Nine Perfect Strangers

It's clearly cut from the same cloth as soapy stunner Big Little Lies, but this drama about a super-secretive wellness resort suffers from a lackluster story, though the cast is choice, and game. Part of Nine Perfect Strangers' problem lies in its setting, where the stressed city dwellers who come together for (they hope!) renewal and relaxation; set free from the cares of their everyday lives, the spa-goers have nothing to do but talk. And so they do! In Liane Moriarity's novel, of course, the soliloquies are the inner thoughts of the characters and go down smoothly; in the TV adaptation, we get dialogue instead, and so much of it. Characters are always announcing who they are and summing up their lives to each other in Nine Perfect Strangers, and it comes off as inauthentic and clumsy. Even powerhouse actors like Regina Hall and Michael Shannon have trouble making their awkwardly expository lines work.

Still, Nine Perfect Strangers is beautiful to look at, and does carry with it the promise of dramatic secrets held back and then revealed as the season progresses. No spoilers here, but it's a pretty unusual twist. It also knows exactly what to do with Nicole Kidman, who's always had an otherworldly, removed air on-screen. Here, her Masha is ethereal, a little menacing, leading her charges to places they think they want to go and then taking them just a little too far. It's all pleasantly soapy, and if it's not perfect, well, you could do worse when you go looking for a guilty-pleasure drama with actors you already know and enjoy.