In case you somehow missed it, Anna Kendrick has a TV show on HBO Max -- the romantic comedy, Love Life. It premiered on the new streamer on the day of its launch (May 27). To the delight of fans, HBO Max surprised subscribers by releasing new episodes a lot sooner than planned. Fast forward, and Love Life is more popular than you might have thought.
HBO Max is taking a cue from Netflix’s book and shedding light on how its shows are doing by revealing how they are ranking, and Anna Kendrick’s Love Life is looking great. The rom-com is in third, per TVLine, which is an even more impressive accomplishment when you consider all of the content that HBO Max subscribers have to choose from.
Love Life is currently sandwiched between the easily-expected top-watch, Friends, and mega-hit, The Big Bang Theory. For their part, Friends is now waiting to begin filming its reunion special, while The Big Bang Theory’s spinoff, Young Sheldon, has also lined HBO Max up as its streaming home. Though once that reunion special comes out, I would expect the series to continue its popular standing.
The Anna Kendrick-led series has found an audience on the lookout for TV love in a significant way. For those unfamiliar with its premise, the HBO Max original series follows Kendrick’s Darby as she navigates a road of romance. Kendrick notably took a stand regarding nudity for the show, and her decision has not seemed to hurt Love Life’s popularity.
Before news of its third-place ranking, there was already some indication that Love Life was doing well. HBO Max announced that it had renewed the anthology series for a second season. As with any anthology, that means saying goodbye to Anna Kendrick in the lead role. Another character/actor will take her place, though Kendrick will return as a guest star.
News of Love Life’s lease on life comes after it was revealed that HBO Max’s most popular series at launch was Looney Tunes Cartoons. At the time, Love Life had reportedly seen an upswing in interest. Flash to July, and Love Life is living its best one.
Love Life's success also arrives as Anna Kendrick expressed her desire to take a break from her busy career. Kendrick unceremoniously got one due to the coronavirus pandemic, a situation that has also led to viewing numbers in the streaming world increasing as people have remained in self-quarantine. Of course, Kendrick pointed out the fact that this unplanned time off does not count towards the break she wanted.
Anna Kendrick may be ready to leave the house but, thankfully, she does have an array of shows and movies to watch on HBO Max, including her own fan-favorite work in Love Life.
Love Life is currently streaming on HBO Max. While you wait for Season 2 to arrive, you can check out this fall’s premieres.
