The Girlfriend (Season 1/UK/2025) Series is a shocking modern love story of a young woman set in London, UK. The protagonist Cherry Laine (Olivia Cooke) is madly in love with Doctor Daniel Sanderson (Laurie Davidson) in the show. But then there is a strong mama bear, Laura Sanderson (Robin Wright), in it.
Notably, “The Girlfriend” show is based on Michelle Frances’ 2017 novel with the same title. Her psychological thriller novel serves as a gripping and chilling tale. It revolves around the aftermath of an unforgivable lie. And it examines the potentially tense relationship between the girlfriend, the boyfriend, and his mother.
This series is rated TV-MA, which means it is intended for Mature Audiences (MA) only.
Scandalous Modern Yarn of Obsessive Love & Tragic Deceit
Spoiler Free Series Review: The Girlfriend (Season 1/2025) Show
The introduction
Please note that the country of origin of this series is the USA; yet, we have included it as a UK show. Our reason is that it depicts a tale set in the UK. Furthermore, the majority of the shooting of this show took place in London and Surrey. However, some parts of the show were also shot in Málaga, Spain.
Strangely, “The Girlfriend” is a contemporary tale of a unique love (and hate) triangle. So, it primarily focuses on the mother, Laura Sanderson (Robin Wright), her son, Daniel Sanderson (Laurie Davidson), and her son’s girlfriend, Cherry Laine (Olivia Cooke), in this limited mini-series. Besides, we get to see the two sides of the key incidents in this storyline. So, we get to watch Laura Sanderson’s version of events. And soon after, we also get to view Cherry Laine’s perspective on the same event. No doubt, it is one of the USPs and the highlights of the show. Also, this show’s taglines clearly state that: “there are two sides to every story.”
But, as we all know that there are always two (or more) different versions of the same anecdote. Isn’t it?
Now, it is really up to the viewers to decide which rendition to trust in the end.
Official synopsis & more
In this juicy psychological thriller, The Girlfriend, Laura (Robin Wright) has it all: a glittering career, a loving husband, and her prized son, Daniel. But her perfect life unravels when Daniel brings home Cherry (Olivia Cooke), a girlfriend who changes everything. Laura’s convinced Cherry is hiding something. Is she a manipulative social climber, or is Laura just paranoid? The truth is a matter of perspective.
In addition to using the two different perspectives for the same storyline, “The Girlfriend” is a tightly woven, suspenseful drama. Nothing is black and white, so to speak. Both the lead characters, Cherry (Olivia Cooke) and Laura (Robin Wright), have a lot of shades of grey in their personalities. In fact, both Cherry and Laura portray a range of behaviours, sometimes acting rightly and at other times making dubious choices or even behaving selfishly to accomplish their hidden (and nefarious) objectives. Moreover, this depth and contradiction lend a negativity to their beautiful characters.
So, there is no one-dimensional portrayal of clear heroes and villains in the show.
On the other hand, in complete contrast, the other characters in the show are shown as normal, boring, predictable and reasonable humans.
Writers, Directors, Ensemble Cast, etc. have done a fairly good jobs
The writers, Michelle Frances, Gabbie Asher, Naomi Sheldon and others have offered an uncensored insight into the minds of two ladies, Cherry (Olivia Cooke) and Laura (Robin Wright). We honestly did not know who was right and who was wrong. But the shocking season finale scene forced us to change our views. Not surprisingly, we did not see the distressing and frightening ending coming. The discovery of Laura’s mobile phone and the damning voice recording evidence turned the show on its head. Kudos to both the directors, Robin Wright and Andrea Harkin. They kept the mystery and suspense going for the entire first season.
Among the ensemble cast, we liked the performances of both Olivia Cooke and Robin Wright. It is amazing that Robin Wright not only acted but also directed this show. And she has been great in both assignments. We have always admired her performances as an actress in Forest Gump (1994), Unbreakable (2001), House of Cards (2013-18), Damsel (2024), etc. And in Robin’s comparison, Olivia Cooke is a much younger actress with less experience. We have seen her in the first (S1/2022) season of Slow Horses and the House of the Dragon series’ first (S1/2022) season and second (S2/2024) season.
Olivia was impressive, not only in this mystery drama, but also in those spy series and fantasy shows.
With their acting performances, both Robin and Olivia made their characters in this show believable.
To conclude, is it a tale of Love & Betrayal?
In the end, as a viewer, one has to ask oneself, was Laura paranoid? Was she spiralling completely out of control as she started to behave badly? Or was she rightly suspicious of Cherry? And whether Laura’s behaviour seemed to be justified in the end? We humbly think that yes, it was a tale of love and betrayal.
Well, watch the show and then attempt to answer these queries yourself. We would certainly like you to draw your own conclusions.
FM Rating: The Girlfriend (Season 1/UK/2025) Limited Show
| FM Rating | 3.65/5 |
Poster: The Girlfriend (Season 1/UK/2025) Limited Show
Key Details: The Girlfriend (Season 1/UK/2025) Limited Show
| Genre | Drama, Mystery, Suspense |
| Original language | English (UK) |
| Age-restrictions | 18+ (Adult) |
| Duration | 4 hours 13 minutes |
| Season | Only One (1) Season |
| Episodes | Six (6) Episodes |
| Writer | Michelle Frances (based on her book) |
| Other key writers | Gabbie Asher & Naomi Sheldon (adapted it for television) |
| Directors | Robin Wright & Andrea Harkin |
| Music Composer | Ruth Barrett |
| Cinematographers | Paul Morris & Mattias Nyberg |
| Main Cast | Olivia Cooke (Cherry Laine), Robin Wright (Laura Sanderson), Laurie Davidson (Daniel Sanderson), Waleed Zuaiter (Howard Sanderson), Karen Henthorn (Tracey Laine), Tanya Moodie (Isabella Russell-Bailey), Shalom Brune-Franklin (Brigitte Russell-Bailey), Anna Chancellor (Lillith Greenway), Marina Bye (Pandora Henry), Nicholas Burns (Elliot), Ben Miles (Max Kader), Simon Meacock (John Laine), etc. |
| Taglines | There are two sides to every story. |
| Network | Amazon Prime Video |
Official Trailer: The Girlfriend (Season 1/UK/2025) Limited Show
Check out the YouTube video clip link: Mother’s Intro to Son’s Girlfriend Starts Off Dicey | Sneak Peek | The Girlfriend | Prime Video.
Spoilers-Alert: The Girlfriend (Season 1/UK/2025) Limited Show
Official Summaries of the Six (6) Episodes of this Mini-Series
First Episode | 52 minutes (S1, E1)
Glamorous Laura Sanderson’s beloved son, Daniel, confides that he’s met someone special. Wanting to impress, Laura meets the beguiling Cherry but soon catches her telling lies and starts to investigate. Cherry hides her humble beginnings as she works and plays amongst London’s elite. She does everything to win over her new boyfriend’s mother, Laura, but the more she tries, the worse it gets.
Second Episode | 50 minutes (S1, E2)
Cherry joins the Sandersons’ family holiday, intimidated by Daniel’s bond with Laura. As Cherry seeks alone time with Daniel, Laura grows suspicious of her secrets. The tension peaks until a yacht incident unexpectedly brings the women together. Just as they form a genuine connection, Laura witnesses something she was never meant to see and threatens Cherry, who in turn gives her an ultimatum.
Third Episode | 45 minutes (S1, E3)
Laura digs deeper into Cherry’s past as they continue to tussle for Daniel’s affection. When Daniel confronts his mother over her behaviour, they have a vicious argument, and Daniel spends his birthday with Cherry. With no support at home, Laura turns to her former lover for comfort before a phone call changes her and Cherry’s lives forever.
Fourth Episode | 48 minutes (S1, E4)
Laura finds proof that her instincts were right about Cherry, and she whisks her family to Spain, spinning a web of lies to explain Cherry’s sudden disappearance. Back in London, Cherry’s life starts to unravel, and she’s forced to move in with her mother. Upset, the Sandersons are callously ignoring her; it’s not long until Cherry plots to get her life back.
Fifth Episode | 51 minutes (S1, E5)
An explosive revelation shatters Laura and Daniel’s relationship, as Cherry must decide if reclaiming him is worth re-entering Laura’s toxic orbit. But she’s done being pushed around, and she and Daniel are more in love than ever. Laura’s desperation to win back her son and her obsession with Cherry spiral out of control, as her life unravels, their mutual hatred reaches new heights.
Sixth Episode | 52 minutes (S1, E6)
Cherry and Daniel seem blissfully in love, but cracks are starting to show. As Cherry fights to hold on to her new life, Laura discovers their relationship is progressing quickly. A tense visit to Cherry’s family brings the evidence Laura thinks she needs to take Cherry down. It looks like Laura’s won until the tables turn and a bitter showdown erupts, with Daniel caught in the crossfire.
The Girlfriend (Season 1/UK/2025) Limited Show | Poster & Featured Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video
Discover more from Focus Magazine
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
