Netflix’s ‘Feel Good’: Lesbian romcom to binge while at home

If you’re stuck at home because of the coronavirus, may we suggest this Netflix lesbian romance comedy series, Feel Good, for binge watching?

Starring the Canadian actor and stand-up comedian Mae Martin, she’s also the co-creator of the six-episode show together with Joe Hampson

The series premiered on Channel 4 in the UK before Netflix released it internationally. Aside from Mae, the series also stars Lisa Kudrow of Friends fame, who plays Mae’s mother.

Feel Good: A story we can all relate with

Mae plays Mae, a fictional struggling stand-up comedian from Canada who meets the generally straight Georgina– or George– (played by Charlotte Ritchie) while doing a set in a London club.

After George buys Mae a drink and an awkward “first date,” the two end up kissing and having sex on their first night.

That’s when the story really starts as their relationship accelerates from early dates to Mae moving in with George three months after they meet.

This is because while George hasn’t really come out of the closet with her friends and family, Mae has her own issues, i.e. she has “an addictive personality.”

This makes the story about Mae and George trying to balance their issues with their newborn relationship.

Feel Good: What reviewers are saying about it

So far, the reviews have been pretty unanimously good with Rotten Tomato noting an approval rating of 100 percent that’s based on reviews of 22 critics. The reviews had an average rating of 8.3 out of 10.

Jude Dry, writing for IndieWire, said, “In an often bleak landscape for recognizable queer relationships onscreen, Feel Good is the reward for years of demanding better queer representation.”

“Finally, complex and nuanced stories that go beyond the tired tropes are being produced for TV, allowing queer folks to be seen as fully-formed human beings,” Dry said, giving the series an “A” grade.

Meanwhile, Joel Keller for Decider said “Feel Good will get better and better, which is why we’re looking forward to seeing the rest of the first season, despite a bit of a flat first episode.”

Lastly, Willa Paskin for Slate said: “The six-episode series, which arrived on Netflix last week, is a romantic comedy about what it’s like to be passionately in love with someone with whom things maybe shouldn’t work out.”

“It’s a buoyant, bingeable comedy that’s worth arguing about. Trust me when I say: It feels good enough,” Paskin added.

Mae Martin brings her hang-ups on the stage and the screen

If the series seems to come off as semi-autobiographical, that’s because a lot of it does seem to come from Martin’s own life.

“The character Mae is where I was about 10 years ago. So it’s a pretty tenuous grip on sobriety, just fresh out of the depths of addiction and super manic,” she explained.

Martin has suffered from her own addictions, from standup comedy to drugs and alcohol such that she was kicked out of her home at the age of 16.

After a stint at rehab, she now explores her awkwardness before an audience and invites them to laugh with her instead.

She told the Guardian: “I definitely find the more open and vulnerable I am, the more people enjoy it.”

For more about the series, check out the trailer below: