The story
Jessie, a twenty-something New Zealander in London, splits her time between a cinema job and nannying. After a New Year's Eve one-night stand, she discovers that the charming stranger she went home with is Tom Kapoor, a famous film star. What follows is a screwball romance in which two people from wildly different worlds keep colliding, parting and finding excuses to collide again.
Why it matters
Starstruck landed as a complete box set on iPlayer before its BBC One run, during BBC Three's online-only spell, and HBO Max picked it up, renewing it the day it debuted there. Created by and starring Rose Matafeo, it is a neat example of a small British online comedy finding an international streaming audience.
Born online
Series one was made available in full on BBC iPlayer as a BBC Three title on 25 April 2021, a day before its BBC One broadcast began, while BBC Three was still online-only. HBO Max released it in June 2021, announcing a second series the same day; series three arrived on the relaunched BBC Three channel in August 2023.
Notable facts
- The idea came partly from a group of Matafeo's New Zealand friends who spent a night in a London pub with a major Hollywood actor. (source)
- A second series was commissioned before the first had even aired. (source)
- HBO Max announced the second series on 10 June 2021, the day the show debuted on the service. (source)