Just finished. Hated it. It's no longer a romcom will they or won't they? and funny/light/frothy rather it's become a what happens after/relationship dive (nothing wrong per se, it's just the law of diminishing returns and tonally altogether different from the original).
It got a great review here for being deeper.
Problem for me being I'm not very keen on any of the characters anymore and if you're not invested in Jessie's happiness then what are you left with?
Interview with Nikesh:
"Tom and Jessie have broken up. And my hope is that viewers watching that are as dumbfounded as I was when I read the script. But without wanting to give too much away, the writers are really adept at understanding what viewers need, not what viewers want, if that makes sense."
Not really. I needed a laugh. I didn't need for Tom and Jessie to be back together but I did want to know what the straw that broke the camel's back was. I had the impression he wanted kids, she didn't (which is fine for drama and showing women who are maternally ambivalent is always refreshing) but it wasn't that clear and if it was meant to be a coming to terms two years after the split, or a post-mortem/realisation they really weren't right together, it lacked depth and detail.
Interview with Rose:
During our lunch, she’d just spoken extensively about turning 30 and how society struggles to categorise a woman uncertain about wanting kids as anything but “totally miserable” or “making a political statement”.
I know what she means but am not sure whether that's reflected in sitcom - in Sex and the City, Sam and Carrie were neither miserable nor political.
I also saw Rose in Baby Done (also on iplayer) where her character was fighting against impending motherhood.
(Interview)
“I wasn’t even sure I could do a third series,” she says. “I was adamantly against it at first. I couldn’t see what the story would be. And I wasn’t sure I had enough gas in the tank.”
After retreating into a writers’ room for a few weeks with Snedden and Kiwi co-writer Nic Sampson, they found fresh, fertile territory. “Season one was the romcom, and season two explored what happens after that fairytale romcom ending. The third one,” Matafeo says, “turned into: ‘What’s it like to have an ex?’
Perhaps why it became a dramedy without much edy.
There could have been more made from interactions with the ex. Tom was barely in this series and just came across as a disloyal, selfish sod. Jessie seemed more serious/burdened/lost her spark.
I am glad you all liked it/Rose herself liked it but same as Cold Feet or Significant Other, if I am not laughing and no longer have any fucks to give, it becomes drama/character study rather than the light entertainment it's billed as. Not her fault - she's moved on as a writer - but I think they should have stuck at one series.
Rose Matafeo: ‘I feel a massive sense of guilt for making a romcom’ | Rose Matafeo | The Guardian
Starstruck series three review – Rose Matafeo’s romcom ditches the love story (and is better than ever) | Television | The Guardian