Angela Karnes

With Adam McKay credited, stellar cast is implied * Post credits scene for a chuckle Worth the time for either reminders or satire on the following: 1. Environment 2. Tech (& its billionaires) 3. Space (travel, defense) 4. Elections - news cycle, political machinery (see below) 5. Sound bite information diet (infotainment, social media, ratings determine coverage)

A solid 3 stars and then some - almost 4. David E Kelley is human and has such an superior portfolio, that DEK’s less than beats most everyone else’s best. I will give anything that Nicole Kidman does a shot. Same for Bobby Cannavale and Michael Shannon. Enjoying watching Luke Evans and Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), and keeping my eye on Grace Van Patten (Tim’s daughter). Heckuva cast overall and in this case, the cast is the thing. It’s a resort set in nature and you don’t have urban noise and architecture - and it isn’t “people-y”. It’s only the 9 resort guests + the Guru & her 2 assistants. You are relying heavily on the cast to bring this through. This cast is really, really good. 5 episodes in on this 8 episode series and wish there were more breadcrumbs. So far - the book is better. Not the worst thing you will see but I just expected more from DEK.

Season 1 was all that - a flawed but entertaining popcorn show whose every episode will have you excited about the next one. It also makes for great online chatter and office chatter (if we were not in a pandemic). Looking forward to S2 as I think it will take an interesting detour. I don’t see how S2 can live up to S1 but even if it comes close, that’s good enough.

NYC. Upscale. Martin & Short with a bit of Nathan Lane is enough to make this go down easy. Sure, there are other famous faces if you need more. Trendy podcasting - true crime podcasts - are on point, along with interesting, well thought out backgrounds and characters. It’s fun and entertaining and clever. And it’s cozy. And it is poignant in parts. You have time for this.