Watch this when
Normal People
When the whole relationship is just two people who love each other and can't say it. Normal People is 12 episodes of wishing two people would just say it out loud.
Who it's for
Marianne and Connell's on-off relationship, from school in small-town Ireland through Trinity College, is shaped less by drama than by silence: things they don't say because of shame, class anxiety or fear of rejection.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Normal People is a 12-episode 2020 drama adapted from Sally Rooney's novel, written by Rooney, Alice Birch and Mark O'Rowe and directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald for BBC Three, RTÉ One and Hulu.
Where to find it
A BBC Three and Hulu co-production; streams on Hulu in the US and on BBC iPlayer in the UK. Streaming availability rotates; check JustWatch.
Before you start
Heads up: A young man's suicide and family abuse.
Age: TV-MA (JustWatch listing; suggested 17+)
I sometimes hold it half a sin To put in words the grief I feel;Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A. H. H., Canto 5
