Aoife Hinds and Paul Mescal in Normal People (2020)
While Hulu has put its weight behind many uniquely brilliant TV shows of various stripes over the past two decades, there can be no argument about its best romantic drama series. In April 2020, the streaming platform released the screen adaptation of Sally Rooney’s seminal best-selling novel Normal People, to widespread acclaim.
This flawless miniseries arrived on Hulu three days after its debut on the UK-only online service BBC Three. What had previously been the BBC’s third network TV channel was turned into a streaming platform specifically aimed at young adults in 2016, due to low viewing figures. Six years later, the channel's fortunes were spectacularly reversed, primarily thanks to Normal People. The show adapted its hugely popular source material with such aplomb that it proved to be compulsive viewing for millions of fans, making stars of its lead actors overnight. Normal People’s bittersweet ending was just the beginning for Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Meanwhile, six years after its release, the series is as good a watch as it ever was. Normal People Is Hulu's Best Romantic Drama Over the past few years, Normal People has rightly developed cult-classic status on Hulu. The miniseries might not have been as wildly successful in the U.S. as it has been in the UK, as well as its native Ireland, but it still makes a powerful impact on anyone who comes across it. The moving story of a lonely outcast who begins a secret romance with the most popular boy at her school, Normal People draws directly on the incisive writing of a genuine great among contemporary authors. Sally Rooney adapted her own beautifully crafted novel for the screen alongside playwrights Alice Birch and Mark O’Rowe. Normal People is far from your typical teenage tale of love, as it develops into a complex portrait of two young adults struggling to ground themselves in the modern world while grappling with the baggage of their hidden feelings for each other. The TV version is elevated by absolutely stunning performances from Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal. BBC Three Was Revived As A UK TV Channel Thanks To Normal People In large part because of how well this TV adaptation nailed its source material, it achieved record-breaking viewing figures both for BBC Three in the UK and RTÉ’s digital streaming platform in Ireland. The 16.2 million views the show garnered during its first week on BBC Three were especially significant. This figure gave the online platform its best week ever, more than doubling its previous record. Normal People’s success level of success was completely unprecedented for the BBC Three across its entire history, regardless of the format. The show was the single biggest factor in catalyzing BBC Three’s return as a network TV channel . The channel relaunched on UK television in February 2022, less than two years after Normal People set the viewership records it retains today. By the end of 2020, the show had been viewed on the BBC’s online streaming platforms an extraordinary 62.7 million times. Paul Mescal's Normal People Role Made Him A Major Star Overnight Besides Sally Rooney, the biggest beneficiary of Normal People’s massive popularity has been actor Paul Mescal, who’s now a major Hollywood star. The Hulu romantic drama remains Mescal’s best TV show, but he now has the lead role in Ridley Scott’s blockbuster sequel Gladiator II on his résumé, as well as celebrated turns in Aftersun and Hamnet. Normal People was the very first screen role of the young Irish actor’s career. Its mass appeal to viewers around the world immediately caught the attention of some of Hollywood’s biggest names. As well as Scott, Sam Mendes and Sony Pictures Entertainment decided Mescal was the perfect fit for the part of Paul McCartney in their four-film Beatles project. 9.3/10 Normal People 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-4 Drama Romance Release Date 2020 - 2019 Network BBC Showrunner Alice Birch Directors Lenny Abrahamson Writers Alice Birch Cast See All
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