Element Pictures, BBC Studios, Hulu
With alarms of chaos and uncertainty ringing so loudly right now, it was a welcome change to turn the volume all the way down with the Hulu series adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People. The delicately exquisite series set in Northern Ireland feels granular, achingly tactile, covering the on and off again relationship between Marianne Sheridan (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell Waldron (Paul Mescal) who defy their differing class standings by pursuing a sexual and, at moments, romantic relationship. Both navigate the disparate challenges of their home lives, the discomfort in their own bodies, and the insecurities in their worthiness to be loved. As much as they struggle in the melancholy of the outside world and outside people, it’s the tranquil world they create when together that brings them furthest from the anxiety of their physical beings and closest to normal.
Beautifully shot featuring gorgeous, other-worldly landscapes set to a dreamy, subtle soundtrack (music supervisors: Juliet Martin and Maggie Phillips), I was swiftly seduced by the series’ hushed, disarming spell. The instinct upon completing the 12-part series is to want a Season Two, but somehow a fleeting moment of a one and done season feels more heart-breakingly apt for Marianne and Connell.