The Internet Has Seen ‘Conversations With Friends,’ and They Have Things to Say

Courtney Young
·4 min read
Photo credit: Hulu/Enda Bowe
Photo credit: Hulu/Enda Bowe
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Hulu’s latest Sally Rooney adaptation Conversations With Friends is here, and after less than a week in the zeitgeist, it’s already stirring up discourse online. Adaptations of beloved books are always divisive, and Conversations With Friends lives in the shadow of its widely acclaimed predecessor, Normal People. So does it hold up?

Conversations With Friends follows a young poet, Francis, and her ex-girlfriend turned best friend, Bobbi, through their entanglement (à la Will and Jada) with an older married couple, Nick and Melissa. The story is about, you guessed it, conversations with friends (and married lovers, apparently) and, moreover, the things left unsaid.

Like any good adaptation, there’s a bit of a chasm between readers turned viewers and viewers who started streaming the series blind. Conversations With Friends currently holds a 61 percent critic approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes, with an 80 percent audience score. In comparison, big sister Normal People holds a 91 percent critic rating with a 93 percent audience score. The consensus is clear: If you were hoping Conversations might be a Normal People part two, you’ll be sorely disappointed. That said, the series stands on its own, and its source material is well loved by the same cult following that praised its predecessor.

Almost immediately after the show landed on Hulu, readers flocked to Twitter with a disclaimer—if you didn’t read it, you probably won’t get it. Despite some mixed reviews, the virtual conversation around the show has been generally positive. Social media quickly became inundated with Rooney fans tweeting their favorite quotes, hottest Joe Alywn snaps, and, naturally, comparisons to Normal People.

Between soapbox statements from OG Rooney fans and horny panic for Joe, the series has quickly become a catalyst for conversations with internet friends.

Here are the best reactions to Conversations With Friends on social media.

When the Anticipation Was Just Too Much


“If You Didn’t Read the Book” Discourse, of Course

When They Finished All 12 Episodes in One Day

Admit It, It’s Really Good

When “I Love Sally Rooney” Starts to Sound Like “I Need Therapy”

“We Did It, Joe” (Alwyn)

A Moment for the Sally Rooney Cinematic Universe

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