"Nine Perfect Strangers"

Masha, Masha, Masha.  This anthology series, which is an odd mix of "White Lotus" + "Twin Peaks", is like many shows these days, "okay".  It's good, even engaging at moments, but not brilliant.  Based on the book by the amazing author Liane Moriarty, the first season (which encompasses the novel), is slightly stronger than the second round, which just came out.  The strengths:  Unlike "White Lotus" there are characters I give a damn about.  Characters I'm rooting for, characters I want to see succeed.  The premise is that broken people go to a retreat where psychedelic mushrooms are used to get them to face their demons.  The idea is to push these tortured souls to the edge, and then pull them back at the last minute.  It's supposed to be transformative.  And, in this world, these experiences can create unexpected transformations.  

This is where the series worked for me, even though I question the use of drugs to acheive anything.  Where things go off the rail, a little:  Nicole Kidman.  Her skeletal frame, her distracting accent, her creepy persona (~this~ is someone you want counseling you?  Doesn't really engender trust ...)

The first season focuses on one character after another while the second season focuses primarily on Kidman's character, "Masha".  To the detriment of character building of the other characters.  Which is a shame.  There are some great backstories, great actors.  I am happy to watch Christine Baranski and Lena Olin in anything (and have added Dolly de Leon to the list) but none of them (or some of the other gifted actors) had enough screen time to fill out their roles in the way they should have.  

In any case.  It's a way to spend some slow days of summer, if you don't want to think too hard.