You may name it the Knives Out impact, however tv has been attempting to copy the arch/witty homicide thriller, that includes a starry ensemble solid, ever since Rian Johnson’s movie gained the affections of audiences in 2019. In No Good Deed, Netflix has one other go at it. This eight-part comedy-drama comes from the makers of the equally soapy and heightened Lifeless to Me. It additionally has a contact of The Afterparty to it, solely this time, the story finds its whodunnit within the midst of the housing market in costly US cities.
Lydia (Lisa Kudrow) and Paul (Ray Romano) are promoting their attractive and sizable Nineteen Twenties villa in Los Feliz, a extremely fascinating neighbourhood in Los Angeles. US actual property is an ecosystem all of its personal, and three households are vying to spend thousands and thousands of {dollars} on the home. So as to do that, they need to impress the terminally depressed Lydia and Paul, and their substance-loving realtor Greg (Matt Rogers). Lydia and Paul want to instigate a bidding conflict, to permit them to purchase a ranch and fill it with horses. The potential consumers are determined sufficient to take the bait. Nonetheless, the concept of being compelled to discount with folks to beg them to take your stash of cash is a wierd one, but when I’ve discovered something from Kirsty and Phil, it’s {that a} scorching market doesn’t all the time behave rationally.
That’s the place the Location, Location, Location similarities finish, or a minimum of we’d hope that they do. There are three households clamouring for Lydia and Paul’s affections. There’s married couple Leslie (Abbi Jacobson) and Sarah (Poppy Liu), who’re in the midst of an IVF journey. There’s Carla (Teyonah Parris), Dennis (O-T Fagbenle) and his mom Denise (Anna Maria Horsford), newlyweds plus pushy mother-in-law, who’re all hiding behind a posh net of lies. Famously, an absence of transparency is a incredible thought when trying to pursue a draining monetary burden. After which there are neighbours JD (Luke Wilson) and Margo (Lifeless to Me alumna Linda Cardellini), a cleaning soap star and his glamorous spouse, who’re interested by the home over the street.
No Good Deed is billed as a darkish comedy, however that makes for a typically queasy mix of outright slapstick and painful household tragedy. Wilson and Cardellini are taking part in it for laughs, as essentially the most straightforwardly comedian of the {couples}. JD is a not-too-bright actor in denial in regards to the decline of his profession, whereas Margo is scheming, promiscuous and has a fridge stuffed with vodka however little else. Dennis is a novelist and a power keeper of secrets and techniques, although in my expertise, these two traits hardly ever seem in the identical particular person. Some may name him a mummy’s boy, which his mom is very happy to encourage, a lot to Carla’s despair. In the meantime, Sarah is obsessive about real-time crime-report apps, a storyline that additionally appeared within the tonally related Elsbeth – homicide, however make it jaunty! – which makes me marvel if such apps may exchange the true crime podcast because the plot gadget of the second. Sarah’s obsession leads her, and Leslie, to dig into the darkish previous of the home. Naturally, that darkish previous is simply sitting there, ready to come back to gentle.
All three of the {couples}’ storylines dance with Paul and Lydia’s home dramas, that are intensive, and have Denis Leary, hardly ever an indication of a cheerful and wholesome residence. Each viewing, each supply, each ring of the doorbell unpeels yet one more layer of lies. Lydia is a previously well-known live performance pianist who’s now not in a position to play the piano due to a deeply painful current household tragedy; which means she and Paul are in additional debt than they will deal with. Utilizing this as a basis on which to put bricks fabricated from outrageous gags is actually a selection. Generally it’s effective, typically just a little crass, and infrequently, it’s irritating, as if scenes may have been performed as both straight or foolish, relying on the place the coin toss lands.
Inconsistencies apart, that is completely watchable, and carried by some robust performances, not least Romano and Kudrow, who’re in a position to swim by among the murk. Cardellini and Wilson might have a neater job, because the extra caricature-like characters, however they’re enjoyable to observe. Every instalment twists and teases, properly establishing the binge. The episodes are quick, pacy, and filled with plot, so it’s all too simple to let the subsequent one roll. It doesn’t precisely go for the refined method, preferring to hammer the puzzle items along with a slipshod fist. It might be so gentle as to make me wonder if the concept or the punny title got here first, however it’s fulfilling, however.
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