Nine Perfect Strangers Review

When I found out that Nine Perfect Strangers was adapted from a book (and that it was from Liane Moriarty, who also wrote Big Little Lies), many of the limited series’ shortfalls began to make sense – what can work on the page, and lend some depth to characters and stories, doesn’t always translate well to the screen. And while there is a lot to like about the glossy, gorgeous, and generally well-acted series, after watching the six episodes provided for critics, the series feels unmoored and like empty calories rather than the robust and complex tale its star-studded cast would seem to warrant.

Nine Perfect Strangers is a strange beast of a series – part mystery, part interpersonal drama, and part of the new TV trend of rich folks being forced to reckon with their demons (see also Succession and The White Lotus – both of which do things better than Nine Perfect Strangers does). Nine people (some, including Melissa McCarthy’s romance novelist Frances, Bobby Cannavale’s Tony, Regina Hall’s Carmel, and Luke Evans’ Lars are solo, while Samara Weaving and Melvin Gregg are a married couple, and Michael Shannon, Asher Keddie, and Grace Van Patten are a family dealing with a major loss) are brought to a secluded California retreat led by the mysterious guru Masha (Nicole Kidman, putting on an Eastern European accent and doing her best to try and make us care about a character whom we are given precious little to care about). Masha’s time is expensive, but she’s known for getting results out of those she treats – meaning that each of the participants is expecting big things. Of course, secrets emerge, relationships are forged and tested, and there’s also a strange subplot where someone may or may not be trying to sabotage everything that Masha has created.

The series, as one might expect from the cast list, is very well acted. Cannavale and McCarthy have a deep and easy chemistry that make their scenes pop (the show’s limited comedy comes out of their interactions and their characters’ struggles) – and when the show asks both to dig deeper and bring out their characters’ trauma, they are more than up for the task. Shannon is stellar as a father who is desperately trying to save his family, while still refusing to accept that he will also need to deal with his own loss before he can really help those around him. However, the real standouts in the group are Keddie, an Australian TV star who is pulling off one hell of an American accent, and Van Patten, both of whom are given the strongest characters and the most complex arcs. With a cast this large, it’s almost impossible to have the necessary time to devote to each character, and as a result, many of the characters feel under served and underdeveloped.* But Keddie and Van Patten are given the chance to really run with some complicated beats and they absolutely crush it. I almost wish the story had excised several of the characters to allow a greater focus on the Marconi family – instead of over stuffing the series with too many characters and not doing right by nearly all of them.

*The characters with the least development are the show’s characters of color, which is a major issue with the series, as their characters’ actions and motivations seem to only impact the white characters within their orbit. It’s troubling and something that feels out of place in today’s TV landscape, and it’s particularly glaring considering the work White Lotus recently tried to do when it came to white characters behaving badly and discounting the people of color around them.

And that’s the real issue with Nine Perfect Strangers: There’s a lot of story but almost no real depth to it all. We are slowly introduced to the various strangers, and the support staff at the retreat, but we are never allowed the chance to dig too far beneath the surface. Take the Chandlers, the married couple played by Weaving and Gregg. We learn their reason for attending the retreat several episodes into the series, but we barely spend much time with them outside of a group setting. Their role for much of the series is to allow the writing to highlight other characters, making their own needs and desires feel unnecessary in the face of their fellow participants. And it’s a real shame because Weaving and Gregg are far too talented to simply fade into the background and allow some of the show’s less interesting characters (and that would include Kidman’s Masha) to take center stage.

The over-stuffed series also has to contend with a mystery surrounding the character of Masha (who we only learn about through intermittent flashbacks that are carefully controlled to make sure we don’t get ahead of the story in a less than satisfying manner). While it’s clear that this is the reason someone of Kidman’s stature took on the role – and Masha’s mysterious past and very controlling nature in the present could make for interesting drama, if we were allowed to understand where it comes from and why Masha feels she needs to exert control over all her “guests” – it’s another layer within a story that should have fewer. What works in a book – where a writer can let us into the mental and emotional states of a character with a simple line – doesn’t always translate well to the screen.

With a television series in particular, the writers must take the time to build each of the show’s characters, letting us know what makes them tick through actions not throwaway lines. And here, with so many characters to support, there just isn’t enough time to devote to creating deep enough characters to really care about what happens to them. They could all die in a mass suicide at the close of the series and I would merely shrug my shoulders. I would gladly watch an entire series about any of the character groupings – but one single series including all of them? Rather than provide interesting characterization and smart storytelling that makes you want to keep watching week after week (as the series will be released on a weekly basis), we get truncated moments and too many characters vying for attention. Everything feels shortchanged, which is a shame.

If you’re looking for the next soapy show that doesn’t quite hit the mark but offers plenty of empty calories and some strong performances, Nine Perfect Strangers certainly fits that bill. If you want something more in line with a Little Fires Everywhere or Big Little Lies, this doesn’t meet that bar.

Nine Perfect Strangers premieres on Hulu Wednesday, August 18. Episodes will be released weekly. Six of the shows eight episodes were provided for review.