Netflix’s The One is a crime drama about a DNA researcher who discovers a way to find the perfect partner, and creates a bold new matchmaking service around it. The premise sounds like science fiction, but the show plays it straight, and that decision is both the show’s strength and its weakness. It is a slow-burning, morally queasy story about love, lies, and the consequences of making a decision you can never unmake.
Trailer, via Netflix.
The Premise
The show follows Rebecca Webb, played by Hannah Ware, a DNA researcher whose work leads to a breakthrough that identifies the biological soulmate of every living person. The discovery is used to create a matchmaking service that pairs people with their one true match, the person they were always meant to be with. The twist is that once you are matched, you cannot opt out. You are legally obligated to marry the person, and the law punishes anyone who tries to get around the system.
The concept is simple, but the implications are vast. It changes everything about how people choose partners, how society functions, and what it means to be happy. The show spends its runtime exploring those questions through the lives of its characters, each of whom finds themselves caught in the machine of the matchmaking system.
Rebecca Webb
Hannah Ware anchors the series as Rebecca Webb, the woman whose research started the whole mess. She is driven, intelligent, and deeply committed to her work, but she is also human enough to feel the weight of what she has done. Her arc is the emotional core of the show, and Ware sells the tension between her ambition and her conscience with a performance that shifts between cold calculation and genuine warmth.
Rebecca is not a villain, but she is not a hero either. She is a scientist who made a discovery that changed the world, and now she has to live with the consequences of that discovery. The show does not let her off easy, and neither should we.
Ben Naser and the Matchmaking Service
Amir El-Masry plays Ben Naser, a man who is matched with Rebecca and falls in love with her despite the odds. His story is one of quiet desperation. He knows he is not the man Rebecca deserves, but he cannot help himself. The show spends a lot of time with him, showing how the system affects ordinary people, and El-Masry gives a performance that is both vulnerable and compelling.
The other characters orbit around the central pairing of Rebecca and Ben. Stephen Campbell Moore plays Damien Brown, a detective investigating the fallout from the matchmaking system. Lois Chimimba plays Hannah Bailey, and Wilf Scolding plays Ethan. Diarmaid Murtagh plays Connor Martin, and Albano Jerónimo plays Matheus Silva. Zoe Tapper plays Kate Saunders, and Gregg Chillin plays Nick Gedny. The ensemble is large, and not all of them get equal screen time, but each brings something distinct to the table.
The Slow Burn
The pacing is deliberate. The show unfolds over eight episodes, and it takes its time establishing the world, the rules of the system, and the stakes for everyone involved. That patience pays off in some respects, but it also drags in others. Some viewers will find the slow burn rewarding; others will find it frustrating.
The show is at its best when it focuses on individual relationships, showing how the matchmaking system impacts families, friendships, and communities. The worst episodes are the ones that lean too heavily on exposition, explaining the mechanics of the system rather than letting the story breathe.
The Moral Question
The show raises a serious question: what happens when you can know with certainty who you are supposed to be with? The answer is not pretty. People lie, cheat, and manipulate to avoid being matched with someone they do not want. The system creates winners and losers, and the losers are often the people who simply could not be matched with anyone.
The show does not offer easy answers. It presents the problem and lets the characters grapple with it, sometimes successfully and sometimes not. That ambiguity is refreshing, but it also means the show does not fully resolve its central conflict. The final episode leaves some threads unresolved, which may frustrate viewers looking for closure.
The Performances
The cast is uniformly solid. Ware and El-Masry are the standout pair, but the supporting actors hold their own. The show benefits from having a large ensemble, even if not every character gets the screen time they deserve. The chemistry between Rebecca and Ben is palpable, and the show leans on it heavily.
The show also benefits from its tone. It is a crime drama, but it is not a thriller in the conventional sense. There is no pulse-pounding music, no sudden twists, no chase sequences. Instead, it relies on quiet dread and the slow accumulation of small betrayals. This approach works for the most part, though it can make the show feel less immediate than it might otherwise be.
The Setting
The show is set in a recognizable modern world, but with a specific technological overlay. The DNA research is presented as plausible, and the show does not spend much time explaining how the system works. We see the effects, we see the consequences, but we do not see the science behind it. This is a smart choice, as it allows the show to focus on the human drama rather than getting bogged down in technical details.
The setting is mostly urban, with a mix of professional offices, homes, and public spaces. The production design is competent but unremarkable. The show is not trying to dazzle with visuals, and it does not need to. The story is the star.
The Verdict
The One is a well-made, thought-provoking series that struggles to balance its ambitions with its execution. The premise is strong, the performances are generally excellent, and the moral questions are genuinely unsettling. But the slow pacing and uneven storytelling keep it from reaching its full potential.
The show is at its best when it trusts its audience to follow the story without constant explanation. It is at its weakest when it leans on exposition to explain the mechanics of the system. The final episode leaves some questions unanswered, which is a shame, but it also leaves the door open for a potential second season.
The show is worth watching for fans of crime dramas and science fiction. It is not a perfect show, but it is a compelling one. It asks difficult questions and does not flinch from the answers, even when those answers are uncomfortable.
“Love — and lies — spiral when a DNA researcher helps discover a way to find the perfect partner, and creates a bold new matchmaking service.”
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
