Episode 4 of “Wanderlust” brings our 4 key players together – Joy, Alan, Clare and Marc – only to start crashing it all down. We not only learn about Joy’s former patient, who has commited suicide – the school also learns about Alan’s and Clare’s affair, and Joy’s gut feeling to speak out makes matters only worse. There’s a lot packed into this episode, with not only the aforementioned relationships, but also with Joy’s and Alan’s three kids and their very different paths to love and/or affection. The episode closes with a real bummer for Joy, after she and Alan get a step closer towards realising the core of their marital problems. But on the bright side, we get a very nice rendition of Eurythmics’ “Here Comes The Rain Again” by Toni during the four’s visit to a karaoke bar. Karaoke seems to become a common ground for her recent projects after “Fun Mom Dinner” and “Hearts Beat Loud”.

In episode 3, Joy’s and Alan’s plan collides not only with their children’s shock of their parents seeing other people, but also with a patient of Joy’s who’s seeing her daughter. While things get complicated between Alan and Clare, Joy continues to see the younger man she’s met a bar, while also meeting her “first time” out of the blue in a pharamcy. The previous episode has introduced us to Sophie Okonedo, who plays Joy’s therapist – a smart move to give the series some space to explain certain characters in retrospect, like Joy’s first boyfriend or the background of her patient Jason.

While episode 1 has introduced us to a dozen characters, “Wanderlust” lets loose a bit in its second hour. Alan, who has been reluctant first, finds a companion in his colleague from school (a wonderful performance by Zawe Ashton), while Joy’s fling with a policeman ends faster than it has started. We learn more about their children’s lives – and they ultimately find out more about their parent’s lives, although not in the matter they have planned to let them know. It was refreshing that the series took turns faster than expected. It also keeps a nice balance of light jokes and serious conversations, thanks to the great writing by Nick Payne.

Yesterday, after a BBC broadcast earlier last month, Netflix premiered all 6 episodes of “Wanderlust”. So, over the next six updates, we’ll cover each episode with background information and screencaptures. Two things need to be said: Toni Collette is at the height of her career right now, it’s amazing to have two powerhouse performances with “Hereditary” and now “Wanderlust”. Recognition is not often the reward for great talent, but I really hope that Toni will receive some accolades for either parts next awards season. Second, the British press did a terrible job by promoting “Wanderlust” as “outrageous”, “nasty” and “bizarre”. None of this applies, it probably simply scared away the audience it deserves. In comparison, Netflix did no promotion whatsoever for the show, no talkshow appearances or press coverage, so I hope it doesn’t fly under the radar, because it deserves better. In episode one, we get to know Joy and Alan – a therapist and a teacher – married for over 20 years, who decide to open up their marriage and seeing different people while staying together.

Last June, “Hearts Beat Loud” released US theaters to glowing reviews and very little box office, which is really a shame. This is one of the few films from the last years which sucks you in within minutes with its pace, great beat and full heart. It’s a star-is-born performance from Kiersey Clemons – and the same can be said about Nick Offerman in his first starring role in a feature film (at least to my knowledge). They’re a wonderful team and supported by charming supporting turns from Ted Danson, Blythe Danner and Toni Collette – who cannot be separated from a karaoke machine, it seems :-) “Hearts Beat Loud” has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray in September. If you’re looking for a wonderful film that warms your heart, this one is for you! Screencaptures from the Blu-Ray have been added to the photo gallery.

In Netflix’s Wanderlust, Toni Collette and Steven Mackintosh star as a married couple (Joy and Ala) who live in a small English town and are coming to some new realizations about what they want from life after a cycling accident puts their sex life on hold. The 6-episode series explores how the two try to make a mutual arrangement to sleep with other people while also staying together, which of course starts off ok and seems to turn pretty messy almost immediately. Though the trailer for the series starts off with comedic undertones, it ends in a very different place. It seems clear that while Joy and Alan’s plans do (at least at some point) end up reinvigorating their own marriage and attraction to one another, it also becomes an emotional flashpoint — no surprise there! – as they become more deeply entangled with the people they are having these other relations, and relationships, with. Wanderlust premieres October 19th on Netflix. The trailer can be watched in the video archive while screencaptures have been added to the photo gallery.