MIX TAPE. tue and wed 9pm bbc 2 - TV PACE.NO SPOILERS

[Blondeshavemorefun]

new 4 part drama. On tue and Wed x 2 weeks

Sometimes all we want to watch is a swoon-worthy romance, and a nostalgic new BBC series sounds exactly like the kind of telly we need right now – especially if you loved One Day, Normal People and hit 2000 movie High Fidelity.

Based on the novel of the same name, Mix Tape will take viewers from 1980s Sheffield to the present day, with our leading couple connected by the power of music.

Already winning awards (Mix Tapewon the SXSW 2025 TV Spotlight Audience Award,) the four-part series has now been acquired by the BBC, ready to stream later this summer.

Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, said: "Accompanied by an absolutely cracking '80s soundtrack, Mix Tape is an enjoyable blend of nostalgia, romance and heartbreak – it really is the perfect summer treat!"

Mix Tape: Plot
The story, adapted from Jane Sanderson's novel, follows Daniel and Alison from their '80s teenage romance to the modern-day reality of their adult relationships while living on opposite sides of the world.

The synopsis reads: "In Sheffield, 1989, teenagers Daniel and Alison meet at a house party and bond over their shared love for music.

The relationship they forge that night follows them forever, and leave them wondering what could have been.

"Twenty years later, Daniel is in Sheffield, and Alison in Sydney. Despite the distance, Daniel reaches out to Alison in the hope that they might be able to rekindle that spark that once illuminated their young lives.

"The pair reconnect through a song from their shared past and explore their burning curiosity to understand if this is the love, and the life, they were meant to have."

Mix Tape: Cast
Teresa Palmer (The Clearing, The Fall Guy) and Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe, Cloud Atlas) will lead the cast as Alison and Daniel in the present day. Florence Hunt (Bridgerton, Cursed) and Rory Walton-Smith will play the young couple in the '80s.

Mix Tape: Trailer
Filmed on location in Dublin and Sydney, Mix Tape has already aired in Australia,

We watched the final two episodes last night. I kind of wandered off midway through episode four. I think the book had more of the “after” but am not minded to go back and re-read it.

I’d seen a review of the show which compared it to Normal People which was a book I couldn’t read and show I gave up on after episode one, so maybe this just wasn’t for me. I’m glad I watched it though. I really enjoyed the young parts, less so the present day bits.

Have watched the first episode. Mix tape brought back so many memories 😁

The young him comes across too dismissive, for my liking, but I'm going to stick with it simply because it's not a murder/maverick detective drama!

I’ve watched the third one now and it makes me so mad at myself, for chucking all my tapes out years ago!

Oh it's that same actress we just watched in The Last Anniversary!

I’m on episode two and I’m enjoying it.

I couldn’t place the actress playing Alison, it’s Diana from A Discovery of Witches!

Hmm, sort of like it but I can’t grasp the timeline. If they’re 16ish in the mid 80s, how are they only about 40 as adults? I also don’t get the bus they showed - surely wrong colour and age?!

I’ve watched it all now and enjoyed it. I could have bet which song they played at the end!
It’s sort of left on a cliffhanger, what happens next, or is that for you to decide? Or will there be a follow on series?
And I much preferred the young actors, I could take to them, but I couldn’t to older Alison.

Agree re Alison. Hard to believe it’s the same person. Watching the last episode tonight!

I loved the actors who played the young Alison and Dan. Mesmerising. But the older ones had less chemistry. The Ozzie actress is not very expressive. I saw her in The Last Anniversary too and she just lacks emotional depth. Whereas my heart melted for the young Alison.

I quite enjoyed it. But there were lot sof convenient plot devices to make the ending happen, that were real cliches.

Still, it reminded me of growing up not very rich in the North of England, and lads making you mix tapes - all of which was very cute.

Definitely. I'm from Sheffield, we didn't have those buses and it was going to a destination that doesn't exist!

Me too

No spoilers but am I the only one who didn't think her husband (Michael) was that bad? She shut him out and she did choose to go to Aus with him!

It showed in the counselling that he was controlling her, so yes, I’d say he was bad.

Just finished watching and brought back so many memories. Agree about the casting of adult Alison, surely they should at least given her the same eye colour!

Also that actress isn’t even 40! Neither adult looked old enough to have been 17 late 80s, even with all the aging makeup on Alison. Shame it wasn’t cast more thoughtfully.

Finished it last night and loved the 80s parts but not the modern ones. The young Alison was brilliant. The older one was totally miscast, completely unbelievable as an older version of that character. Dan’s wife was odd casting as well.

Yes I suppose that's another way of looking at it him being controlling.

In that interview with Jim Sturgess it seems like the Aussie actress was his choice as she missed out on a part with him in the past.

Only just caught up with this as there were quite a few dramas on last week .

I didn't like it at first but then it drew me in . Like most , I wasn't keen on the older Alison , she had kept so much to herself , was closed off .

Unless the book is different , I think the timelines are accurate though . Blondes' opening post says Ali and Dan met in 1989 and Dan reached out 20 years later .

He was totally controlling. Telling her what to wear, belittling her writing, speaking at her book launch, bullying their daughter to have an abortion. He tracked her car, followed her when she went out and turned up at Sheila’s demanding that ‘his’ wife goes home. Not to mention the ‘you’re mine’ when they were having sex. He was a horrible man.

I've finished it as well. Won't give anything away, but I also wasn't keen on adult Alison actor. She was nothing like her child-self in looks or personality, but adult Dan resembled his child equivlaent in looks and character so at least they got that right!
To me it's obvious it's filmed in Ireland - the style of the houses and I noticed an Irish-looking street sign (green).

I've still got my "mix tape" cassettes, or "Various" as I called them. Don't play them very often, but I think they're a treasure trove of songs I'd probably have forgotten about otherwise. Plus, I spent hours taping them and trying to do seamless joins with the pause button, lol.

The book is different. They meet initially on new year's eve 1978 and Dan messages Alison on Twitter, not Facebook, in 2012. Some of the songs are different.

Just to say that The Veil on C4 is worth mentioning.

Just watched episode 2
Wasn't expecting that ending

Can we not talk about future episodes please if this is a TV pace thread