Love

Summary

The series is presented as a "down-to-earth look at dating", exploring male and female perspectives on romantic relationships through the characters Mickey and Gus, played by Jacobs and Rust. Mickey and Gus are two untrustworthy people, each with significant emotional baggage, attempting to build a trusting relationship with each other; Mickey is an alcoholic, a love/sex addict, a pot stirrer, and someone who tends to be dishonest with herself and others, while Gus is awkward, emotionally needy, oblivious to social cues, and prone to outbursts when things do not go his way.

Episodes

Cast

Main

Gillian Jacobs as Mickey Dobbs

Paul Rust as Gus Cruikshank

Claudia O'Doherty as Bertie Bauer

Chris Witaske as Chris Czajkowski (season 3, recurring seasons 1–2)

Mike Mitchell as Randy Monahan

Recurring

Gus's and Mickey's family

Kathy Baker as Vicki Cruikshank

Ed Begley Jr. as Mark Cruikshank

Kyle Bornheimer as Ken Cruikshank

Drew Tarver as Andrew Cruikshank

Daniel Stern as Marty Dobbs

Gus's coworkers

Iris Apatow as Arya Hopkins

Tracie Thoms as Susan Cheryl

Jordan Rock as Kevin

Milana Vayntrub as Natalie

Seth Morris as Evan

Dawn Forrester as Denise Hopkins, Arya's mother

Mickey's coworkers

Brett Gelman as Greg Colter ("Dr. Greg")

Bobby Lee as Truman

Mickey's friends

Kerri Kenney as Syd

Kyle Kinane as Eric

Chantal Claret as Shaun

Andy Dick as himself

Other recurring characters

Reception

Critical

Love has received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for the cast. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, season one holds an approval rating of 88% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Judd Apatow's Love is an honest look at building a relationship, helped along by its two appealing leads." On Metacritic the season has an average score of 72 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The Hollywood Reporter and Variety reviewed the show favorably but said the episodes' length (up to 40 minutes) and the familiar premise do not always work in the show's favor. Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "It's a variation on a common theme, but it's also squirmingly effective, fitfully funny and carried by a great, uncompromising performance from Gillian Jacobs...If you can warm up to the prickly, but probably realistic, characters, there's a lot to like, if not love." Alan Sepinwall of Hitfix wrote, "When you feel it—as I very quickly did with Love—nothing else matters."

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 94% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 7.19/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "In its sophomore season, Love treads the balance between comedy and drama with greater confidence, going deeper into the endearing, frustrating, delightfully realistic relationship of Mickey and Gus." On Metacritic, the season has an average score of 80 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

The third season was also well-received, with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 11 reviews), and a consensus that "Love concludes with a moving final season that explores the work that goes into making a relationship succeed, allowing its central pair to surprise the audience, each other, and ultimately themselves." This season scored 77 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". For The A.V. Club, Erik Adams wrote, "More than the love story itself, Love's greatest achievement might be that it managed to make Gus and Mickey feel like fully realized, complicated individuals independent of their love story."

Accolades

In 2017, Love was nominated for Best Musical or Comedy Series at the 21st Satellite Awards.