Nicole Kidman has been a movie star since the 90's, but she's been doing a lot of television lately. Her most successful was HBO's Big Little Lies (2017), which was an adaptation of a novel written by a woman. It was a murder mystery involving very wealthy people. It won over a half-dozen Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Lead Actress for Kidman. Since then, Kidman has done similar projects, miniseries that are adapted by female authors that are murder mysteries among elite or upper-class individuals. One of which was HBO's The Undoing (2020), which was directed by Susanne Bier who is an Emmy winner too for The Night Manager (2016) and whose feature In a Better World (2011) won an Oscar. The Undoing is about a married couple whose potential mistress winds up dead and the couple become suspects.
This series, based on the 2018 novel by Elin Hilderbrand, is created by Jenna Lamia (Good Girls and 90210) and directed by Susanne Bier. Like Big Little Lies, it's centered on a wealthy community, namely Nantucket, Massachusetts. Like The Undoing, it's also about a well-off, married couple whose potential mistress ends up deceased and the couple are both accused. What's different is that there are way more suspects. The married couple isn't the only ones questioned by police. There's an ensemble of characters who have to be investigated and the series does so, pretty much one-by-one. Lamia makes the series more about the twists and turns in that investigation, as well as the various red herrings that end up frustrating the police. The twists and turns can keep an audience engaged, but, as a dramatic piece, it's not as interesting or as compelling as Big Little Lies.
Kidman stars as Greer Garrison, a novelist who is preparing to launch a new book. She's planning on doing so at her home. At the same time, she's preparing to host the wedding of her middle son, also at her home. Greer has three sons. All of whom have their issues. She feels the need always to clean up their messes and always maintain a clean facade or image. She's very concerned about public perception and doesn't want anyone to see whatever problems or imperfections that are underneath the surface of her family's veneer.
Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan and Spotlight) co-stars as Tag Winbury, the husband to Greer. He's a successful businessman who has been married to Greer for decades, probably 30 years or more because that seems to be the age of their eldest child. He's not as concerned with public appearances, even though it seems as if he might run for politics. He likes to throw his money around and flaunt his privilege without much regard to non-rich people. His issues are underlined due to his drinking problem or alcoholism.
Eve Hewson (Tesla and Robin Hood) also co-stars as Amelia Sacks, the bride about to marry Greer and Tag's middle son. She doesn't come from a wealthy family. She doesn't have money or privilege like her fiancé and his relatives. As such, Greer wonders if Amelia might be a gold-digger or not have the best intentions for her son. Amelia becomes more of a central figure because at the end of the first episode, it's revealed that someone close to Amelia has died. Yes, two police characters are introduced who conduct the investigation, but the audience surrogate appears to be Amelia, as she becomes suspicious of the whole family, particularly Greer and Tag.
Billy Howle (Under the Banner of Heaven and The Seagull) plays Benji Winbury, the aforementioned middle son who is the groom in question. He's the mama's boy or the closest to Greer. Jack Reynor (Midsommar and Transformers: Age of Extinction) plays Thomas Winbury, the eldest son of Greer and Tag. Thomas is already married and has a baby on the way. Yet, he's more like his father in that he's a bit of a philanderer. Sam Nivola (Maestro and Eileen) plays Will Winbury, the youngest son who is neither a mama's boy or like his father. Yet, he probably has the most affection toward his dad and is the most protective of him. However, all three boys become veritable non-entities, which doesn't do much to sell them as suspects.
The same could be said about the other characters. Kidman and Schreiber shine whenever they're on screen, but we have so many other characters to churn through that it muddles the strengths they bring. The only one who breaks through that muddle of characters is Donna Lynne Champlin (The First Lady and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) who plays Nikki Henry, one of the police detectives investigating the murder at hand. She's a no-nonsense kind of detective with a sharp and sometimes sardonic sense of humor. She's not from Nantucket. She's brought in to assist the local police chief, Dan Carter, played by Michael Beach (Tulsa King and Mayor of Kingstown) who is more inclined to be appeasing toward the wealthy family, whereas Nikki is not. That dynamic between Nikki and Dan is more entertaining and intriguing than even the ultimate mystery itself.
Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 1 hr. / 6 eps.
Available on Netflix.