Hulu’s 'Am I Being Unreasonable?' Asked & Answered

Even after some research and watching the trailer, it wasn’t clear what to expect from the BBC’s Am I Being Unreasonable?, which Hulu picked up the rights to in early 2023. Was it a comedy? A thriller? In a word, yes. The marketing hinted at essences of Single White Female and Thelma & Louise, with just a soupçon of Absolutely Fabulous, but its closest relative seems to be the first season of Fleabag. Am I Being Unreasonable? has a difficult and sometimes unlikeable main character who is nonetheless ultimately lovable.

Written and created by the two lead actresses, Daisy May Cooper (who also plays the main character, Nic) and Selin Hizli (Nic’s new friend, Jen), the show explores female friendship, trauma, marital boredom, guilt, and lies. The show’s title is a reference to the British Mumsnet message board of the same name, which is, in turn, a version of the American Reddit thread “Am I the A**hole?” – and that does seem to be the central question of the series. Is Nic an arse? She leaves the audience skating a thin line between amusement and antipathy.

Nic is a mediocre mother at best, selfish, lazy, and sometimes hurtful in her uglier moments. She’s uninspired by her marriage to Dan (Dustin Demri-Burns), unfulfilled, and feeling trapped. However, for all that, she's not exactly motivated to change her circumstances. Despite all this, Cooper makes the character sympathetic, reminding us that Nic is funny, bold, and entertaining by turns. This is Cooper's third major comedy in as many years, starting with This Country (currently unavailable stateside), which became a pandemic lockdown hit, and following it up with the recent Rain Dogs, which is streaming in the U.S. on HBO Max. Cooper’s performance in AIBU is another winner, and it's what keeps us invested.