As audiences search for an escape from the never-ending doomsday headlines, television creatives are looking at what brings people together instead: namely, love.
“It seems so hard to open your phone and not see something that is really upsetting,” says “Nobody Wants This” creator Erin Foster. “It makes sense that there would be this draw toward things that make you feel good. Romance makes us feel good.”
Romance can have many different definitions, depending on the show — some filled with emotional arcs, others sharing compelling bedroom stories. For this year’s love-centric titles, those two things go hand in hand. “Bridgerton” Season 4 had to tackle the task while also addressing the power difference between Benedict (Luke Thompson), and the maid he falls in love with, Sophie (Yerin Ha).
“It was important to see Benedict stepping outside of his privilege and realizing he really needs to take care of Sophie and help her feel safe, which was growth for him and for Sophie,” says showrunner Jess Brownell. “We wanted to see her owning her desires, taking agency of what she wants and when she wants it.”
Intimate moments can also be used to set the tone of a story. “Ryan [Murphy]’s idea from the beginning was always to make it tasteful and classical,” reveals “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette” executive producer Brad Simpson. “We wanted to evoke the love scenes from our favorite movies, and we looked at classic love stories of the ’70s and ’80s. Their love scenes would not be chaste, but they didn’t need them to be explicit to make them real.”
