The period romance Bridgerton has given us so many breakthrough actors that their other projects are starting to pile up. For example, Nicola Coughlan is now back on TV screens in Big Mood. It’s a modern-day comedy that focuses on 30-somethings, friendship, mental illness, and growth. Big Mood is often funny, covers a broad spectrum of emotions, and most of all, highlights the talent of the actors, especially Nicola Coughlan.
Set in contemporary London and now streaming on Tubi, Big Mood follows best friends Maggie (Coughlan) and Eddie (Lydia West). Maggie is a playwright who’s about to turn 30. Eddie is a bit older and runs the bar she inherited from her late father. Maggie also has bipolar disorder, and as the story begins, she goes off her medication. The consequences of that decision will reverberate in both Maggie and Eddie’s lives. It will result in humorous situations, it will result in sad situations, and it will test the bond between them. Since their relationship is so important to each of them, this time in their lives takes on huge significance.
Nicola Coughlan‘s performance in Big Mood is worthy of awards, but West and the rest of the cast are also good. And that’s not all the show has to offer. Though there are uneven parts of the writing, there are also multiple laughs to be had and a complex celebration of female friendship to enjoy.
“You’re not someone you forget in a hurry.”
Maggie proves herself to be, outside of her disorder, a steamroller. In the very first scene of the whole series, she convinces Eddie to drive her to give a talk at her old school. And I mean, convinces. Eddie has other things she needs to do to keep her bar running. But Maggie doesn’t take no for an answer. This is something that she’ll do again throughout this season, and we’ll see that it is both a good thing and a bad thing. But mostly a bad thing.
Another thing that characterizes Maggie is irresponsible choices. One example of this is what she does when she visits her old school. She sleeps with her old history teacher, who’s now the principal. What makes it worse is she doesn’t bother to find out that he has a wife and kids. The age gap, the infidelity– it’s a completely cringe situation all the way around. Unfortunately, Maggie seems to enjoy that. It may just be the fact that she has stopped taking her lithium but Maggie is too comfortable with creating mess. That doesn’t just affect her life, it affects Eddie’s too.
I give a lot of credit to Coughlan‘s talent for selling Maggie as a character as well as she does. The writing does a good job of making her memorable, and giving her moments where the viewer empathizes with her, but Coughlan‘s charm is what keeps the audience hanging on when Maggie does something unlikeable. Even when she goes back on her medication, she makes mistakes. Coughlan powers through the comedy easily but she also makes the emotionally vulnerable scenes hit hard. If there’s any justice, she’ll be in awards conversations for her work here.
“Get to the yes quicker.”
Maggie and Eddie’s relationship is strong. However, their roles within that friendship became entrenched long ago. “I solve problems and you…have them,” Eddie says. Circumstances show these two women that this type of interaction is unsustainable. Eddie is always the one giving to Maggie, such as throwing her a Love Actually-themed birthday party. Or going with her to some pagan celebration while Eddie is trying to figure out how to save her bar. Maggie never intends to disappoint Eddie but the imbalance is there.
This gives West a chance to give her own exemplary performance to match Coughlan‘s. Her work comes to the fore in a storyline in the last few episodes of this 6-episode season. Eddie needs an abortion and what she goes through to get one is great material for West. Though Maggie is the character who sucks away the energy of those around her, the writing allows Eddie just as much storytelling focus. And that results in the audience caring equally about both of these women. We also see that they are like family to each other, which makes the ending of this season all the more impactful.
I can’t speak to the authenticity of the depiction of bipolar disorder in this show. However, I will say that when Maggie’s illness takes on a new dimension in the final episode, it causes her to let Eddie down. So much so that Eddie leaves London after selling the bar. They were going to travel together so it’s a sad moment. We want Maggie to improve and for this friendship to heal. We want more of Maggie and Eddie having fun together. And we want more humor like Maggie thinking the stranger giving her a ride is a creep who is going to attack her. (“I’ll bite anything that dangles!”) Big Mood is good and we want a second season.
Big Mood is now streaming on Tubi.