The idea of an anthology TV series inspired by Four Weddings and a Funeral, the 1994 film that established Flopsy-Haired Hugh Grant as a romantic comedy staple, is a solid one. I wish I were here with better news about how it turned out. I hung in with it as long as I could; there are ten episodes, and I watched all seven that they’ve made available to critics. I really wanted to like it.
Hulu’s Four Weddings and a Funeral was created by Mindy Kaling and Matt Warburton, both of The Mindy Project—so far, so good. While Mindy was inconsistent, it did some smart things with romantic comedy tropes. Its star is Nathalie Emmanuel, who recently wrapped up her run as Missandei on Game of Thrones, and she’s entirely up to the challenge of playing Maya, a charming young American working for a politician she’s also having an affair with. When the affair goes bad, she heads to London to get away and to attend the first of the weddings, between her best friend Ainsley (Rebecca Rittenhouse) and the charming but flaky Kash (Nikesh Patel). Once that wedding is over, she decides to stay. Thus does the real story begin.
Also in London are more of Maya’s friends: Craig (Brandon Mychal Smith), who’s keeping a secret from his girlfriend Zara (Sophia La Porta); Duffy (John Reynolds), who’s been secretly pining for Maya for years in the way people used to think was cute; and Ainsley’s British bestie, Gemma (Zoe Boyle), who isn’t happy about Maya showing up to nudge her aside in Ainsley’s life.
The good news comes from the natural charms of Emmanuel, as well as from some very pretty settings and shots. There’s also a woman named Fatima (Rakhee Thakrar) who appears after a few episodes, and who brings a sparkle to her story. The bad news is the writing—just about all of the writing.