Here's the thing about this show: the book is definitely tacked onto another show. The storyline looks at the life and history of a middle-aged woman, Clare, who has had experienced a lot of adversities in her past, her husband, and her teenage daughter. The show jumps to Clare's past, which is quite dark in parts, such as coping poorly with her mother's death and dealing with a heroine addiction, to the present as she tries to pull her life together. In the present, she is recruited on a voluntary basis to be an agony aunt, and each episode addresses the themes of a new problem letter for Clare to answer.
Clare's life and the explorations of relationships around her are interesting enough. It feels like the Dear Sugar parts were shoehorned into the show, as the tone can jump from teenage Clare openly grieving and coping with her pain through sex, to adult Clare writing a response which is usually ripe with sentiment. It feels like the show is trying to be like This Is Us without striking a good balance of tone and storytelling.
I would like the show if it didn't include the Dear Sugar sections. Without them, it makes for an entertaining dramedy. With them, it just doesn't work.
Clare's life and the explorations of relationships around her are interesting enough. It feels like the Dear Sugar parts were shoehorned into the show, as the tone can jump from teenage Clare openly grieving and coping with her pain through sex, to adult Clare writing a response which is usually ripe with sentiment. It feels like the show is trying to be like This Is Us without striking a good balance of tone and storytelling.
I would like the show if it didn't include the Dear Sugar sections. Without them, it makes for an entertaining dramedy. With them, it just doesn't work.