There are so many reviews in which people stopped watching after a couple of episodes. Although I agreed with some aspects of these reviews, I decided to watch the entire series before making my final judgment. Here's my take.
I feel that the series is a missed opportunity, and the concept desperately wants to be something it's not. Maybe they were going for a Big Little Lies or White Lotus story of twists and turns with some camp 60s fun thrown into the mix, but it just doesn't work. At its core, the issue comes down to poor writing/storytelling.
Let's start with what works. The casting, sets, costumes, and locations are brilliant. Everyone involved completely nailed Palm Beach in the 1960s. You can tell they spent a lot of money on the look and feel of this series. Even the music is great. The star-studded cast mostly nails their roles. I've read complaints about the acting, but I think everyone's acting is excellent. Shoutouts to Allison Janney, Mindy Cohn, Ricky Martin, and, by far, Carol Burnett. Why they kept her so quiet for so much of the story is beyond me. Her character had so much more to contribute, and her comedic timing is one of the brightest spots of the show.
What doesn't work is the story, pacing, and character development. The story jumps around from episode to episode. At its core, the show is about how Maxine (Wiig) desperately wants to fit into the elite Palm Beach crowd and how she tries to use her connection to the Dellacorte family to do so. But she discovers all of these things along the way. Some plot points seem to come out of nowhere, as if halfway through the series, someone had an idea they thought was funny, so they added it in. There isn't this key thread/arc from episode one to ten to carry everything along. It's all a bunch of different little plots.
There are many different characters with different stories to tell, and their storylines connect in various ways. The problem is I never truly cared about anyone other than maybe Robert (Martin). But in hindsight, that was probably because everyone else seemed so unappealing. Robert had a good heart and was constantly getting screwed over. Everyone else seemed to have revenge or dark secrets or were just mean. In the end, the writers created a lot of unlikable characters. Who were we supposed to root for? Maxine (Wiig) starts off innocent enough but eventually becomes incredibly annoying. Who wants her to succeed in screwing her aunt over?
Lastly, many episodes contained lots of filler to pad the run time. Perhaps this was due to too many characters and too many storylines. Sadly, none of the sub-plots were overly interesting. There were occasional moments when I laughed out loud and some surprising plot twists now and then. But for the most part, I was bored and often lost interest.
I've read they are considering a second season. I doubt I will watch it.
I feel that the series is a missed opportunity, and the concept desperately wants to be something it's not. Maybe they were going for a Big Little Lies or White Lotus story of twists and turns with some camp 60s fun thrown into the mix, but it just doesn't work. At its core, the issue comes down to poor writing/storytelling.
Let's start with what works. The casting, sets, costumes, and locations are brilliant. Everyone involved completely nailed Palm Beach in the 1960s. You can tell they spent a lot of money on the look and feel of this series. Even the music is great. The star-studded cast mostly nails their roles. I've read complaints about the acting, but I think everyone's acting is excellent. Shoutouts to Allison Janney, Mindy Cohn, Ricky Martin, and, by far, Carol Burnett. Why they kept her so quiet for so much of the story is beyond me. Her character had so much more to contribute, and her comedic timing is one of the brightest spots of the show.
What doesn't work is the story, pacing, and character development. The story jumps around from episode to episode. At its core, the show is about how Maxine (Wiig) desperately wants to fit into the elite Palm Beach crowd and how she tries to use her connection to the Dellacorte family to do so. But she discovers all of these things along the way. Some plot points seem to come out of nowhere, as if halfway through the series, someone had an idea they thought was funny, so they added it in. There isn't this key thread/arc from episode one to ten to carry everything along. It's all a bunch of different little plots.
There are many different characters with different stories to tell, and their storylines connect in various ways. The problem is I never truly cared about anyone other than maybe Robert (Martin). But in hindsight, that was probably because everyone else seemed so unappealing. Robert had a good heart and was constantly getting screwed over. Everyone else seemed to have revenge or dark secrets or were just mean. In the end, the writers created a lot of unlikable characters. Who were we supposed to root for? Maxine (Wiig) starts off innocent enough but eventually becomes incredibly annoying. Who wants her to succeed in screwing her aunt over?
Lastly, many episodes contained lots of filler to pad the run time. Perhaps this was due to too many characters and too many storylines. Sadly, none of the sub-plots were overly interesting. There were occasional moments when I laughed out loud and some surprising plot twists now and then. But for the most part, I was bored and often lost interest.
I've read they are considering a second season. I doubt I will watch it.