Why Women Kill – Season 1

Why I took it off the list: Feeling in the mood for something more lighthearted than the somewhat grim last couple of films I reviewed, I decided to take a look in the rarely consulted ‘Comedy’ category of my IMDB watchlist.

That led me to this 2019 dark comedy/drama series. I’d been meaning to watch it becuase I was a loyal follower of creator Marc Cherry’s biggest success, Desperate Housewives (2004-2012), through its eight-season run. And this series seemed to promise more of his trademark biting humor and complicated female characters.

However, I was put off by the casting of actress Ginnifer Goodwin in a leading role. During my time working as a cinema projectionist, I was forced to endure multiple snippets of the dire romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You (2009), and found Goodwin’s ditzy lead turn incredibly grating.

However, I remember finding her acting tolerable in the poligamy drama series Big Love (2006-2011), and the presence of actresses I like such as Lucy Liu and Kirby Howell-Baptiste somewhat offset her casting .

Plus, I felt in exactly the right mood for Cherry’s brand of juicy, campy drama.

So, let’s dig in!

Review of Why Women Kill Season 1 (2019)

There’s no getting around it, Why Women Kill feels like Desperate Housewives 2.0. Housewives always felt wierdly anacronistic at times, like it existed in its own little bubble of suburban America that could be taking place any time from the 50s to the present if not for modern conviences, most notably through the character of perfectionist homemaker Bree Van De Camp.

So it’s fitting that the first season ofWhy Women Kill takes place in three different time periods, 1963, 1984, and 2019, centering around three sets of married couples who all live in the same Pasadena mansion (which also wouldn’t look out of place on the Housewives cul-de-sac).

In the 60s, Beth Ann (Goodwin) and Robert (Sam Jaeger) Stanton move in to the house. On the surface, they appear to be the perfect picture of midcentury American wholesomeness, she a peppy and endlessly commited housewive, and he a sharp-suited rocket engineer.

During the move, Beth Ann befriends neighbor Shelia (Alicia Coppola), a no-nonsense Italian woman orginally from New Jersey, who’s been reading feminist literature and is quick to call out Rob on his maid-like treatment of his wife. However, Beth Ann assures her she isn’t bothered and lives to dote on her husband’s every need.

But soon after, while shopping in a supermarket, Beth Ann overhears Shelia gossiping about how she knows Rob is having an affair. Beth Ann is intially in denial, but Shelia convinces her to confront the waitress ‘tramp’ April (Sadie Calvano) at her diner.

Instead, mild-mannered Beth Ann, who introduces herself with her neighbor’s name, ends up striking up a sweet friendship with April that gets more complicated as the two grow closer. While Beth Ann remains determined to win back her man, she begins genuinely caring for April’s well-being and starts to live a double life.

The 1984 segments revolve around narcisstictic, high-maintance socilate Simone (Liu), who’s as desperate as Beth Ann to keep up appearances, altough her niceties towards her well-to-do supposed ‘friends’ are full of barely-concealed venom.

However, her catty asdies are largely ignored thanks to the magnetic charm of her cultured British husband Karl (Jack Davenport), who graciously puts up with her self-centered behaviour.

But what seems like a perfect marriage to Simone (her third) and those around her is put into question when she’s anonymously sent photos of her husband kissing another man.

Desperate to avoid the embarrasment of the revelation that she had no idea she was married to a gay man, Simone begins scheming the best way to navigate her third divorce, but soon realizes Karl has just as much leverage over her as she does him.

In the 2019 storyline, it’s clear that times have changed, as the residents of the mansion are bisexual, high-flying lawyer Taylor (Howell-Baptiste) and her screenwriter husband Eli (Reid Scott), who’s suffering from writer’s block.

The couple are proudly and happily in an open marriage, but Taylor breaks one of thier core rules when she brings one of her hook-ups, Jade (Alexandra Daddario), home.

Eli reluctanly agrees that Jade, who’s fleeing an abusive ex, can stay for a few days, but when he actually gets a look at her, he’s practically begging for her to move in permanately.

He convinces Taylor to have a threesome, something they’ve never done before, and Jade is more than up for it. But as they settle into being a ‘throuple’, predictable jealousies and resentments start to rear thier ugly heads.

Liu Stands Out Among an Excellent Cast

One thing that Why Women Kill has to be applauded for is the seamless intertwining of the three narratives as they play out simultaneously, not exactly surprising given Cherry’s track record of juggling a billion storylines at a time on Housewives.

Almost every scene complements the one that came before it and there are innumerable wonderful edits as the action cuts between decades.

Cherry also remains a master at setting up a mystery with the bookends of each episode making it clear, through multiple prescient narrators, that each story is going to end up with a dead body.

But he also shows how good he is at subverting expectations, with multiple twists and turns that keep us guessing just who is going to end up in the body bags.

Although the theme of infidelity leading to mishaps both comedic and tragic is nothing new in Cherry’s world (indeed, several storylines are basically retreads of Housewives plots), the show is immensenly enjoyable thanks to the expected, acid-tongued dialgoue the creator gives the actors to work with

The production design, particularly in the period timelines, is excellent and full of fun little details (for example, Liu’s self-absorbed Simone has adorned her home with several portraits of herself in different artistic styles).

Speaking of Liu, she’s definitely a standout among an overall strong cast. The actress gets a great showcase to show off her considerable comedic chops spouting withering put-downs, while also revealing a surprising fragility to Simone as her storyline takes a sad turn.

Her quick-witted banter with Davenport (flamboyantly hamming it up in starrk contrast to his best known role as the stern Norrington in the Pirates of the Carribean films) is a joy to watch. As is thier gradual realization that perhaps they are perfectly suited for each other – just as platontic besties.

In the other segements, Coppola and Scott prove themeselves to be exceptional comedic performers. And Daddario is clearly having a lot of fun subverting expections as the seemingly sweet Jade is gradually revealed to be a lot more devious than she first appears.

But among a cast of characters who are largely shameless schemers, it’s the adorable April who emerges as the most sympathetic, with Calvano (Anna Faris’ daughter in Mom) projecting a radiant innocence that’s hard not to fall in love with.

The fact that Why Women Kill didn’t make a bigger splash on release is a shame, as though you could dismiss it as campy trash, it’s highly entertaining. And the lack of any awards recogition (particularly for Liu) is a crime.

Suprisingly, though, it was a huge hit in China, so that’s something. Plus it did well enough to warrant a season 2, a completely different story with different actors, as the series revealed itself to be an anthology. And which I plan to review soon!

Final score: 7/10

Why Women Kill Season 1: Worth Watching?

Yes, particularly if you’re a fan of Desperate Housewives and Marc Cherry’s brand of acid-tongued dialogue and melodramatic but fun twisty storylines.