Romantic comedy is a genre powered by cliches. The meet-cute, the sassy best pals, the sparkling initial chemistry followed by unfortunate misunderstanding and sweet reconciliation: ticking them off or seeing them slyly subverted is a cosy routine. What, though, if those comforting tropes were boldly thrown in the bin? Something dark and daring might be created. Significant Other is not that show. Unmoored from those familiar structures, it’s a dispiriting catastrophe.
We meet Sam (Youssef Kerkour) in his bare Manchester flat, stuffing handfuls of painkillers down his throat. He’s lying in bed waiting for the pills to kill him when he’s interrupted by a hammering at the door: nextdoor neighbour Anna (Katherine Parkinson) is having a heart attack and has been told not to wait for the paramedics by herself. The previously unacquainted pair end up sharing an ambulance and, once they’ve survived their near-death experiences, they stay in each other’s lives.
