Modern Love Season 2 works better than Season 1 because it picks better stories to adapt

Paste Magazine

"As a longtime reader of the column, there are always certain installments that stick with you longer than others, whether it’s because the experience is aspirational, educational, or downright recognizable," says Radhika Menon. "Season 1 tried too hard to pick unique stories, and it lost some of the relatability of showing a tale that everyone can see themselves in. Season 2 course-corrects and focuses on more universal experiences, like falling in love with your best friend, questioning your sexuality, wondering what it would be like to run into an ex on the street, or meeting a stranger in your own rom-com-style meet cute. Ultimately, the standout episodes in Season 2 are often the simplest."

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• Modern Love Season 2 is a disappointment after a pretty good Season 1: "Most of the episodes blur together into blandness, with ordinary premises given unremarkable treatment — a woman refuses to get rid of her late husband’s car, strangers who meet on a train vow to meet at the station two weeks later (because exchanging phone numbers is so predictable), and a man and woman click after finding out their spouses are having an affair," Matthew Gilbert says of Season 2. "Alas, there’s just not a lot of spark and inspiration afoot, not a lot of urgent truths about love to ponder."
• Modern Love still doesn't work in Season 2: "One day, Modern Love might find the one. Amazon’s anthology of standalone half-hour romantic dramas based on the New York Times column of real stories – not that it would change anything if it were fiction – feels like a format that could scrape soft barbs across your soul at any moment," says Jack Seale. "Watching the second season make another eight stuttering attempts at the sublime, though, is to experience how rarely stars align." He adds: "That zone between glorious fantasy and saccharine indulgence is fearsomely narrow. Will Modern Love ever get there? It needs to drop its kooky mannerisms, perhaps be less hung up on A-list performers, and be brave enough to spend 30 minutes saying something pure with its whole chest. Until then, the search goes on."
• Andrew Rannells got to direct a Modern Love episode based on his 2017 Modern Love essay, “During a Night of Casual Sex, Urgent Messages Go Unanswered"