My Roommate's Girlfriend review

The setup

Nate shares an apartment with Ben, a sweet guy whose girlfriend Sadie spends her weekends there and makes no secret of what she thinks of Nate. The feeling is mutual, at least out loud. The morning after another noisy night, he needles her about the walls and about whether she was really enjoying herself, she wishes aloud that he would move out, and every insult lands a little too close to flirting. When Ben asks whether Sadie can stay the whole weekend, Nate agrees and leaves her a standing offer for when Ben bores her.

Episode 2

At two in the morning Nate is up, gloating that Ben apparently failed to deliver, when Sadie appears in an outfit that makes her water excuse hard to swallow. She dares him to name what she wants. He spells it out, kitchen counter and sleeping boyfriend included, and she scoffs. Ben calls out, she covers smoothly, and the sniping resumes at closer range, with a fresh argument over whose hands keep wandering, until she issues a blunt go-ahead.

Who's who

• Nate: the roommate with a mean streak and a suspiciously close interest in the walls
• Sadie: Ben's girlfriend, loudly irritated by Nate and never quite leaving the room
• Ben: sweet, trusting and the last person in the apartment to notice anything

Verdict: 6.9 out of 10

Sharp and a little cruel, which is exactly why it works. The script trusts the banter, and the banter delivers: Nate's crack about how satisfied Sadie really is gets a genuinely nasty laugh, and her protests soften with every exchange. Ben is drawn so sweetly he almost becomes the joke. Episode 2 moves the fight to the kitchen at 2 a.m. and keeps the insults doing the flirting, which proves the attitude has stamina and gives the paid episodes an obvious, tempting target.

Episode guide