One Day is a romantic drama series based on David Nicholls’ novel of the same name. Released on Netflix on February 8, 2024, Nicholls serves as executive producer of the series alongside Roanna Benn, Jude Liknaitzky, and Nicole Taylor. Molly Manners, Kate Hewitt, John Hardwick, and Luke Snellin directed the episodes. While Nicole Taylor is the show’s lead writer, with Anna Jordan, Vinay Patel, and Bijan Sheibani.
The story of One Day revolves around Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew. The story begins on 15th July 1988, the night of their graduation when they speak to each other for the first time. The next day, they part ways but their paths continue to cross on the same date every year. Each episode takes place on the same date, one year apart and shows how Emma and Dexter evolve, change, and experience various emotions like happiness and heartbreak.
The ensemble cast of the series includes Leo Woodall as Dexter Mayhew, Ambika Mod as Emma Morley, Eleanor Tomlinson as Sylvie, Essie Davis as Alison Mayhew, Tim McInnerny as Stephen Mayhew, Jonny Weldon as Ian, Brendan Quinn as Callum, Billie Gadsdon as Jasmine, Amber Grappy as Tilly, Adam Loxley as Graham, Tim Preston as Gary, Edouard Chény as Jean-Pierre, Ella-Rae Smith as Naomi, Rebekah Murrell as Suki and others.
One Day Review
15 July 1988, is graduation day for Dexter and Emma but also the day when he notices her for the first time. Dexter is known as a playboy who comes from money and privilege, even studious English major student Emma got a crush on him. And when he tries to get her attention alas on graduation night, she can’t refuse. But she didn’t want to be added to his list of drunken one-night stands and rather tried to get to know him by asking daunting questions like, “What’s your plan for life?”, as they undressed. Well, it was an exciting question for bright-eyed Emma but a daunting one for Dexter, who seemed to be looking for the answer his whole life.
For Emma “There’s nothing sexier than talking” and that’s all they end up doing, until the dawn breaks and she catches him sneaking out. Intrigued by this girl, who didn’t fall to her knees for him, Dexter decides to extend their encounter by spending the next half of the day with her. The curiosity leads to an odd friendship mixed with feelings that aren’t acted upon (until later) but an understanding that keeps them connected from 1988 to the 2000s.
Although they depart on their own journey, we always come back to witness their growing companionship on the 15th of July, every year. The day is important because it was their first encounter but it is also remembered by them as St Swithin’s Day and as Dexter says, “If it rains on St Swithin’s Day it will rain for the whole summer”.
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Their contrasting personalities become evident as they try to make a career. Emma knows what she wants to do but puts it on the back burner due to her financial situation and mostly underconfidence. Meanwhile, Dexter has it all but is lost. Since he doesn’t take himself seriously, others also take him as dumb & shallow and in reverse he also perceives himself through their eyes mostly. Thus, he always does whatever falls into his lap for the sake of ‘he is doing something in life’ and wastes most of his time on wrong paths and not liking anything.
Although the bond between the two characters, the palpable chemistry that keeps them connected is the core. It felt a bit incomplete sometimes. Having seen the movie adaptation from 2011 or reading the novel, one knows that they will eventually get together but for the new audience, it doesn’t seem quite clear on Dexter’s part. The style of only exploring their lives on a particular day takes away the opportunity to witness them thinking/pining for each other. As for Emma, one can see that she wants him but believes that once she surrenders, their relationship will crash and burn.
However, in the case of Dexter, it looks like she is the backup option he falls back to in his darkest times. But doesn’t look like he has a romantic connection towards her. There’s sexual tension and a comfortability that was built over the years, but hard to see the love that the story stands for. And this in no way is a critique of the actors, who in fact did an incredible job than the movie adaptation ever did.
Especially Leo Woodall brings out the shunned and vulnerable side of Dexter that gets overlooked in front of his privileged playboy persona. He shows Dexter as a misunderstood person, whose life would have been much different if others had tried to know him better or taken him seriously, like Emma did. Meanwhile, Ambika Mod as Emma Morley presented a better chippy, nerdy and scathing Northerner than we had previously known. Initially, I found myself comparing but as the story develops you would definitely take a liking to her version of Emma.
Overall, the series surpasses expectations and presents a romantic drama that we all have been waiting for. Told over the span of 14 episodes with a runtime of 30-40 minutes, the pacing could feel a bit slow at times but the performances by the actors would make you turn a blind eye. Especially, brace yourself for the last two episodes and expect the tears to roll out. One Day is a heartfelt story that beautifully portrays friendships, unrequited or in this case, requited love, believing in oneself, finding a footing in the world and inevitable heartbreaks, making it a wholesome story many could relate to.
Rating: 4/5
One Day is available for streaming on Netflix.
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