# State of the Union (2019)

> Tom and Louise rehash the history of their marriage over pints in a London pub before each weekly therapy session.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/74699

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 10 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, drama
- Created by: Nick Hornby
- Network: SundanceTV
- Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Patricia Clarkson, Esco Jouléy, Chris O'Dowd, Rosamund Pike, Elliot Levey, Laura Cubitt, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù
- TMDB rating: 7.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8708280/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: none
- Tone: deadpan, wry, intimate, melancholic, awkward

## What critics say

Audiences praise the sharp, intimate two-hander conversations and the lead performances, while the second season is seen as a weaker follow-up.

## Synopsis

State of the Union (2019-2022) is a British American co-produced comedy drama series created by Nick Hornby for SundanceTV. Chris O'Dowd plays Tom and Rosamund Pike plays Louise, a married couple who meet in a London pub just before their weekly marital therapy session. Each episode runs only about ten minutes and is built as a single intimate conversation, with the story of their relationship pieced together out of order as they talk over drinks. The engine is simple and painful: how they got together, what drew them close, and what has begun to pull them apart, all surfaced in fragments rather than chronology. Their exchanges are deadpan, awkward and sharp, with the tension of infidelity and counselling sitting just beneath the jokes. The series runs for two seasons of ten episodes each, forming a compact, serialized portrait of one marriage. Its wry, conversational register and its reliance on dialogue over action will appeal to viewers who enjoy the talky intimacy of Before Sunrise and the confessional tone of Fleabag. Set in contemporary London, it is a quietly melancholic, funny and emotionally exposed piece about love, habit and the stories couples tell about themselves.

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