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“‘Absolutely Excellent’ — BBC’s New Romance Mix Tape Is Already Being Called the Next One Day, and Viewers Are Completely Obsessed”

The BBC may have just released its most emotional drama of the year — and viewers are already calling it “the most beautiful love story since One Day.”

Titled Mix Tape, the four-part romantic miniseries premiered Tuesday night on BBC Two and landed on iPlayer the same evening. Within hours, fans were pouring onto social media calling it “absolutely excellent”, “heart-wrenching”, and “impossible not to binge.”

A Love Story Told in Two Timelines

Starring One Day’s Jim Sturgess and The Fall Guy’s Teresa Palmer, Mix Tape follows Daniel and Alison — two teenagers who fell in love in 1989 Sheffield and reconnect decades later, living on opposite sides of the world. The story unfolds across dual timelines: their youthful romance told through cassette tapes and late-night drives, and their reunion as adults haunted by regret, memory, and music.Teresa Palmer as Alison and Jim Sturgess as Daniel in Mix Tape

The emotional punch? They reconnect through one song from their past — a track that reawakens everything they tried to forget.

“It’s just beautiful,” one viewer posted. “Cried my eyes out, but in a good way.”
Another said: “The nostalgia, the soundtrack, the heartbreak… I’m obsessed.”

“If One Day Destroyed You — This Might Finish the Job”

With a soundtrack soaked in ‘80s longing and aching performances from both Sturgess and Palmer, Mix Tape is being compared to One Day, Normal People, and even This Is Us for its emotional realism. Viewers say the chemistry between the leads — and between the younger versions played by Florence Hunt (Bridgerton) and newcomer Rory Walton-Smith — is both believable and deeply affecting.

“This is the kind of show that leaves you staring at the credits, wondering what might’ve been,” one fan wrote.close-up of blonde woman

A Quiet Sleeper Hit With Big Emotions

Despite little promotion, Mix Tape is quietly becoming one of the most talked-about BBC dramas of the summer, with some viewers saying they watched all four episodes in a single night — and needed tissues for every one of them.

“I was their age in 1989,” said another viewer. “It brought it all back — the mixtapes, the first love, the heartbreak. I’m not okay.”

The Cast Behind the Magic

Alongside Sturgess and Palmer, the series features Bridgerton’s Florence Hunt and newcomer Rory Walton-Smith as the younger Daniel and Alison. Supporting cast includes Ben Lawson (Firefly Lane), Sara Soulié (Conflict), Julia Savage (The Clearing), and Helen Behan (Malpractice). With direction by Aussie filmmaker Lucy Gaffy and writing by Fiona Seres, Mix Tape is a joint production with Foxtel and Screen NSW.https://images.hellomagazine.com/horizon/original_aspect_ratio/1f7cb4505875-jim-sturgess-mix-tape.jpg?tx=c_limit,w_960

Where to Watch

All four episodes of Mix Tape are now streaming on BBC iPlayer. And with fans already begging for more, one thing’s clear:
This isn’t just a story about love — it’s about time, music, and the aching silence between what we said… and what we never did.