The Girlfriend

A satisfyingly wicked domestic thriller. Robin Wright is perfectly passive-aggressive as a mother who won't let go, while Olivia Cooke delivers a career-best performance as a maybe-maybe-not con artist. The dual-perspective format is clever, and the show embraces its own soapy excess. Think Big Little Lies meets The Talented Mr. Ripley-with better coats.

Strengths! Acting! Robin Wright is always fire - a powerful on-screen presence, and here she not only embodies her character but also directs alongside Andrea Harkin. Olivia Cooke adds tension, though her performance doesn't fully reach the same level.

The series is compact - just six episodes. That format avoids stretched-out arcs of long dramas, but it also limits the story's range. After a strong pilot, episodes 2-4 feel watered down, only to pick up again with a compelling finale. Honestly, this could have worked better as a feature film.

Themes & Emotional Impact. The main motifs - mother and son, trust and suspicion, social status, manipulation - hit sensitive spots that resonate easily. When Laura shifts from worried to obsessed, the drama grows not just in relationships but in her worldview.

Production Quality. Visually the show looks rich and striking: beautiful locations, stylish aesthetic, and cinematography worth noting.

Weaknesses. Predictability. While there is a twist at the end, it's far from revolutionary. Most of the beats are easy to anticipate, especially for viewers familiar with psychological thrillers.

Character Depth. Cherry, Laura, and Daniel remain close to archetypes: the protective mother, the daughter-in-law with a dark secret, the son caught between them.

Stylistic Extremes. At times the show leans into melodrama too overtly.

From Amazon I expected something more powerful - in the spirit of Reacher or The Terminal List, where action and story dynamics are stronger and the drama more balanced.

Verdict. What could have been a tight, gripping miniseries often feels like a pilot plus finale with too little in between.

If you're looking for fast-paced storytelling with expansive dynamics, this won't satisfy. A passable watch, but not a recommendation.

This is a really fun watch. The story keeps you engaged and despite having a pretty obvious plot, the shift in perspectives (the girlfriend's vs the mother's) works really well to maintain an element of mystery and intrigue. The acting is really good across the board but Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke really stand out and the roles fit them perfectly.

There are just a few minor things that weren't quite as polished. For example, the secondary actors were all one dimensional and almost felt like props, which might be perhaps to reflect the personalities of the two main characters and how they see the people around them. And a few plotholes surrounding how secrets were uncovered or certain things set up that might have been an artistic choice or maybe I'm being too generous.

Despite its faults, this is a really fun watch that is surprisingly relateable (the working class perspective not the oedipal can of worms)

This 6-part series hit today, September 10th, streaming on Prime. Episodes run about 52 minutes. A show like this is meant to entertain and it does that very well.

The very first scene shows a residence at night, curtains lit up, and what sounds like some heavy arguing. Then we see a movie projector running but don't glimpse the movie. Then we see a swimming pool, a knife, then a person or body splashing into the water. So quickly cut that we can't discern what or who it might be. Only during the final six minutes of episode 6 do we find out what happened.

Then the story cuts to "5 months earlier." The editing technique used features rather short scenes which are re-visited later showing a different perspective. It works very well, the production value is top-notch and also includes many beautiful aerial shows of London.

First we see Robin Wright (who also directs) as Laura Sanderson, in her home. She is a wealthy, high-powered art dealer and very demanding and controlling. Then we see her swimming and then frolicking in the water with a man. We quickly find it to be her grown son, they apparently have a very close relationship. Maybe too close and that will become the root of the issues that develop.

The series is called "The Girlfriend" for a reason. That is played by Olivia Cooke as Cherry Laine. On her first visit she is dressed in a "F-me" red dress cut all the way down in front to her navel. Soon mom observes them upstairs in an "activity."

Cherry is smart but appears to be duplicitous, and she and Laura, who is also duplicitous, are destined to clash early and often. The six-part series is primarily about that clash and it plays out interestingly and entertainingly. Both actresses are in top form.

Is it any good? Yes, it is for anyone who likes this sort of drama with a healthy dose of sex thrown in. Some of it turns darkly comedic, it is hard to find any characters to root for. All fiction of course.

All the actors are excellent, the script is tight, it is a nicely entertaining drama series with an ending which could set it up for an additional season.

My wife, who usually enjoys this sort of program, abandoned it after episode two, she was not invested.

I just binged all six episodes in one stretch! It was great to see the very talented and naturally beautiful Robin Wright in front of and behind the camera. Even though she has been busy, this was my first time seeing her since the final season of House of Cards - which was a 10/10.

The graceful Olive Cooke, who very convincingly played an unstable outcast in Thoroughbreds, was in top form in The Girlfriend and the perfect rival for Wright's character.

I enjoyed the story's easy to follow point of view format. The scenery is spectacular. Initially, the music seemed aggressive but grew on me. The acting was excellent by the supporting actors, too.

Very importantly, The Girlfriend has realistic representation of race and sexuality without being over the top. Shows like And Just Like That...tried too hard for representation and IMO inadvertently came off as racist, bigoted, and prejudiced by trying to check off all the boxes.

Lastly, despite The Girlfriend having a couple of plot holes, this psychological thriller is an easy and fun viewing experience! I definitely recommend.