CW’s Life Sentence review: If a lighthearted dramedy is your cup of tea, this series was brewed for you
By Sandy C.
The CW premieres Life Sentence tonight, a comedy drama starring Lucy Hale that is sure to touch your heart and make you smile (and many other times, laugh).
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Hale portrays Stella, a young adult who has just learned she has her whole life ahead of her. Previously, Stella and her entire family and friends believed she had a form of terminal cancer, but thanks to a trial medication that has miraculously worked, Stella is now cancer-free. It’s all great things from here on out for Stella and her loved ones, right? Wrong. Surprisingly, everything goes downhill.
How so? Right after delivering the good news to her family, Stella discovers that the last eight years (since she was diagnosed with cancer) have been a lie. You see, when a loved one is dying, you do everything and anything in your power to make them happy. This includes a little (okay, sometimes huge) white lie here and there. Was life better when Stella had no future? To Stella, it seems like it.
For starters, Stella’s parents, Ida and Peter (Gillian Vigman and Dylan Walsh), are not together. The strain of Stella’s cancer, financial troubles, and Ida’s change in love interests, have taken a toll on their relationship. And speaking of relationships, Stella’s brother Aiden (Jayson Blair) has been in various unhealthy ones to distract himself and ignore the fact that his little sister is (now, was) dying.
Stella’s older sister, Elizabeth (Brooke Lyons) and her husband had children earlier than they had planned to in order to make Stella’s parents happy, putting Elizabeth in a stressful situation with her career, which she had to give up to take care of Stella. And finally, Stella’s husband, Wes (Elliot Knight), has been lying to Stella about his likes, dislikes, and going out of his way to make her happy. Now that Stella has a future, will she love who her husband truly is?
If this all sounds intensely grim, it’s really not. Life Sentence doesn’t take itself too seriously, but that’s a good thing and it works tremendously well here. Every emotional moment that, if this were a film, should be sad and make us weep, Life Sentence handles lightly and with comedy. Events never get too dark, and when it’s headed in that direction, a comical moment saves it from going too deep.
You’ll immediately love the characters, they’re a charming cast. A new favorite of yours will probably be Stella’s older brother, Aiden. But you’ll even take interest in Ida’s new relationship, and Stella’s sweet father, who, if you ask me, is taken for granted. But as amazing as the supporting characters are, they don’t distract from Stella’s story.
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Critics have commented that Life Sentence should be more serious and feature more conflicts for viewers to take interest in. But what I see is a different kind of comedy, one that, much like New Girl, can be enjoyed without worrying about it after the credits roll.
It’s fun, its characters are lively, and it’s never too busy. Life Sentence is a great escape from the dark dramas and thrillers. If a lighthearted dramedy is your cup of tea, Life Sentence was brewed for you.
The CW premieres Life Sentence tonight, Wednesday, March 7. Don’t miss it!