1 season; 7 episodes. Watched on TVNZ+
Rating: 2.5/5
This series is based on a book written by Liane Moriarty who also wrote Big Little Lies.
Annette Benning and Sam Neill star as Joy and Stan Delaney, married tennis coaches who’ve recently sold their academy and retired. Then a wounded, young woman arrives on their doorstep — the entire family’s world is turned upside-down.
In the opening scene, Joy rides her apple-green bicycle through her hometown of West Palm Beach. She frowns, passing the Garces (formerly Delaney) Tennis Academy, and picks out a perfect red apple at an outdoor market. Then the camera follows a trail of apples scattered across asphalt, zooming in on the abandoned bike with blood staining its gears.
Of course, once the search for Joy begins in earnest, everyone’s predictable secrets come out. And two key suspects emerge. There’s Stan, who has a nasty scratch on his face, has told some suspicious lies about his wife’s whereabouts, and has quite a temper. More mysterious is Savannah, the young woman who had appeared at the Delaneys’ doorstep months ago with a bloody forehead and a story about an abusive husband.
Bored in retirement and desperate to mother someone as her own children ignored her, Joy took Savannah into her home over her husband’s objections. She’s long gone by the time Joy vanishes, but son, Logan, urges the police to look into her, whoever she is, anyway.
It is a watchable series, whilst not requiring much concentration. There are many gaps / holes in the story. I did find myself saying out loud to the television (which thankfully never answers back) “really???” quite often. I guess I kept on watching to see what had happened to Joy in the end, whilst never investing any energy and emotion in the outcome. It was a predictable ending.
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