What I’m Watching: Love Life (Season Premiere)

Love Life: Season 2, Episode 1 “Mia Hines” (B+)

I enjoyed the first season of this show, which debuted right at the same time that HBO Max launched back in 2020, and while I’d probably enjoy seeing more of those characters and their stories, it’s fun to revisit the concept with a new cast. What isn’t clear is how much Darby and everyone else will continue to appear since they could easily have not showed up at all in this episode but they did, and I have a feeling they may continue to make cameos to remind viewers that this show still takes place in the same universe. I remember finding out that William Jackson Harper, who I and most others know best from “The Good Place,” was going to be this season’s star when I interviewed him for “The Underground Railroad,” and I also had the chance to see him in another romantic comedy context in the film “We Broke Up.” I found it interesting that his character was introduced when he was already married, which doesn’t paint him in the best light from the outset since he wasn’t trying too hard to invest in his own relationship, instead pursuing another one with Mia that he wrote off as acceptable because they were both otherwise committed. Finding out that she was actually with Amar’e Stoudemire confirmed to him that it wasn’t a worthwhile investment, but he should have thought about the many sentiments he was putting in text that would be bad enough if the iPad he shared with his wife wasn’t synced with his phone. I kept thinking the whole time that she looked a lot like Zoe Kazan, and it turns out that’s because she was played by her sister, Maya Kazan. I hope we’ll get to see her again even if the prospects of their relationship succeeding don’t look great at the moment.