SERIES PREMIERE: This 10-episode series, created by Mindy Kaling, is structurally similar to Noah Hawley’s FX series
Fargo: It takes its inspiration from a 1990s movie, but takes only the spirit, creating its own plots and characters while using the film’s familiar title. This Hulu version of
Four Weddings and a Funeral – again, like TV’s
Fargo, neither a sequel nor a remake – starts in New York, where an American political operative named Maya flies to London to reunite with friends still living there for a wedding. The rom part of this romcom begins literally as soon as her plane lands at Heathrow Airport, because she meets – and meets cute – a Pakistani financier. The premiere feels a bit too written, and polished, but the actors are appealing, and the interactions sometimes land as wryly funny. Maya is played by Nathalie Emmanuel, who’s more than capable of handling a series lead. She was last seen on HBO’s
Game of Thrones, as Daenerys’ ill-fated handmaiden and assistant, Missandei. Nikesh Patel plays Kash, the guy Maya meets at the airport.
For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower, and for
highlights from the Four Weddings and a Funeral session at TCA, see Mike Hughes Open Mike.