The Best Part of ‘Maggie’? Rebecca Rittenhouse and Nichole Sakura’s Chemistry

There’s a lot to love about Maggie, Hulu’s rom-com series about a psychic searching for her soulmate. The cast is stacked. The scripts feature winning one-liners. And though the conflict is fairly predictable, one thing you don’t see coming is the show’s greatest relationship. Spoiler alert: It isn’t a romantic connection between Maggie (Rebecca Rittenhouse) and a man. The real duo worth rooting for is Maggie and her best friend Louise (Nichole Sakura).

The pilot introduces longtime pals Maggie and Louise as two ladies on the hunt for romantic partners. They each want to find men who respect and adore them for who they are, people to settle down and grow old with, and other halves who complete them. That’s all well and good. But as the series progresses, it’s clear they’ve already found their soulmates in each other. Thanks to delightful dialogue, an established rapport, and crucially, Rittenhouse and Sakura’s seemingly effortless on-screen chemistry, Mags and Lou’s friendship is one of Maggie’s biggest draws.

Between her psychic mentor Angel (Ray Ford) and her mom (Kerri Kenney) and dad (Chris Elliott), Maggie is never lacking a solid support system. But no one understands and accepts her quite like Louise. The two comfort each other when times get rough, celebrate the big and small wins, and deliver difficult doses of honesty when needed. Whether Louise is roasting Maggie’s hideous shoes and horrible bedside manner, or Maggie is cringing over Louise’s dye job and telling her which of her dates are duds, the two always have each other’s backs.

Rittenhouse seems right at home playing the modest, tenderhearted, thoughtful Maggie. And Sakura infuses Louise with the perfect amount of Cheyenne on Superstore’s lovable personality. Once again, Sakura nails a goofy supporting character with sparkling sass and constant candidness. And those traits complement Rittenhouse’s more serious portrayal of a perpetually conflicted character well. Whether Maggie and Lou are reciting the first rule of their friendship — “We don’t lie about cheese” — in unison or thanking each other for knowing how to make life better, Rittenhouse and Sakura’s on-screen chemistry translates authentically and makes viewers more invested in the story.

As Maggie progresses, female friendship becomes an important aspect of the series. Mags and Lou develop relationships with Ben’s girlfriend Jessie (Chloe Bridges) and his sister Amy (Angelique Cabral), and though the show tests out amusing new character pairings — writing scenes for Amy and Lou or Maggie and Jessie — they decidedly lack the power of a Maggie and Louise moment.

Rittenhouse and Sakura swiftly and successfully lay the groundwork for a believable history between their characters, who have been best friends since childhood, and the show further cements their connection in Episode 8, “Your Past Will Inform Your Present.” The episode toggles between present-day scenes of Maggie and Louise working a high school prom and flashbacks of their awkward teen selves at their own prom. Both nights end with the girls sharing a booth and a plate of cheese fries at Rena’s diner, and while flashback episodes — especially ones that feature actors trying to look younger by wearing laughable wigs and outdated clothes — are often painful to watch, Maggie‘s glimpse into the past effectively informs viewers about why Mags and Lou’s present-day bond is so special. After venting about her love life, Maggie tells Lou that one day someone will love her for who she really is — visions and all. Without missing a beat, Lou responds, “Well you know, somebody already does.” I know this saying is cheesier than Rena’s fries, but I don’t care. These two are friendship goals.

Sure, we want Louise and Maggie to find love, and the idea of Mags and the unexpectedly taken Ben (David Del Rio) eventually getting together is nice. But really, who needs a man when you have a BFF who will lay in bed having a heart to heart while popping Bugles on your fingertips and pretending they’re dramatically long nails? Rittenhouse and Sakura are a charming pair who bring Louise’s hilarious motto, “happiness before a-penis,” to life whenever they’re together.