If the pandemic has taught me anything it’s that I love a good half hour comedy. So while I still have HBO Max, I’m trying my hardest to burn through as many shows as humanly possible, and that includes the loveable half hour comedy. Although most have hit the mark with me, I can’t really say that this HBO Max original, Made for Love, was able to do the same.
Made for Love is both the name of this comedy, but also the name of a new technology that a man by the name of Byron Gogol is trying to introduce to the world. It is a chip that gets implanted into a couples’ brains and then they are able to know everything about each other. No more secrets and being able to totally connect is his selling point. Um, does anybody know a single soul on this earth who would want that? No? Me neither, which is maybe why I didn’t connect with this show right from the get-go.
Well, you know who else isn’t crazy about this chip? That would be Byron’s wife of ten years, Hazel. And for good reason! She’s essentially been held prisoner at Byron’s “hub” since they got married ten years ago after their first date. Yeah, this guy sounds like a psycho. Anyway, one day Hazel decides she’s had enough of being constantly monitored and controlled so she escapes and makes her way to her dad’s place. What she learns shortly after her escape though is that Byron has already implanted the chip in her brain, so while the two can’t share thoughts yet, she can’t hide from him either.
I’m honestly shocked that Byron never just takes Hazel back to the hub. Perhaps that shows he loves her a little bit? Anyway, back to her father’s house. He lives on a dumpy property and is in a “romantic” relationship with a sex doll. Look, in my eyes Ray Romano can do no wrong, and he doesn’t do wrong in this role either. It’s clear he’s hurt that his daughter never contacted him for the last ten years, and this doll is the other thing/person he’s tried to connect with since his wife passed away. While he’s not super loving towards his daughter, he does believe her plight and tries her hardest to get a divorce to happen.
Obviously, the mention of divorce sends Byron into a tailspin, so he enlists the help of his assistant to leave the hub and show Hazel that he can exist in the real world. By the time the finale of the first season rolls around, you think that Bryon might manage to say the right things so Hazel will give him a second chance, but she’s no dummy and has him sign the divorce papers anyway. However, Byron does reveal that (SPOILER!) Hazel’s dad has cancer that he’s not treating, so if she promises to move back to the hub he will make sure her dad has top-tier care. It seemed pretty obvious to me that she was going to take the deal, so clearly that’s what a second season will focus on.
Personally, not much made me laugh in this show. I really like Ray Romano and Billy Magnussen, but there just wasn’t enough in this script that was funny. They both gave stellar performances, don’t get me wrong, but it just wasn’t enough. And I’m sure I mentioned this when I reviewed Palm Springs, but I also can’t really connect with actress Cristin Milioti. She didn’t seem like she fit in the show really. But, I probably say all this for naught because the critics were big fans and it got renewed for a second season. Just don’t count on me watching it.