Q&A with Jess Bray, writer and creator of Break Clause

What is Break Clause about?

Break Clause is about a couple who break up the day they move in together but have to live out six months of their break clause. I think of it as a sort of rom-com in reverse, because it’s a classic will-they, won’t-they, it just starts from the end. It’s like the autopsy of a relationship but the patient’s still alive. I loved writing it because it’s two of my favourite things to write in the world – flirting and fighting.

What inspired you to write this story?

When I first wrote the pilot in 2018, I was writing a lot of shows that didn’t really feel like me. I was trying to work out what the industry wanted. But deep down, I knew I just wanted to write about people and relationships and seemingly ‘small’ situations that feel cosmic and huge and life-changing for characters. Because in your early twenties a break-up really does feel like the end of the world. It’s all consuming. And in a city as expensive as London I had more and more friends finding themselves in Ben and Lil’s situation. It made a good basis for a romantic comedy. Me and my boyfriend had also just moved in together so maybe I was projecting some fears!

Why do you think audiences will connect with Break Clause?

There’s a universality to being in love for the first time and figuring out whether or not that person’s worth fighting for. For both Ben and Lil, being forced into this living situation, however horrible it seems at the beginning, actually makes them really grow as people. They have to confront who they are and who they might’ve been, for better or worse, in front of each other. Ultimately, this is a love story. And people like love stories.

What makes Break Clause stand out as a romantic comedy? 

We have two characters who we haven’t really seen in rom coms before. Lara and Samuel’s chemistry feels unexpected and surprising and even more alive and exciting because of that. I felt like I was writing to match their energy. They raised the bar in a big way for me.

How was it bringing this world to life with the cast and creative team?

As a writer it’s such a joy to work with actors like Lara and Samuel, who are just completely magnetic and make my writing feel so much better. Every member of the cast brought something surprising and unique. It felt so exciting watching them every day, bringing stuff out of the script that I didn’t even know was in there. I can also hand over so much of the credit to our brilliant director Alice Snedden who came to this project with a real love and passion for 80s/90s rom coms, from When Harry Met Sally to Notting Hill to While You Were Sleeping. We really wanted to emulate the colour palettes and aesthetics of those classics. She worked really hard with our Director of Photography, Will Hanke, to make this show beautiful. Every single person on the crew brought something so special. Nauseatingly, I just had the loveliest time and felt lucky every god damn day.