Friday, December 28, 2018

what's on the box..."Love Is__"





what's on the box (2018) TV

"Love Is__"


I gotta admit. I was late to the party on the series "Love Is___"

The series premiered on June 18th on Oprah's OWN Network.

I didn't watch it until the first week of October.

I almost missed the boat. The first season (10 episodes) had ended before I watched one episode. So, I missed a lot of talk about the episodes. I knew very little about the show. I knew that the full season was on my DVR. One day, I said "I'm going to watch this and see what it's about."

Set in Los Angeles in the 1990s, "Love Is__" follows a young black couple, two people from opposite worlds, as they go through the trials and tribulations of chasing their dreams and learning how to follow their hearts. Nuri is bubbly and has big dreams, but she is struggling to make a name for herself as a sitcom staff writer while juggling a string of romances. Yasir is an aspiring director/writer who has hit a snag and is on-and-off again with his ex. The program is told from the perspective of Nuri and Yasir's present-selves while they revisit the social issues and the vibrant black culture that helped shape who they are today.

Back to that day. I didn't do any research on the show prior to watching. So...I was very interested to see how it would actually start. The first scene is Yuri’s monologue.

She said...

"He was a meteor that hit my life. I didn’t see it coming. He blew up my world and my plans. He unearthed the truth in me. He made me take of this mask that I had been wearing. So, that you can see the real light in me. So that I could see the real light in me." 

I was speechless.

Not only was that great writing but very relatable from that perspective. I was hooked. I learned from those 10 episodes of
"Love Is __". If you experienced love (or even if you haven't lol), you can relate. The innocence and the growth of the characters and the love that they had for each other. They also were trying to find themselves and their direction at the same time. Season 1 is 10 episodes and each episode is about 40 minutes long.





Unfortunately, "Love Is___" was grounded before it could take off. The series was created and produced by Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil and was based on the Akil's real-life relationship. On December 19, "Love Is __" was cancelled due to allegations of domestic violence and lifting the idea for the series from an ex lover against Salim Akil. The ex lover alleged that she was his mistress for many years. The OWN Network pulled the plug on the show despite it being renewed for a second season.

I was sad to hear this news. Do I believe the allegations? I'm not sure. I would need to hear both sides and there has been no formal statement from Salim. Nonetheless,
"Love Is ___" was a phenomenal series...even though it was only one season. It was definitely on the box in 2018. You should check it out if you haven't already.

Great story, great writing, great acting. 
"Love Is __"

Everything.

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