The Show You Need To Binge-Watch This Week

What’s the premise of series three?

When we were first introduced to ‘nice guy’ Gus and ‘love and sex addict’ Mickey, they were 30-somethings clawing their way through life in LA. As polar opposites, their relationship seemed highly unconvincing (much online discussion has centred on the fact that Mickey – played by the beautiful Gillian Jacobs – is far cooler and better looking than nerdy Gus, played by Paul Rust). But by the end of series two, the improbable pair had seemingly navigated the choppy waters of modern dating and declared themselves an official couple.

Episode one of the final series sees them cocooned in happiness – Mickey is four-months sober and killing it at work, while Gus is about to pack in his on-set teaching job to step behind the camera. The thing is, we know enough about the pair to suspect that this peace won’t last long.

Who stars?

The main duo comprises Jacobs (previously seen in Girls and Community) and Rust (the lead in I Love You, Beth Cooper and a co-writer for Arrested Development, Parks & Recreation and Bob’s Burgers) who writes the series with his wife Lesley Arfin (a former Vice columnist and writer for Girls who used her own experience of alcohol addiction to illustrate Mickey’s narrative arc).

Super-producer Judd Apatow – that’s the guy behind Superbad, Knocked Up and Anchorman – has been on board since the start. New faces in series three include a scene-stealing guest appearance from The Mighty Boosh’s Rich Fulcher, as the actor who plays Michael Myers in the Halloween franchise of slasher flicks.

Are Mickey and Gus as annoying as ever?

One of the criticisms launched at the show, particularly during series two, was that Mickey and Gus were both rather unlikeable characters – especially when they joined forces. Yes, they still sway between being nauseatingly cutesy and explosively argumentative. Yes, Mickey continues to hover over the self-destruct button. And yes, Gus is still overwhelmingly self-pitying (particularly in an episode that sees them both get sick). But the beauty of series three is that Gus and Mickey are often left on the sidelines.

Instead, the show often hones in on the awkward triangle between Mickey’s Australian housemate Bertie, her lazy boyfriend Randy and Gus’s bandmate Chris. In fact, the best episode of the series – one that had us full-on grinning by the credits – is episode five, which almost exclusively centres round the endearing Bertie. The microscope also hovers over the lead pair’s increasingly fraught relationships with their separate friendship groups and on Gus’s family life – in the later episodes a role-reversal sees Mickey (and us, the viewers) exposed to revealing facets of his past and personality. In short, this final series expands on its exploration of modern love, and is all the stronger for it.

Will I like it?

Despite what you might think about Gus and Mickey, Love continues to be a fascinating character study. It’s honest, funny and toe-curling in equal measure (and sometimes all three at once, as a masturbation scene starring Gus in episode one highlights).

Plus, the ending’s a curveball. As the new Netflix tagline says ‘It’s forever. Or never.’ It’s worth getting involved all over again for that reason.

Where can I watch it?

All three series of Love are available to stream on Netflix now.