There are hordes of romcoms that could feasibly be renamed Cheaters. Despite the spicy frankness of this dramedy’s title, its premise – Cupid strikes while at least one of the pairing is in a relationship – isn’t actually a novel, modern twist on the format; it’s one of the founding principles of the genre. From Brief Encounter to Sleepless in Seattle to Bridget Jones’s Diary, unfaithfulness is the bedrock of many an enthralling love story.
Cheaters is no exception. The first season, released in 2022, was a wildly entertaining romp that hinged on a classic romcom coincidence: having indulged in a passionate one-night stand in Finland, Josh (Joshua McGuire) and Fola (Susan Wokoma) returned to their respective homes and partners – only to find that both of these things were situated directly across the road from one another in south-east London. Nightmarish weeks spent wrestling with guilt and intensifying attraction followed, as their unsuspecting other halves struck up a friendship and the two couples’ lives became increasingly intertwined.
