Nine Perfect Strangers

If you liked Big Little Lies and were waiting for something similar let me tell you this show has the perfect ingredients.

Based on a book by the same author, check.

David E. Kelly behind the project, check.

Nicole Kidman as the lead, check.

What else do you need. Just put your trust in these talented people, sit back and wait to be entertained.

No spoilers just commentary.

A very intriguing tale of lives. The most important thing to me is there isn't one bit of filler in this series, every minute and moment adds something interesting. Each character has their story, their secrets and their vices. As the show progresses and unfolds, the more info is divulged and unraveled, a surreal turn of events makes itself known.

The cinematography and visuals are glorious, views are breathtaking. The contrast of the setting to the unraveling characters.

The fruit smoothies look delicious.

The Russian host (Nicole Kidman) has no need to be Russian, it adds nothing to the plot, and doesn't sound Russian, I am not sure why there needs to be an exotic host from somewhere that isn't the US.. it ends up sounding like a faux, generic European accent and it is annoying. She is very interesting without it, is the perfect ring leader of the ragtag group.

It's hard to not be absorbed in this fascinating, riveting, and captivating series.

Update. My initial review was about half way through the series. After watching the end it's definitely slower as far as pacing goes. Also Nicole Kidman is incredibly hard to watch in this just as she usually is in everything. The bad accent makes it worse.

The momentum just falls off a bit, maybe could have been shortened by an episode? It's worth the watch but it's not groundbreaking by any means.

It's not a perfect show, but from the first 3 episodes that have been released it's intriguing- there's an overall uneasy feeling, the acting is very good for the most part (the scenes between Melissa Mcarthy and Bobby Cannavale's characters steal the show) and the scenery is beautiful!! I definitely will be watching the other episodes as they are released.

Fantastic cast totally torpedoed by terrible pacing and direction. The longer it goes on, the less interested I am in the characters' outcomes.

This adaptation of the enigmatic novel by Liane Moriarty is supremely watchable but flawed. Buoyed by some tremendous core performances but the plot wobbles often as the show leans far too heavily on the star power, sucking time away from Regina Hall's mesmerically volatile Carmel and making Ben & Jess seem hilariously superfluous in comparison to McCarthy, Kidman or Shannon. It's got some nice photography and it'll keep you guessing along the journey - but it doesn't particularly stick the landing.