I spent the entirety of the first episode waiting for each of the titular nine strangers to succumb to Christie-style deaths, but no dice.
Masha creepily "curates" attendees at her resort, much like the mysterious host in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Or maybe it's not a critique at all, but a character study. I'm not sure if this is meant to be a critique of wellness culture and the asymptotic finish line of self-improvement, a critique of the poor rich people who pay money to have their traumas cauterized, or a critique of plot mechanics themselves. The treatment plan operates under a " the burn says it's working" mentality, conflating suffering with healing. Tranquillum's 10-day retreat is that crucible made literal, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.Įach character's personal demon must be excised during the stay, through the allegedly therapeutic protocol designed by Masha. In fiction, the plot is the crucible through which characters endure hardship and struggle, emerging changed on the other side. Tranquillum seems closer to tranquilizer than tranquility, and that's the point. This time around, Kidman plays manic pixie nightmare Masha, the founder of boutique health resort Tranquillum House who's got a sadistic streak and a villainous Russian accent that sounds like it was workshopped during the Cold War. Nine Perfect Strangers premieres on Hulu on Aug. The resulting mixture is essentially a "premium streaming content" Mad Libs with shaggy pacing that curdles initial intrigue into mostly confusion.
The only ingredient missing from the winning drama miniseries recipe is Reese Witherspoon, whose production company has carved a niche for book-to-television adaptations (Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, the forthcoming Daisy Jones & The Six).īut for fans of Moriarty or of any of the show's aforementioned antecedents, combining all the right ingredients does not a repast make. The setting is a tony health and wellness resort populated by rich, beautiful people with one to two traumatic backstories each.Īnd these rich, beautiful characters are played by a hodgepodge of actors you've seen before in similar fare, from BLL/The Undoing alum Kidman to Little Fires Everywhere alum Tiffany Boone and Gilmore Girls alum Melissa McCarthy. The show's opening credits are overlaid on a psychedelic nature montage set to a woozy, minor-key pop cover that sounds like it could have been sung by Kidman herself. Aesthetically, Nine Perfect Strangers, streaming on Hulu now, takes a page from the Kelley cinematic universe as well.
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