The Hunting Wives

The show begins with Sophie and her family that move to a Texas town. You watch Sophie navigate making new, bizarre friends with everyone carrying some sort of secret, trauma, or morally corrupt drama. Halfway through, it transitions from sex & scandal to a dark murder mystery. You won't be shocked when the truth is revealed, but watching the theories evolve will take you on a fun ride.

Yes, it's incredibly predictable, and seriously problematic in terms of glorifying relationships between older women and teenage boys (I don't care if they are 18, you are even referring to them as boys, so yeah, no), but my biggest issue is everyone is just the worst. There were maybe three okay characters: Salazar was competent, and relentless, and I liked her rapport with Flynn. I liked Jack's dry, give-no-fs, tell-it-like-it-is attitude. But a six year old cannot carry an adult show, especially when he maybe got 11 minutes of screen time. Kyle was the only who made me laugh, but again, not enough screen time to make an impact. And probably more time with him would have diluted what enjoyment he did provide.

But Sophie?!?! All she did was storm around saying, "I have one question for you." Literally to everyone. Maybe think things through first. Maybe don't play endless victim/brat (and not in a Charli XCX way), it is not an effective way to move through life.

Malin Ackerman looks gorgeous, but her talents were put to waste here. The show could not decide whether she was complex and layered, or just Miley Cyrus's wrecking ball. Same with Jaime Ray Newman. I have always found her to be a really gifted and nuanced actress and was excited to see her play such a big personality, but Callie was a two note caricature.

And why even bother casting Dermot Mulroney? Total lost opportunity.

I knew when I started this that it was going to be a soapy thriller- not everything has to be a razor sharp mystery to be entertaining. And beneath all of the booze-drenched and drug-addled script is an interesting story. Hey, I stuck around for the whole thing. But here's hoping that if it does get a second season, the story runners sober up before they start crafting how it should unfold.

Sophie O'Neil, a former editor-in-chief of a glossy magazine, moves with her husband and son from New York City to a quiet town in East Texas. There, she meets local socialite Margot Banks, who runs an exclusive club for women - filled with cocktails, skeet shooting, and endless gossip. Enchanted by the atmosphere, Sophie gets pulled into their glamorous world, but things take a dark turn when a young girl's body is found on the edge of the woods. Soon, the club members become prime suspects.

Pros:The biggest asset here is the cast. Malin Åkerman carries the entire show on her shoulders - she brings both charm and emotional authenticity to the role. The small-town setting, with its undercurrent of secrets, is visually well-crafted. Cinematography and atmosphere are on point.

Cons:Unfortunately, that's where the strengths end. Rebecca Cutter, known for Hightown, falls short this time. What could've been a gripping psychological thriller turns into a soap opera with forced drama. The mystery is drowned in shallow melodrama, and there's little to no chemistry between the actors.

This is no Bad Sisters, no Why Women Kill, and certainly no Big Little Lies. The attempt to blend genres results in a show that looks polished but feels hollow. It all rests on Åkerman's charisma and decent direction.

As for the explicit scenes - nothing groundbreaking. This isn't The L Word, and today's audiences need more than that to be surprised.

Verdict:A disposable watch for one evening. Stylish but shallow. Don't expect depth, suspense, or memorable characters.

I saw the negative reviews on this and almost skipped watching it. I turned it on for background noise and ended up binge watching the whole show today. Some don't dig the nudity, I get it, but I don't mind it. Women have sex, people have sex, all sex lives are different and I thought it was about to be a crazy love story. This show turns out to be a who done it murder mystery kind of thing, and actually kept me on my toes after the first few episodes. I can usually predict what's going to happen in those types of scenarios because I watch too much TV but this show was pretty good at creating a Clue like situation. Im a country girl, and I was down for these badass women in this show. The ending was unpredictable and intriguing. I highly recommend you watch and decide for yourself. Brittany Snow in a role you've never seen her in before, and Malin Ackerman rocks her character so well it's hard to tell if she's acting.

The Hunting Wives is packed with nudity, which I don't mind, but just know what you're getting. It's unintentionally funny thanks to over-the-top clichés. Think exaggerated Southern accents, shallow takes on religion, and hypocritical Christians played for cheap drama. I'm personally not a Southern Bible thumper, but even I found the portrayals lazy and insulting. The show wants to be edgy and mysterious but ends up predictable and hollow.