Toxic relationships go digital on HBO’s “Made For Love”

Imagine a microchip that can be implanted in someone’s brain, allowing one to access not only what they’re seeing or hearing, but all their thoughts and emotions.

On HBO GO’s new original series “Made For Love,” that chip is invented by a tech billionaire who “loves” his wife so much, he’s given her everything she could ever need so that she would never have a reason to get out of their house for 10 years.

Based on the novel by Alissa Nutting, the sci-fi comedy stars Cristin Milioti as Hazel Green, a woman trying to get out of her marriage to Gogol Tech’s Byron Gogol (Billy Magnussen). The couple has been living in their compound known as the Hub, filled with augmented reality features and Alexa-type devices that monitor Hazel’s every move.

Escaping to her hometown to take refuge with her father Herbert (Ray Romano), Hazel discovers that her husband had taken things further by implanting a “Made For Love” chip in her brain. It allows Byron to continue watching her and even access her “emotional data” as she tries to regain her independence.

In an interview with GMA News Online, Cristin Milioti shares her thoughts on love, trauma, and the importance of maintaining individuality in a relationship.

“Someone close to me in my life was like, ‘Oh the chip could be a metaphor for trauma!’ In terms of like an ex, they’re always there, you’re always hearing their voice,” she says.

If the chip existed in real life, would she put it in anyone’s brain? “Oh my God, no! Never,” Cristin answers. “It’s different for every couple but personally, I think autonomy and independence [are] very important,” she says. “So this scenario in the show, it’s just a complete nightmare to not let a partner have any privacy.”

Cristin is no stranger to playing the girl in a romance: she actually played the character named “Girl” on the Broadway musical “Once” for which she bagged a Grammy and a Tony nomination. After her most famous role as the Mother on the hit sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” she starred as Zelda, a cynical lawyer who falls for a hopeless romantic on the short-lived sitcom “A to Z.”

Cristin then played a New Yorker navigating the dating scene in an episode of the anthology series “Modern Love,” based on the New York Times column.

Her two most recent projects prior to “Modern Love” are in the same comedic sci-fi vein—the “Black Mirror” episode “USS Callister” also with co-star Billy Magnussen, and the Groundhog Day-inspired movie “Palm Springs” opposite Andy Samberg.

“I really like things that sort of defy genres which I think [“Made For Love”] does—even though I also love traditional genres like a sitcom,” says Cristin. “It’s a coincidence, I guess. Maybe all of them have to do with a universal thing which is connection.”

Similar to “Made For Love,” there are a number of movies and shows these days that similarly tackle relationships in the digital age, such as the K-drama “Love Alarm” and the Netflix series “The One.” Cristin believes it’s because this quest for companionship and connection is “a huge part of being alive on this earth.

“It can be challenging, life. You want someone to go through with it,” she continues. “But I do think there’s a lot of pressure put on people to find ‘The One’ which I don’t think is helpful. Love comes in many different forms. It’s not just the one that’s sold to us.” — LA, GMA News

Stream or download “Made For Love” on the HBO GO app, or visit hbogoasia.com.