Round Two: Modern Love

Modern Love: Season 1, Episode 2 “When Cupid Is a Prying Journalist” (B)

I enjoyed the first episode of this anthology series, and this second one is a decent follow-up, but there’s just something so expected about the structure and feel of this show. The two seemingly lost romances in this installment were endearing, yet neither of them proved to be absolutely magical or energizing in a way that I would have thought this show might be able to achieve. I did recognize all four members of the guest cast, starting with Dev Patel, who earned his first Oscar nomination for “Lion” a few years ago after earlier strong work in “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Newsroom.” I knew right away that it was Caitlin McGee, star of the already-cancelled freshman drama “Bluff City Law,” as the woman who immediately enchanted him and who he then couldn’t get out of his mind. I associated Catherine Keener and Andy Garcia with two relatively melancholy projects, Keener in the dismal war correspondent drama “War Story” and Garcia with his portrayal of the Georgian president in the film “5 Days of War.” Here, there were a bit more charming, with Keener in particular demonstrating a vulnerability and softness that doesn’t often come with the characters she plays. The title is a misnomer since Keener’s character hardly had to pry anything out of Patel’s eager dreamer before he started telling her the whole story, and I liked that he seemed just as genuinely interested in hearing about her missed opportunity even though she was the one interviewing him. Let’s see how episode three is.