'Russian Doll' is everything I hoped it would be and more. It follows off-the-wall Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) who dies on the evening of her birthday and gets caught in a time loop whereby she keeps dying and returning to the start of her birthday party each time she dies. The show extends way beyond this premise and there are depths and twists and turns you won't see coming. If I had to categorise it I'd go with horror-comedy-drama. The humour is dark, but it's effective and offset with some very sad moments that pull on the heart-strings.

The two main characters are deeply lonely and unhappy people who are caught in a monotonous self-destructive cycles in their lives. It's something that most of us can relate to on some level and that's what makes it so effective and meaningful - we see ourselves or at least our feelings/experiences in the characters in some way. Through meeting each other and their shared experiences the characters are able to find purpose and meaning in their lives and realise the most important thing in life - they are not alone.

The 8 half an hour episodes that make up the season will take you on wild journey, but you won't be disappointed. The story is well-paced, funny, shocking, sad and riveting and will take you through the whole spectrum of human emotion. It also has a very satisfying ending which doesn't leave any kind of loose ends or a bitter taste in the mouth, which is rare to find with shows these days.

Overall, I'd recommend Russian Doll to everybody. The first episode may not sell you on it, but give it a chance to get into the nitty gritty. Whether you love or hate Nadia (she is like marmite), you'll find yourself getting more and more attached to her and sympathetic towards her as you learn more about her back-story and experience the traumas she has to endure.