XL Stands for Xtra Love

starring: RACHEL BETH JACKSON & TEIG SADHANA

Ellie wants to be a world famous model, but no one’ll give a chubby girl a chance. She has a one-night stand with fashion company CEO Eason, raising their daughter Lucille alone. Hoping to land a job as a model, she answers HALE Group’s casting call only to discover that the boss interviewing is her baby daddy, Eason Hale himself!

REVIEW

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank goodness we have come a long way on Verticals in 2 years. Do not panic about the title, this is an adorable and sweet romance made by the 3 leads.

I want to talk about @scarlett.sterling.shields first as it is easy to forget how young she is, because she feels like an old pro in vertical years. Just her delivery and timing is spot on, reminds me of Keisha Knight Pullman in the 1980s. Cute without ever being saccharine she is a joy on screen

And I think this is one of the best portrayals of an on screen mother daughter relationship, Ellie's anger when Lucille is mistreated, the fact she sacrifices what she thinks is best for Scarlett (agreeing to live with Eason). There is actually a connection here and as a mum I appreciated seeing that.

Plus @rachelbethjackson is luminous and iconic. End of. When she smiles it is like sunshine on the screen. And she is wonderfully feisty. Thank the Lord. Ellie is no pushover, and gives as good as she gets. In fact the biggest thing she has to learn is to let Eason help her (not to love herself as she is, confidence blah blah blah thank goodness)

And @teig.sadhana as Eason is the moral core desperately needed in vertical land. But perhaps the best bits are when he is flirting with Ellie, very cheeky smile when he shuts those patio doors on her, and when he is trying to persuade Ellie to enter the contract with him

And because everyone can act there is chemistry here. Sometimes I think people think chemistry is just making two actors glower at each other, pose, pout and then try to suck each other's face off. It just makes me giggle.

Chemistry in my humble opinion is when there is a connection, you can see the actors working together as a team, building the relationship together and you feel that it is real.

And that's what Ellie and Eason have, you totally believe that they slowly fall for each other and become an unbeatable team who take on the world together. You feel Eason's pride as Ellie fulfils her ambitions. And Ellie's heart go when she sees that Eason has let Lucille paint his face.

It's not perfect paper allergy anyone.

But it works because it has a tenderness much needed in verticals.

💖 Top swoonworthy moment:

We actually have chemistry here, which is what happens when you have two leads who can act! Plus it is a proper relationship, Ellie isn’t a damsel in distress but is fine on her own, and it is more interesting that half the battle for Eason is persuading her to let him help. Two equal adults here who realise they are even stronger together. Plus Eason has a moral clarity much needed in life and verticals. He takes immediate action and actually fires everyone who behaves badly (so many CEOs in verticals don’t do this). He stands up to his awful aunt. Oh and he lets a 5 year old paint his face which believe me is saint like behaviour, and will have caused ladies around the world to swoon.

🦹🏼‍♂️ Top villain award:

I think we all approach any show with XL in the title with some trepidation. And yes there is some nasty bullying. And total unprofessionalism in the fashion world with the damage to the shirt and bad make up job. But the world is as it is, checked with kids and sadly insults still thrown at school about people’s looks. We can’t sanitise everything, and instead I think there is something to be said for having a character like Ellie on the screen. She never stops dreaming, believing in herself and is damn tough, from slapping Eason when she thinks he is perving to bashing those 2 salesgirls together. Great role model.

😂 Comedy gold:

There are quite a few fun bits in this one - Eason complaining about a phone ringing in the meeting, and then his assistant revealing it is his, Miss Lucille locking her parents in and then a very hasty grab for a towel in the bathroom, Eason trying to send his mum to the spa.

But the best bit is unintentional - Eason being allergic to paper, having to rescue his daughter from a deadly stationery cupboard, but then also seen reading books twice, and handling paper reports and model photos. Answers are needed! Presumably as a very rich CEO he has some sort of super special anti allergy solution.

🎺 Unsung hero:

We have several - firstly Scarlett Shields as Lucille because she is utterly adorable and looks like her on screen mum here. Mini Shirley Temple.

Then Ellie’s Aunt and Uncle who are never anything but supportive.

But it has to go to Eason’s mother who is full of love for her son, her granddaughter and her daughter-in-law. You can see where Eason got his strong moral principles from. And it is so refreshing to see a mum character be supportive of Ellie rather than bullying her. Hooray!

✍🏼 DETAILS

Director: Michelle Tong Zhou | 2026

Available on Reelshort