Romcom gold: Tom (Nikesh Patel) and Jessie (Rose Matafeo) return in thehit series.
WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENS between a romcom couple after they’ve had their happily-ever-after moment? That’s what Starstruck creator Rose Matafeo set out to answer in the second series of her acclaimed BBC sitcom, in which she plays 20-something New Zealand expat Jessie, who, when we last see her, has missed her flight home to stay in London with her movie-star lover Tom (Nikesh Patel). The new series starts directly where the first leaves off, with Jessie freaking out about her impulsive, expensive decision. “What I’m trying to do with the show is undermine certain romcom tropes, while also still preserving what makes the genre good,”Matafeo tells Empire from her London home.“I’m asking how someone would genuinely emotionally react to a romcom situation.”
The comedian has been devoted to the genre since her teen years, and today her shelves are filled with DVDs of the filmmakers and stars who have helped to shape the show’s screwball comedy and charm, from Mae West and Katharine Hepburn to John Hughes. “I love couples in films who love each other to death and argue like crazy,” she says. “Where their passion comes out as stubbornness and witty dialogue.” Her onscreen relationship with Patel manifests as a modern version of this, as they continue to navigate with nerdy rapport through their myriad problems, from money issues to nightmare siblings.
The criteria for Tom’s character was simple: don’t be an asshole. “There’s the Ryan Reynolds archetype, where he’s really funny but he has to be an asshole on screen,” says Matafeo. “I think it’s rare to find someone who is sweet and charming and also really funny.” With Jessie, it was important for Matafeo to show her character handling the relationship imperfectly. “That’s a problem with mainstream romcoms; women are never allowed to fuck up,” she says. “That’s real life, baby: people make bad decisions.” Yet she still holds dear that romantic idealism from her formative years, which imbues Tom and Jessie’s story with hope. “I’m almost academically interested in romance,” she says. “But it took me a long time to realise that not everyone loves love.When I found out I was like, ‘What the fuck?That’s the whole point of being alive.’” The moment after the happily-ever-after never looked so good.