The anthology series Modern Love has now given the world over a dozen stories about 21st-century dating, heartbreak, marriage, and divorce. The second season, released this year, matched the first with the quality of its characters - from the shy eighth-grader who's obsessed with online quizzes to the earnest tech worker who meets the love of his life on a train to Dublin.
Across both seasons of the show, these characters moved audiences with their stories, made them laugh, or spoke to them in a relatable way. What ultimately makes them memorable is the way they effectively convey all of the emotions - fear, elation, worry, curiosity, bemusement - that modern romance can elicit.
Spence (Garrett Hedlund)
Spence is a gentle, reserved man. As the protagonist of "In The Waiting Room of Estranged Spouses," he returns from military deployment overseas to find that his wife has been sleeping with another man, whereupon he slips into a bout of depression. What brings him out of his stupor is his relationship with the woman whose husband his wife was having an affair with. His new mission in life becomes to make her life better, whether that be fixing things around her house or encouraging her to have with her ex, the baby's father.
Whether it's buying flowers to cheer his new friend up or looking for medicine for her child, Spence proves what an upstanding and trustworthy man he is. Garrett Hedlund gives an excellent, almost soulful performance, making Spence a standout of the series' second season.
Stephanie (Minnie Driver)
Stephanie is the main character in the best episode of season two of Modern Love. A witty and confident pediatrician, she is grappling with the process of selling her vintage sports car. It's not just a regular automobile as it's gradually revealed that it's the only place she feels like she can talk to her late husband.
Modern Love does well to give its characters emotional depth and development in the space of 30 minutes. And Stephanie is a great example of this. The audience undoubtedly feels her pain at losing her husband and her guilt at continuing to love him despite being in a new relationship. Stephanie is also brave, able to articulate her quandary to her new partner, and prior to her new relationship, cope with her late husband's illness while raising their daughter.
Lucy (Pearl Zeldin)
Lucy is a shy and introspective eighth-grader trying to figure out who she is and coming to with her sexuality, turning to online quizzes for the answers. Zeldin's first acting credit is endearing, and her budding and undefined relationship with a fellow classmate is joyful.
Lucy's strength comes from her normalcy and relatability. She is the audience surrogate as well as the embodiment of every teen who has ever felt unsure of themselves and just wanted to spend time with their crush, without having to worry about family arguments, acne, or social media.
Joshua (Dev Patel)
Dev Patel shines in every movie or series he is in, and his character Joshua from season one of Modern Love is no exception. The charismatic founder of a dating agency, Joshua has had his fair share of heartbreak, which he opens up about to a journalist who's writing a piece on him.
Joshua's openness endears him to viewers. He also shows immense character growth and maturity when he decides to forgive his ex-girlfriend for cheating on him and try to make it work with her, which emphasizes the episode's main statement that sometimes love demands a person to forgive and not give up on their partner.
Van (Tobias Menzies)
Van is the driving force behind the season two finale, the first set in London. He and his separated wife Elizabeth share custody of their two young daughters, and it's revealed that the reason they split was Van's immaturity. However, throughout the episode, he repeatedly proves that he's grown into a capable, loving father and a dependable partner.
When Elizabeth is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Van is there every day, reading bedtime stories to the girls, making them dinner, never breaking down or despairing. He even re-proposes to Elizabeth, albeit right after she tells him about her illness. He's a charming and likable rom-com lead in the vein of the likable Hugh Grant character from Love Actually and his silliness and big heart qualify him as one of Modern Love's best characters.
Julie (Catherine Keener)
At first, it may not seem like the journalist interviewing Joshua is going to be the focus of the episode. But before long, Julie reveals her own tale of heartbreak. She lost touch with a man she met while working as a photographer and living in Paris and has kept a photo of them pressed in a book ever since. Her story and her life are so interesting that Joshua is dumbfounded.
This is a character whose backstory could be the focus of a whole movie, let alone the side plot of a single television episode. There's also a poignant reunion with her lost lover, who finds his way into her book g. Julie is interesting and open, and Catherine Keener's performance is captivating.
Lexi (Anne Hathaway)
Lexi is perhaps the most complex character in the series. She is a woman with bipolar, meaning one day her life is like a fun, upbeat musical, where she sings in the supermarket and rides her bike without a care in the world. But other days she won't be able to get out of bed or will herself to answer the door.
Naturally, this makes dating difficult, hence the title of her episode, "Take Me As I Am, Whoever I Am." Lexi is such a great character because she is just so engaging to watch. Her story is heartwrenching and something that's not usually explored on TV, certainly not as part of a rom-com. When she finally opens up to her co-worker at the end of the episode, it's a moment of true catharsis.
Tobin (Andrew Scott)
Andrew Scott's Tobin has a lot of depth for one half-hour episode. He's kind-hearted yet sarcastic, charming yet grumpy. And he desperately wants to start a family with his partner Andy. Viewers meet Tobin as he and Andy are trying to adopt a baby. When Andy invites pregnant teen Karla into their home, Tobin is initially a little shocked, but his interactions with Karla are one of the series' highlights.
Tobias' patience is put to its limit by Karla's messiness, unruly dog, and tendency to invite strangers into their apartment. Tobin remains likable despite his outbursts-- they only add to how much of a well-rounded character he is. He also goes to find Karla and apologize after they fall out and she runs off in the middle of the night. Throw in his glib quips and Andrew Scott, in one of his best performances, makes Tobin undoubtedly one of the best characters.
Michael (Kit Harington)
Michael is the ionate tech hipster whose meet-cute with Paula (Lucy Boynton) is the premise of this season two episode set on a train from Galway to Dublin. Paula's first impressions of Michael aren't promising: he chooses to sit next to the prettiest girl on the train.
However, once he and Paula start talking, Michael reveals himself to be a thoughtful and intelligent man with a good sense of humor and a belief in love at first sight, a belief so strong that he decides to camp out in his car indefinitely until he discovers which house is Paula's. Games of Thrones star Kit Harington gives a warm and comical performance, making Michael one of the most likable characters of the series.
Guzmin (Laurentiu Possa)
Guzmin is the doorman of a New York City apartment building where Maggie, the protagonist of episode one, lives. An Albanian ex-military member, Guzmin is stoic, closed-off, but deeply cares about Maggie. He serves as a paternal figure in her life, vetting the men she goes out with and dispensing wisdom: "Tomorrow is a brand-new day that has never been touched." At first, audiences might view the character as invasive and overbearing, but it's soon evident that his radar for nasty men is spot on ("Where I'm from, you learn to read a man"). Combined with his comical, deadpan delivery and caring nature, Guzmin is a delight to watch.