(Published Nov. 14, PDI-Entertainment)
By Oliver M. Pulumbarit
Contributor
Each episode of the comedy-drama anthology “Love Bites” manages to tell three separate but somewhat related stories, mostly short but sweet rom-coms that get to the point in less than 15 minutes each. With regular cast members and several recurring guest actors, the show created by Cindy Chupack (“Sex and the City”) introduces new characters and relationships weekly.
Becki Newton plays Annie, a pregnant chef, while Greg Grunberg and Constance Zimmer play loving spouses Judd and Colleen. Those three regular characters are sometimes the focus, although they sometimes just hover in the periphery. There are smart stories about relationships, and there are silly but endearing ones about miscommunication and incompatibility.
The better-presented ones waste no time in telling a clear and concise tale, concluding satisfyingly and with some sense of finality. The heavy but ultimately optimistic “Goodbye Boob” centers on a tattoo artist (Steve Talley) who’s attracted to an art gallery owner (Laura Prepon), unaware that she’s about to undergo a mastectomy. Another short, “Cutlets,” is more escapist and cute, about Annie’s blind date with a weirdo, and her “rescue” by a kind stranger (Matt Long).
The more comedic stories, nonetheless, offer interesting takes on different relationships. The show can go in unexpected directions; it amusingly elaborates on an interracial gay couple’s engagement announcement foibles in one story, and the “ninja vanish” tricks of a man who’s just into temporary intimacy in another.
Chupack called the short-lived show a “successful little miniseries” when it was cancelled. “Love Bites” did offer a small, shared world that’s connected by universally relatable relationships and their inherent complications. Each three-story episode isn’t always a perfect set, but the outstanding stories are easily memorable and often end with feel-good panache.
“Love Bites” airs Mondays,
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