 2022. From the award-winning team behind Normal People, Conversations with Friends follows Frances (Alison Oliver), a 21 year old college student, as she navigates a series of relationships that force her to confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time. Also starring Joe Alwyn, Sasha Lane, and Jemima Kirke. Conversations with Friends is produced by Element Pictures and will be available on Hulu in the United States and on BBC Three in the United Kingdom.