Parents' Guide to Imperfect Women

Well-written and blessed with a five-star cast, this compelling drama brings to mind other female-forward ripped-from-the-novel adaptations like Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects. And that's not a bad thing: Like those other, lauded series, Imperfect Women doles out its revelations slowly and lives and dies on the secrets that longtime friends keep from each other. It also concerns a sudden violent death that sets a series of events into motion that brings light to things that have previously been kept in the dark.

Luckily, the powerhouse actors who anchor Imperfect Women are easily up to the task of keeping the twists of this soapy whodunit believable. Each appears at first to be a perfect example of a modern woman: Mary is the Earth mama tradwife, Nancy a moneyed perpetual nonprofit board member, Eleanor a business tycoon whose work with worldwide relief organizations has brought her both renown and wealth. But as the storytelling goes on and we get to know each character better, hidden betrayals, secrets, and lies emerge. Just as in the book, the series' perspective shifts from character to character and forward and backward in time, from the characters' first meeting in college up to their complicated three-way friendship as women in their 40s. It's a slow burn but a good one and is sure to be appreciated by viewers who enjoy watching as something obscure and mysterious slowly grows more and more clear.