Thanks to its compelling plot and likeable characters, Netflix’s One Day TV series was a huge hit with viewers and sparked discussions regarding the show’s origin. Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod feature in the British TV series One Day, which is available on Netflix.
In One Day, two British students at the University of Edinburgh named Emma (Mob) and Dexter (Woodall) narrate the tale of their day spent together the day before they graduated. That July 15, 1988, was the day, and over the next twenty years, the series caught up with them on that same day.
The ups and downs of Emma and Dexter’s friendship, as well as their professional and personal lives, are depicted in One Day. It also shows how their once-strong bond was nearly destroyed a few times.
The blend of drama, comedy, and romance in One Day, together with its realistic tone that allowed viewers to easily relate to the plot and its characters, helped the show become popular with both reviewers and audiences. One Day’s popularity and tone have sparked debate over the show’s source material, particularly if it is based on a real-life incident.
Netflix’s One Day Isn’t A True Story
One Day is not one of the true story-based TV series available on Netflix. The show’s basis for its friends-to-lovers plot with a terrible ending came from a fictional couple named Dexter and Emma, but it doesn’t lessen how authentic the characters, their bond, and their tale feel.
While Emma and Dexter’s story in One Day undoubtedly reflects numerous experiences from throughout the globe and history, One Day—in all of its forms—was not inspired by the story of a particular couple and their particular circumstance. One Day is based on a book rather than a real-life incident.
One Day, written by David Nicholls and released in 2009, won the 2010 Galaxy Book of the Year award after receiving positive reviews from critics. Critics praised One Day for being remarkable, humorous, insightful, empathetic, and “unbearably sad” despite several structural issues and the exclusion of parts of Dexter and Emma’s life events.
2011 saw the big-screen adaptation of One Day, directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education) and featuring a script by Nicholls. In the One Day movie, Anne Hathaway played Emma, Jim Sturgess played Dexter, Patricia Clarkson played Dexter’s mother Alison, Romola Garai played Sylvie, and Rafe Spall played Ian.
Sadly, One Day was unable to duplicate the novel’s success and was given a “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 35% score. The majority of reviewers felt that One Day lacked the novel’s depth, emotion, and insight.
Some called it “monotonous” and “boring,” while others thought its plodding pace added to its allure and helped set up its devastating twist. Parts of Dex and Emma’s storylines are inspired by David Nicholls’ real life, even though One Day isn’t based on a true story and neither of them are real persons.
In an interview with The Guardian in 2011, Nicholls discussed the origins of the idea for Dexter and Emma, indicating that they are a synthesis of many individuals he encountered during significant moments in his life.
Throughout his acting career, Nicholls collaborated with men whose lives and jobs reflected Dex’s, especially when Dex was a less-than-loved TV host.
Parts of the individuals Nicholls worked with, he continued, may be found on Dexter because they were attractive, successful in their early years, and “felt no embarrassment about having a good time.”
