Streaming sites in India are squabbling in the skip (I’ve deliberately given the British touch for the word “dumpster”) to grab the most number of eyeballs. Netflix is winning this game hands down; however, a new set of sites like Zee5, Sunnxt, Viu, and YuppTV, are taking the game a bit too seriously. I recently stumbled upon Love, Nina , a British series revolving around the life of a young nanny. The series is available on Netflix in the UK, and on Zee5 in India.
It’s a delightful show where dinners, literature, and humor join forces to sprinkle charm on the unassuming viewers. The series is based on a book by Nina Stibbe, and it’s written by the celebrated British writer Nick Hornby. While most of the names have been changed for the small-screen adaptation, the writer seems to have retained the soul in its original form – an affinity for slice of life elements.
Nina Stibbe wrote letters to her sister in the 80s when she was working as a nanny to two young boys at the house of Mary-Kay Wilmers, editor of the London Review of Books. Had she been a nanny today, she’d have sent her sister WhatsApp messages along with a bundle of emojis, and, consequently, we wouldn’t have had a book, plus a series.
Stibbe is played by Faye Marsay excellently. Marsay’s short hair and jumpers are straight out of the radio days (and Stibbe’s look from that period). The chemistry with her boss, George (Helena Bonham Carter), is another pleasing factor since the series mainly employs a handful of characters. That means, we’re seeing Marsay in practically every scene. Her woman-child features, thankfully, only add positive weight to her character, and it comes across as natural wit. She hates the very idea of wearing shoes and does everything barefoot, including driving and walking in London. Yeah, London! Who’d even think of doing that there?
In these kinds of shows, there’s always a stray light of hope to guide the central character home. But Love, Nina , isn’t just about the struggles of her working hours. It goes several miles beyond that. There isn’t a specific coming-of-age moment; it is, instead, chopped into fine pieces and served throughout the course of the series. It’s pretty obvious that the kids she’s looking after, Max (Harry Webster) and Joe (Ethan Rouse), are more mature than her. They mostly act their age at the dinner table where the elders (George, Nina, and Malcolm, a poet and a regular guest) discuss everything under the sun, from affairs in the neighbourhood to women’s private parts.
The show brims with Nina’s doubts about herself and her inability to get anywhere. In a frustrated moment, she blurts out that she doesn’t get literature, or men, and George uncharacteristically replies, “Well, you can forget about the latter. There’s nothing there to get. Books – more complicated.” This irreverent comedy is what makes Love, Nina lovable. Sam Frears, one of the real-life kids who Stibbe nannied in the eighties, appears as a neighbour in a wheelchair in this series. And, just as Frears suffers from a serious health condition, the younger boy, Joe, does, too. In fact, there’s a nice little scene where George appreciates Nina for taking care of her son. It’s the sort of pat on the back that an employee loves to get from her employer.
With all of these going on in good measure, would a show like this sidestep the trope of having a love interest? Absolutely not! There’s Nunney (Joshua McGuire) for that purpose. Marsay, Carter, McGuire, and, most importantly, the kids, make this five-episode comedy-drama a live wire that can’t be ignored.
Grab a hot cuppa and tune into Zee5 now!
