In June 2023, it was announced that the initial miniseries had been renewed for a second season as an anthology series.[6]
Premise
Nine strangers from the city gather for a 10-day retreat at Tranquillum House, a health and wellness resort in the fictional town of Cabrillo, California,[7] which promises to transform and heal the guests who stay there. The resort is not what it seems to be, and the guests are about to discover many secrets about each other and the resort's host. One of the controversies arising between the guests and resort director Masha starts when she tells them during a meal conducted at a large table that they are all given a psychoactive drug, namely Psilocybin, in very small but relevant doses in their food without their consent or even knowledge, about which the guests are upset and assume it to be a crime.
Cast and characters
Main
Nicole Kidman as Masha Dmitrichenko,[8] the Russian founder of the wellness resort, Tranquillum House
Season 1
Melissa McCarthy as Frances Welty,[8] a novelist struggling with her professional and personal life
Michael Shannon as Napoleon Marconi,[8] Heather's husband and Zoe's father, a high school teacher grieving the death of his son
Luke Evans as Lars Lee,[8] a man who comes to the resort with a hidden agenda
Samara Weaving as Jessica Chandler,[8] a social media influencer and Ben's wife
Asher Keddie as Heather Marconi,[8] Napoleon's wife and Zoe's mother, mourning the death of her son
Melvin Gregg as Ben Chandler,[8] Jessica's wealthy lottery winner husband
Tiffany Boone as Delilah,[8] a devoted employee at Tranquillum House
Manny Jacinto as Yao,[8] Masha's right-hand man at Tranquillum House
Grace Van Patten as Zoe Marconi,[8] Napoleon and Heather's daughter, grieving the death of her twin brother
Zoe Terakes as Glory, another employee at Tranquillum House
Regina Hall as Carmel Schneider,[8] a single mother of four children whose husband left her for a younger woman
Ben Falcone as Paul Drabble, a man who catfished Frances and left her heartbroken
Recurring
Hal Cumpston as Zach Marconi, Napoleon and Heather's deceased son
Production
Development
On May 1, 2019, it was reported that Hulu had given the production a straight-to-series order. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who developed the series with John-Henry Butterworth, both of whom also served as executive producers along with Nicole Kidman, Per Saari, Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky, and Casey Haver. Kelley and Butterworth also served as co-showrunners. Production companies involved with the series are Made Up Stories, Blossom Films, and Endeavor Content.[3] On January 7, 2020, Melissa McCarthy joined the series as an executive producer.[11] On July 29, 2020, it was announced Jonathan Levine was set to direct all eight episodes of the series as well as serve as an executive producer, while Gillian Bohrer joined the series as producer.[12]Yves Bélanger served as cinematographer.[13]
Despite being conceived as a limited series, it was announced in June 2023 that the series was renewed for a second season.[6]
The second season received €10m from the German Motion Picture Fund (GMPF), which accounted for almost 25% of the €44.8m distributed by the Berlin-based fund in 2023. Furthermore, the production obtained the maximum allocation of €7.5m from Austria's FISA+ program, designed to attract international productions to the country. The second season is being developed as a collaborative effort between the USA, Germany, and Austria, with production led by the USA's Fifth Season alongside Germany's Supernix and Austria's Supernix Austria.[14] In the second season, Masha will lead a fresh ensemble of nine strangers, who seek sanctuary from their hectic lives with a 10-day stay at a resort nestled in the Swiss Alps.[15][16]
On July 8, 2020, Evans revealed that filming would take place in Australia. All actors were required to quarantine for fourteen days in the city of arrival in Australia, due to regulations imposed by the Australian government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, all actors were required to be tested during the quarantine before filming could begin.[29]Principal photography began on August 10, 2020, in Byron Bay, New South Wales.[30] On December 21, 2020, Kidman announced that filming had wrapped.[31]
Kidman met most of the other nine actors right when filming their first scene together, and stayed in character as Masha during production.[32]
Production on the second season took place over six months, from January to June 2024, following the conclusion of the 2023 WGA strike and 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[33] Kidman's availability was delayed until after January, as she was committed to a different work during that time.[34] The second season was filmed in various locations, including the Swiss Alps and Munich.[35][36] On July 20, 2024, Golding confirmed that the second season filming had wrapped. He also said that Kidman occasionally kept the accent even when she wasn't filming.[36]
Nine people arrive at Tranquillum House, an exclusive and award-winning health resort: High school teacher Napoleon Marconi, wife Heather and their young adult daughter Zoe; Jessica and Ben Chandler, an attractive & wealthy young couple; Frances, an author who's in both personal and professional turmoil; Carmel, a verbose mother-of-two; Tony and Lars. Few of the guests manage to get at odds with each other from the get-go; namely Frances with Tony and Lars with Carmel. Their phones are confiscated at entry and their contraband is removed by the staff. Napolean and Heather argue about their state of being after their teenage son's suicide and Lars contacts his estranged lover using his smartwatch. Masha welcomes them to the resort, and both her unvarnished approach and her having guests' personal items removed result in a heated orientation. Masha recounts her workaholic past to the guests, how she was clinically dead after being shot, and how she was saved by Yao, a paramedic, now her right-hand man.
2
"The Critical Path"
Jonathan Levine
David E. Kelley & John-Henry Butterworth
August 18, 2021 (2021-08-18)
After the tense orientation Masha converses with Tony about his addiction after returning his medication, while both Zoe and Jessica confide in Frances about their respective families' troubles. Masha starts receiving threatening text messages. On the first day of treatment, after a curated breakfast, the guests dig a grave plot and lie in it while Masha prompts them to contemplate their deaths. Frances recalls how she fell for an online swindler (Paul) who conned her out of a large sum of money. The agitation and provocations of the guests continue, which makes Delilah voice her concerns to Masha. After Tony saves Frances from choking on a grape that he threw in the latter's mouth while she was asleep afloat in the pool, they talk about Frances's stagnating career and how she was scammed. While the group's engaging in a trust exercise, Heather walks to the very end of a cliff which frightens both guests and staff. Frances voices her intent to leave the resort but Masha persuades her to stay another day. It's shown how the guests are under Masha's constant surveillance and later Masha decides to initiate a new protocol though Yao and Delilah are uncertain.
Masha is receiving threatening messages. Carmel attacks Lars at breakfast. They meditate and begin to reveal themselves. There's a sack race. Ben realises who Tony is. The women go for a swim, the men go foraging. Jessica isn't happy with Carmel. Tony chases a goat. They return with the dead animal, which upsets Masha. At the banquet Napoleon talks about his son's suicide and says he killed the goat.
4
"Brave New World"
Jonathan Levine
David E. Kelley & John-Henry Butterworth
August 25, 2021 (2021-08-25)
Masha confirms that the guests smoothies are drugged, which she describes as micro-dosing. Several are shocked and want to leave. Lars admits to being a journalist. Carmel eventually reveals the abuse she suffered from her husband. Frances then Carmel take out their anger on a samurai mannequin. Tony tells Frances he killed a man in a bar. Napoleon wants to leave but Heather persuades him to stay. There's a party on the eve of Zoe's 21st.
5
"Sweet Surrender"
Jonathan Levine
David E. Kelley
September 1, 2021 (2021-09-01)
Zoe "sees" her dead brother. He asks her to say they got on. Lars said he dreamt he had a baby. The father was Tony, which annoys him. Frances "sees" Paul, the man who scammed her. He says her books are rubbish. She faints. Delilah is angry with Masha and asks her to stop sleeping with Yao. Tony is clean but is worried about his future. Jessica and Ben have sex in the hot tub. Carmel sees them. Lars reassures her and says she should move on. The group hold a 21st birthday party for Zoe (and Zach).
Lars dreams about being bullied at school. Frances sees a "miniature Paul" and flushes him down the toilet. Carmel wants a one-to-one. She knows Masha had an affair with her husband. Masha regrets it. Everyone is paired with "buddies". Zoe sees Zach. Napoleon sees him too then Heather but she has an "episode". Masha tells them she can use psychotics so they can interact safely with Zach. Frances tells Carmel she isn't improving like everyone else. Masha's daughter died in a car accident.
7
"Wheels on the Bus"
Jonathan Levine
David E. Kelley
September 15, 2021 (2021-09-15)
Carmel attacks Masha and has to be sedated. Tony tells Frances of his plans which freaks her out. Masha wants to help the Marconis see their dead son. Zoe doesn't want to. Masha says she'll take a trip with the Marconis but is called away to see Frances. Delilah is unhappy and decides to leave. Lars knows one of the guests died. Masha goes to see Carmel and realises she was the person who shot her.
8
"Ever After"
Jonathan Levine
David E. Kelley
September 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)
Masha doesn't blame Carmel, she thanks her. Frances tries to explain to Tony why she reacted as she did. Carmel is in a deprivation tank and freaks out. Frances and Tony plan on leaving. Napoleon has a nosebleed. They can all see Zach. Carmel gets out but she's locked in the room. The others try to free her. Masha locks them all in the room. Masha tells Glory to start the fire. They talk about their futures. The fire was a simulation. Napoleon runs into the wood and sees Zach. He says they need to let go. Delilah alerts the police. It is snowing. Masha follows Zoe and sees her daughter. The police arrive. The guests say nothing happened. Frances and Tony go to a restaurant. She starts writing a book. Lars is with his partner and their baby. Carmel is running classes. The Marconis are happy. Ben and Jessica have taken over Tranquillum. Masha drives off in a yellow Lamborghini, her daughter by her side.
Release
Hulu released a first-look trailer for the show during the 93rd Academy Awards airing on ABC on April 25, 2021.[38] The series premiered on Hulu on August 18, 2021, with the first three episodes released at once, and a new episode released weekly thereafter.[5] The finale was released on September 22, 2021.[39] Outside of the United States and China, the series was released on Prime Video.[40] It was broadcast free-to-air in Australia on SBS TV in October/November 2022 and in Greece on ERT in February 2024.[41][42]
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 59% approval rating with an average rating of 6.1/10, based on 111 critic reviews. The critics consensus reads, "A meandering mystery may muddle its impact, but strong performances across the board from its eclectic ensemble mean Nine Perfect Strangers is never less than watchable."[43]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 54 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[44]
Ben Travers of IndieWire called out the series was a "disappointing limited series. There's nothing special here, and whatever juice was stirred into Liane Moriarty's bestselling novel of the same name, that's been squeezed out of this languid, lost eight-episode drama".[45] Alison Herman of Theringer pointed out one of the biggest mistakes of the show was that it followed the HBO's big hit The White Lotus "too soon" and was "overstuffed and undercooked".[46]
Alexis Nedd of Mashable compared the show to "smoothies" and commented that "the individually good pieces are some wonderful performances, an interesting premise, and a visually stunning location. Someone just forgot to hit blend."[47] Make a comparison to the previous hit show Big Little Lies, which combined the same elements as Nicole Kidman starred based on a best-selling novel from Liane Moriarty and adapted by David E. Kelley, Rachel Cooke of New Statesman called out "this time around, however, the glossy algorithm has failed to work.[48]
Kevin E G Perry of The Independent called out "the stellar cast's obvious chemistry helps elevate a script that grows increasingly melodramatic as each of their character's secrets are brought to light."[49]David Bianculli of NPR praised the performance of leading lady Nicole Kidman as "it's yet another deep and challenging role she's inhabited since opting to focus on TV miniseries as well as movies" even though it "is more of an ensemble than a solo turn."[50]
Audience viewership
On August 24, 2021, it was reported that the premiere was the most-watched Hulu original at the time.[51]
