An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts

Today, being single makes navigating the dating scene seem quite impossible with endless obstacles when it comes to finding ‘the one’, from awkward dating app tête-à-tête to first date blunders. But what if the answer lies in turning to the stars?

The Italian-language Netflix original represents a rare class of light-hearted rom-com that translate into guilty pleasures, even quoting some of the genre’s most iconic lines, thus unfolding without too many surprises and everything falling as expected or predicted. Based on the book of the same name by Silvia Zucca, An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts features Alice Bassi, a Libra who has been downtrodden and hopelessly single. She is on the hunt for love and interprets the birth charts of every potential partner to find the one who is most compatible with her. With our sudden lust for all signs dictated by astrology — not to forget the dating apps sporting star sign badges — it seems only fitting to let the stars help you narrow down the dating pool. Be as it may, Alice winds up finding out the hard way if the zodiac truly plays a role when it comes to finding true love. While it is a work of fiction and not a real guide for dating, it may help some demoralised souls along the way.

Becoming friends with Tio, a charismatic astrology guru, Alice tries to find love by looking to the stars. Quite honestly, the dating world does seem to be heading in that direction nowadays — after all, we all turn to the zodiac for every little thing, don’t we? In contrast to the vague, repetitive horoscopes found in the depths of the newspaper, the rom-com TV show gets more serious about astrology by employing birth/natal charts. In case you are not familiar, birth charts represent the positions of the Sun, Moon, and the other planets at the exact time of birth. They may not sound reliable, but they can provide valuable information about a person’s strengths and weaknesses, personality traits, and red flags to keep an eye out for.

Alice, who is a little over thirty and stuck in a dead-end job, just discovered that her ex-boyfriend is engaged to his pregnant girlfriend and has a vague feeling that she is failing at adulthood as a whole. One dreadful morning, Alice meets Davide Nardi when she would rather have stayed home and watched her favorite rom-com. The hunky yet indecipherable Davide is brought in by the small television network Alice works at to help streamline production and personnel. Then she runs into Tio — an actor and astrologer — who claims that he can turn her life around with a few positive predictions from the stars. Skeptical, but willing, Alice accepts Tio’s advice and begins to only date men who have compatible Zodiac signs with hers. Astral affinity, however, does not guard this hopeless lady against experiencing a string of bad dates, embarrassing confusions, and awkward surprises, just like every other person in the dating world. It also does not stop her from becoming more attracted to Davide every day.

Despite its simplistic and unoriginal nature, there is something captivating about An Astrological Guide for Broken Hearts. Such shows are often successful due to their lead characters. Like Bridget Jones or New Girl’s Jess, Alice Bassi is fun, lovable, and happens to be relatable. While she is messy and wears pretty outfits and is unsure of making decisions in her love life, she is a rather confident and independent woman in her career. As she battles the often-confusing world of men and steers her career in a TV studio, you will find yourself rooting for her success. In the Netflix series, there is a sense of tragedy for the hopeless romantic. While relying on the half-hearted aspect, the Italian series also throws in the harsh realities of dating. Thus, Alice must go through men and learn lessons, which forms the crux of her character development. While the series tries to stay grounded on the star signs, it still kicks out the rom-com vibe that is so common to modern television.

As expected, the series boasts a cast packed with Italian stars. Leading the cast is Claudia Gusmano as Alice, Michele Rosiello as Davide, and Lorenzo Adorni as astrological guru Tio. With twelve episodes in both seasons, the series feels like a complete one with each episode focusing on a zodiac sign, and one can surmise that the third season seems unlikely since all twelve zodiac signs have been covered, and the second season felt conclusive. Considering each episode only lasts 30 minutes, this is an easy series to binge-watch on a weekend. The show will leave you wanting more, and if you are a sucker for romance, you are bound to be hooked from the first episode.