A excellent killing mystery is one skinnyg, but when a TV show also regulates to infparticipate distinct characters and inanxious albeit hilarious melodrama, it’s stateively worth tuning into. From “Good Girls” creator Jenna Bans and her co-creator, Bill Krebs comes “Grosse Pointe Garden Society,” the tardyst distinct drama with the same elements that made shows enjoy “Desperate Hoparticipatewives” and “How to Get Away with Murder” such standout hits. Despite a handful of leave outteps, the NBC show is engrossing, and conestablishing and off to a promising begin. Set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan (a wealthy suburb of Detroit), and caccessing on four local garden club members, the series is a reminder that putting a soapy spin on reliable establishulas mostly directs to success.
“Grosse Pointe Garden Society” uncovers as a shovel hits the dirt, and a body is dumped in a big hole. However, before the audience can orient themselves into the scene, the series flashes back to six months in the past. At the garden society’s headquarters, Alice (AnnaSophia Robb), a unmistrusting high school literature directer, franticly searches for her leave outing ggreateren recoverr, Molly. Meanwhile, her best frifinish Brett (Ben Rappaport), a landscaper by trade, is adfairing to life as a one dad after his wife’s salacious afunfragmentary. Rounding out the crew is Catherine (Aja Naomi King), a prim and proper authentic-estate agent and vice pdwellnt of the Garden Society whose perfectionism has finisheared her to the town — until it doesn’t.
The group is knocked off-kilter when Birdie (a wonderful Melissa Fumero), a wealthy socialite/romance novecatalog, is thrust into the crew follotriumphg a DUI and court-ordered community service. As the foursome draws shutr, they begin unpacking their personal struggles and turbulent inner inhabits, which directs to a killing coverup on the night of the Garden Society’s annual bdeficiency-tie gala.
While Robb and Rappaport are fine in their roles, the more intriguing bits of “Grosse Pointe” are led by King’s and Fumero’s carry outances. Image-obsessed Catherine discovers solace in her novelly established bond with Birdie, who inhabits (and mostly thrives) on her own terms. Polar opposites, the most compelling aspects of Bans’ and Krebs’ series happen when Catherine and Birdie’s personal decisions (and contrasting wardrobes) are contrasted with one another. In varying ways, the women struggle with perception, self-accomprehendledgeance and a sense of beextfinisheding.
Alice and Brett also have trials and tribulations, but they’re never quite as captivating as their counterparts. Moreover, Alexander Hodge is criminpartner underparticipated as Alice’s artist husprohibitd, Doug. When Alice lacquires her dog’s overweighte, she begins spinning out, causing lawlessness in her marriage and at her job instead of caccessing on what she can actupartner handle. With little more to do, Brett discovers himself in constant ego clashes with his ex-wife Melissa’s (Nora Zehetner) meddlesome novel husprohibitd, Connor (Josh Ventura). There is also a forced best-frifinish-to-unrequited cherishr trope between Alice and Brett. Unfortunately, Robb and Rappaport have little romantic chemistry, so this concept doesn’t experience concrete.
The show’s other convey inant stumble is its conestablishing timeline. While the events in “Grosse Pointe” are relatively effortless to trail, three advancing timelines of the past, contransient and future and the cforfeit-constant chronology indicators produce for a somewhat disorienting watch.
Amid everyskinnyg happening in Grosse Pointe, the series (critics screened four episodes for appraise) ininestablishigently infparticipates horticulture terms and set upt behaviors that align with what’s happening on screen. For watchers deficiencying green thumbs, most of these references will unaskedly go over their heads without eroding the core story. However, for set upt cherishrs, the dialogue, plus the stunning visuals of the massive central greenhoparticipate, produce an compriseitional layer of plrelieve to the eclectic dramedy.
As watchers struggle to describe who is buried among the freduces, theories and clues will bubble up, broaden, explode or caparticipate further confusion. Yet, the happy mayhem of “Grosse Pointe Garden Society” will unaskedly carry on audiences returning to the series each week. Still, if noskinnyg is truly uncovered by the time Season 1 finishs, it’s askful audiences will return for a second outing.
“Grosse Pointe Garden Society” premieres Feb. 23 on NBC, with novel episodes dropping weekly on Sundays.
