Devon is overwhelmed and exhausted. She is the sole carer for her father, who is suffering from early-onset dementia. Her younger sister, Simone, hasn’t even answered her messages in months. When she receives a stupid gift from her, Devon leaves everything behind to convince her sister to join in the filial effort. And so, like a bull in a china shhop, she stumbles into the splendid Cliff house on a small island reserved for the ultra-rich. Simone has become Kiki’s assistant, the wife of a billionaire.
The atmosphere is super weird. Kiki sets strict rules that govern the lives of everyone around her. Devon wonders if her sister has been caught up in some kind of cult. The young women, marked by terrible childhood tragedies, are both emotionally fragile and unstable. Determined to save Simone as she has done before, Devon decides to face the enemy with her own weapon: manipulation.
A playful in camera between characters who are (almost) all nuts.
The first episode left me dubious, the second intrigued me, and then I devoured the next three! You can feel the pressure of a heavy atmosphere behind the closed doors of a luxurious mansion that exudes -officially- serenity. Outside, all is calm, beauty and zenitude. Kiki seems to attract all those in pain to her like a magnet (a siren). Around her gravitate a host of servants, ladies-in-waiting and guests of her husband. Is Simone a fragile young woman, and Kiki a manipulative monster?
Well served by an impeccable cast, right down to the supporting roles, punctuated by well-written dialogue and situations that are both funny and dramatic, the series brilliantly plays on the complexity of the human soul and false pretenses. The ending is particularly successful. In this game where nobody is what they seem, I only regret that the husband character is spared, when he is, in fact, the only huge bastard of the bunch. But I confess I was surprised to love this series, which I didn’t expect to like. Well done.
Miniseries, 5 episodes (55mn), 2025, on Netflix
WITH : Meghann Fahy as Devon DeWitt, Milly Alcock as Simone DeWitt, Julianne Moore as Michaela “Kiki” Kell, Glenn Howerton as Ethan Corbin III, Bill Camp as Bruce DeWitt, Felix Solis as Jose, Kevin Bacon as Peter Kell, Britne Oldford as Missy, Josh Segarra as Raymond, Trevor Salter as Morgan, Lauren Weedman as Patrice, Emily Borromeo as Astrid, Jenn Lyon as Cloe, Erin Neufer as Lisa