A good series isn’t just bingable; it leaves you feeling a certain way. One Day, a Netflix series about two friends who are the embodiment of right place, wrong time, delivers on both counts. Through the course of 14 episodes, the Netflix show chronicles the inter-connected journeys of Dex (Leo Woodall) and Emma (Ambika Mod) and their 20 years of friendship (tinged with an overlay of yearning).
Based on David Nicholls’s 2009 novel, which even has a film adaptation from 2011, One Day will leave you feeling oddly bereft; its primary theme of a complex romance relatable and bittersweet. Its appeal is such that it turned into the most-watched series globally within a few days of its release, with the internet flooding with requests for a new season. While there’s no official confirmation for that yet, here are a few other series that can make up for the One Day-shaped hole in your life.
Loved Netflix original One Day? Here are 7 other slow-burn romance series to binge-watch in one night
1. Normal People — Amazon Prime Video
You know when two people are perfect for one another, but life gets in the way? One Day revels in it, and so does Normal People, a show which catapulted both Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones to fame. Based on Sally Rooney’s 2018 novel, the series follows Marianne and Connell, an unlikely pair who develop a complex but beautiful relationship over the years, with both internal and external obstacles coming in the way of a happily-ever-after.
2. Modern Love — Amazon Prime Video
Based on the famous New York Times column of the same name, Modern Love displays a unique sort of love story, one that goes beyond sex and attraction, in each wholesome episode. While the original packed in a punch with big names like Dev Patel, Anne Hathaway, Kit Harington and more, the series later expanded to derive regional adaptations as well, with Modern Love Mumbai becoming a big hit among Indian audiences.
3. Tell Me Lies — Disney + Hotstar
Like in One Day, Tell Me Lies (based on Carola Lovering’s 2018 novel) chronicles the will-they-will-they relationship between Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco who met in college and have a complicated romance-cum-friendship which is splayed out over eight years. While this series has a more toxic take on the central theme than One Day, it still makes for a riveting watch.
4. Soundtrack #1 — Disney + Hotstar
Yet another great title in this friends-to-lovers mix is Soundtrack #1, a popular K-drama series starring Park Hyung-sik and Han So-hee. The story centres around two friends Han Sun Woo and Lee Eun Soo, who often find themselves blurring the lines between friendship and romance for a period of 20 years, which gets even more heightened when circumstances force them to work and live together.
5. Lovesick — Netflix
Like in One Day, Dylan Witter (Johnny Flynn) and Evie Douglas (Antonia Thomas) start out with a hook-up and then slowly turn into best friends. While Dylan falls in love with a new woman every week, Evie resigns to the fact that she’ll always love him. However, when Dylan gets chlamydia and is tasked with calling up his multiple sexual partners over the years to give them a heads up, he realises that Evie remains a constant in every story.
6. Conversations With Friends — Amazon Prime Video
The winning part about One Day is its emphasis on the fact that true love comes with no judgement. Conversations with Friends, another Sally Rooney title, expands on this narrative as it turns the spotlight on two couples, the younger Frances and Bobbi and the older Melissa and Nick, and the strangely cosmic relationships between the four.
7. Our Beloved Summer — Netflix
This slow-burn K-drama spins an engaging tale about two former lovers who are forced to reunite after a documentary they shot in high school goes viral. The series examines the complexities of this relationship which requires old hurts and memories to transform into second chances.
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