The first season of MADE FOR LOVE, a Max Original series that tells the story of the character Hazel Green, has just been released on HBO Max. In the plot, she discovers that her husband Byron Gogol, the owner of a large technology company, has implanted a chip in her brain to gain access to all her thoughts and desires – without her consent. Therefore, she decides to run away.
The eight-episode series mixes humor and science fiction, and we're already complete fans. If you're looking for a new series to binge watch, we've listed five spoiler-free reasons to check out MADE FOR LOVE.
- It’s based on the novel of the same name by Alissa Nutting
MADE FOR LOVE is the third book by Alissa Nutting, the American author who also wrote TAMPA, one of the most controversial novels of 2013, according to the British newspaper The Guardian. MADE FOR LOVE is no different. When HBO Max confirmed the production, there was doubt whether the audiovisual team would be able to convey the maniacal humor of the written narrative. After the release, the response from critics was unanimous: yes. American writer Alissa Nutting not only wrote the book, she co-adapted the script for the series alongside showrunner Christina Lee.
- It stars the wonderful Cristin Milioti as the protagonist.
The protagonist Hazel Green is played by Cristin Milioti. For those who have not connected the name to the person, here's a hint: the actress appeared on TV for the first time, playing the famous mother from the series How I Met Your Mother. In addition to appearing in award-winning Broadway musicals, she has appeared in films such as The Wolf of Wall Street. Her versatile acting that spans comedy and drama is one of the highlights of MADE FOR LOVE.
- The handsome Billy Magnussen, in the role you love to hate.
Rounding out the romantic pair is Billy Magnussen playing Byron Gogol, Hazel's husband and a billionaire inventor who suffers from serious control issues and who is trying to reconnect with his wife. “He's the personification of toxic masculinity,” in the actor's own words in an interview for Vanity Fair. An egocentric man who doesn't know how to relate. Who hasn’t ever experienced someone like this? Billy is irritatingly good in the role of the clueless husband who no longer knows how to live outside the Hub, a virtual reality house he’s created. It's worth checking out his work.
- There is a plastic doll as a character that causes us to think.
You know that a show is really bold when for example you have a sex doll in a supporting role. In her escape, Hazel goes to her father's house, played by actor Ray Romano, and finds him living an oddly tender relationship with Diane, a “synthetic partner” as he calls her.
- It raises an important discussion about the relationship between privacy and technology.
Last but not least, despite doing so with an extreme example, MADE FOR LOVE ends up bringing up a discussion about the relationship between privacy and technology. We’ve never been as dependent on the digital world as we are now and, in turn, this new age of technology has never exposed our privacy so much. The question that is asked now: how do we establish limits within this relationship? A relevant question, especially in the current context of the pandemic, where much of our life is digital.
And now, who wants to binge watch MADE FOR LOVE?
