One Day

Available on Netflix

Netflix’s adaptation of David Nicholls’ acclaimed novel offers an immediate improvement on its 2011 cinematic namesake by course-correcting the disastrous casting of an American as its Yorkshire-bred female lead. No disrespect to the usually excellent Anne Hathaway, but her depiction of Emma meant that Lone Scherfig’s film was always doomed to failure, whereas Ambika Mod, who was previously best known for her performance in the BBC’s This Is Going to Hurt, instantly feels a better fit and is arguably the MVP of this limited series.

Leo Woodall (The White Lotus) is also well suited to the role of Dexter, whose romantic odyssey with Emma provides the premise of Nicholls’ tale, which is reinterpreted by a writing team led by Nicole Taylor (of Three Girls acclaim). The chemistry between Mod and Woodall, particularly in the series’ earlier episodes, means that this is a more emotive affair than its aforementioned predecessor, but it remains questionable whether the literary excellence of One Day translates adequately to a dramatic medium.

When reading Nicholls’ novel, you cannot help but be absorbed by Dexter and Emma’s ‘will they or won’t they’ ordeal, which spans over a decade and is steadfastly revisited every St. Swithin's Day. Here, it’s hard not to become unsympathetic to both characters as they constantly let their own egos and neuroses prevent them from getting together, especially as it begins to harm others who fall within their orbit. The decision to cram the couple’s eventual union into two half-hour episodes also means that One Day’s traumatic ending feels oddly flat, with the 14-episode runtime also testing the patience of viewers that do not routinely engage with this sort of fare.

That being said, the performances of Mod and Woodall make this iteration of One Day a more than worthwhile engagement and at least erase the memory of prior adaptations.