"Love" (Netflix series, 3 seasons)

Quirky Los Angelinos navigating life. Not my usual go-to genre, but started watching awhile ago as a break from heavier stuff--and just got hooked in. Now as I'm midway through Season 3 (of 3) I'm realizing what a terrific actor the lead female is (I don't even know her name, lol).

Contemporary Los Angeles, our male lead Gus (Paul Rust) is a "set-tutor" for child actors, so much of the story happens in that arena. He's a sweet-natured nerdy kind of guy who mostly evokes "cringe" (at least in me, and many of his colleagues). He aspires to screenwriting/directing, so he learns a lot about the process by just hanging around. It must be somewhat autobiographical because his name is all over the show's credits--along with Judd Apatow (whose daughter Iris plays Gus's main child-actor student Arya).

In the pilot episode, he meets Micky (Gillian Jacobs, I just finally imdb'd it) who is the female lead and his romantic interest. She works in radio, producing a talk show (relationship advice type). And her life is a hot mess: she's a recovering addict who is really trying hard to control her life.

There's the usual assortment of other characters, one standout being Mickey's roommate from Australia, Bertie (Claudia O'Doherty). She reminds me of the receptionist in "The Office" who took over Pam's position in later seasons, oh do I need to go back to imdb now? No, not going. Anyway, she's a sweet kid who really adds to the show.

So if you want a light distraction and don't mind a healthy dose of cringe, check it out. Now I need to go back to imdb and fall down that rabbit hole of what all the actors have been doing since (season 3 was from 2018 -- really too bad we didn't see the show navigating the covid years!)