Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Language, drugs, sex, betrayals in glossy dramedy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Sirens
What's the Story?
SIRENS is set in an ultra-wealthy milieu in coastal California, where Michaela (Julianne Moore) and Peter Kell (Kevin Bacon) reign supreme in their social circle, and can always count on plenty of donors queuing up to support their wildlife conservation charity. An army of hired help props up their lifestyle, including Simone (Milly Alcock), Michaela's assistant, who has a ... close relationship with her employer. Too close, thinks Simone's sister Devon (Meghann Fahy), who worries that her sister is embroiled in some kind of cult and resolves to integrate herself and learn the Kells' secrets. But is she getting Simone out, or getting trapped herself?
Is It Any Good?
Spending time with ultra-wealthy people has rarely been as fun as it is in this series that centers on a rich woman's enmeshment with her assistant. Michaela Kell's world is a really weird one (assuming viewers and those reading this review are not themselves plutocrats): Her household helpers are required to sign NDAs. She forbids carbohydrates in her house before "Gala Monday." She has parties for her wildlife rescue charity in which she holds a scepter aloft while she reads the crowd poetry from "patron saint" Rachel Carson. And she's so intimate with her assistant Simone that when Simone's breath is found wanting during a pre-party breath check, she offers up the gum she's currently chewing (which Simone accepts!). In fact, Simone and Michaela have a relationship that's pretty weird, which Simone's sister Devon clocks the minute she arrives, uninvited, at Michaela's coast-side estate.
Devon hopes she can free her sister from Michaela's moneyed, honeyed clutches by integrating herself into Michaela's household. Meanwhile, Simone is running away from her precarious past as fast as she can, and Michaela has a plan for her, although it takes time for that to be made clear. As we slowly catch on to Michaela's secrets and Simone's goals, the drama between the three women simmers satisfyingly. Devon fears that Simone is caught in a cult; if that's true, you could make a good case for this particular one. Watching, not joining, that is. Sirens is twisty, well-written, well-acted soapy drama at its best.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why so many soap opera-esque dramas focus on rich people. What's more interesting about wealthy people compared to people who aren't as wealthy? What dramatic possibilities do their lives hold, and why are these possibilities more interesting than watching people with lower incomes?
Most TV comedies are a half-hour long; most dramas are an hour long. Each episode of Sirens is 55 minutes long. What does that say about the aim of this show?
In general, when TV shows feature a person with a lot of money clashing with someone without a lot of money, the poorer person is the hero or main character. Why? Why do people like to watch rich people behaving villainously?
TV Details
- Premiere date : May 22, 2025
- Cast : Julianne Moore , Meghann Fahy , Milly Alcock
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- TV rating :
- Last updated : June 5, 2025
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