La novia

The Girlfriend has a hooky premise and uniformly strong acting but it leans too hard on prefab gloss. The show's world is populated by stock archetypes: a 27-year-old doctor with a handsome face and a magazine-body, a pretentious mother who's a blue-chip art dealer, an unremarkable father who happens to be a hotel magnate. The ensemble feels assembled by ChatGPT.

Cherry, the sharp working-class outsider dating into this moneyed clan, is the exception. She has the raw material for a compelling class-clash protagonist. The writing gestures at complexity, code-switching, impostor syndrome, moral compromise but her arc stalls just as it should deepen.

What keeps the series watchable is the evolving antagonism between Wright's character, the mother, and Cherry.

Around them, too many players fade into décor. Brigitte and her mother, in particular, function as narrative furniture; useful for expository nudges, seldom granted interiority. It doesn't help that the production design is so pristine (beautiful houses, landscapes, wardrobes) that it threatens to become the point. The mise-en-scène is luxurious; the psychology, less so.

Bottom line: polished and perfectly watchable, but frustratingly safe. With more investment in character design (fewer portrayal of "perfect" rich people and more recognizable human mess and realness) The Girlfriend might have transcended its clichés. As is, it's a handsome surface with flashes of the show it wants to be.

This is a really fun watch. The story keeps you engaged and despite having a pretty obvious plot, the shift in perspectives (the girlfriend's vs the mother's) works really well to maintain an element of mystery and intrigue. The acting is really good across the board but Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke really stand out and the roles fit them perfectly.

There are just a few minor things that weren't quite as polished. For example, the secondary actors were all one dimensional and almost felt like props, which might be perhaps to reflect the personalities of the two main characters and how they see the people around them. And a few plotholes surrounding how secrets were uncovered or certain things set up that might have been an artistic choice or maybe I'm being too generous.

Despite its faults, this is a really fun watch that is surprisingly relateable (the working class perspective not the oedipal can of worms)

Strengths! Acting! Robin Wright is always fire - a powerful on-screen presence, and here she not only embodies her character but also directs alongside Andrea Harkin. Olivia Cooke adds tension, though her performance doesn't fully reach the same level.

The series is compact - just six episodes. That format avoids stretched-out arcs of long dramas, but it also limits the story's range. After a strong pilot, episodes 2-4 feel watered down, only to pick up again with a compelling finale. Honestly, this could have worked better as a feature film.

Themes & Emotional Impact. The main motifs - mother and son, trust and suspicion, social status, manipulation - hit sensitive spots that resonate easily. When Laura shifts from worried to obsessed, the drama grows not just in relationships but in her worldview.

Production Quality. Visually the show looks rich and striking: beautiful locations, stylish aesthetic, and cinematography worth noting.

Weaknesses. Predictability. While there is a twist at the end, it's far from revolutionary. Most of the beats are easy to anticipate, especially for viewers familiar with psychological thrillers.

Character Depth. Cherry, Laura, and Daniel remain close to archetypes: the protective mother, the daughter-in-law with a dark secret, the son caught between them.

Stylistic Extremes. At times the show leans into melodrama too overtly.

From Amazon I expected something more powerful - in the spirit of Reacher or The Terminal List, where action and story dynamics are stronger and the drama more balanced.

Verdict. What could have been a tight, gripping miniseries often feels like a pilot plus finale with too little in between.

If you're looking for fast-paced storytelling with expansive dynamics, this won't satisfy. A passable watch, but not a recommendation.

After the first episode, I was unsure how this show would qualify as a thriller. It opens on a lighthearted, almost cliché note, reminiscent of Monster-in-Law with J-Lo and Jane Fonda. It begins with the classic overprotective mother versus new girlfriend dynamic with comedic exchanges and rising tensions.

However... the story quickly takes a much darker turn and tone. The pacing is excellent and it's nearly impossible to stop watching once you start. It's a shame that it's a limited series because I could easily see the story continuing for at least a couple more seasons.

The acting is far better than I expected. Cooke, Wright, and Davidson have fantastic chemistry on screen and each inhabits their role perfectly. The emotional tension, good and bad, is authentic and palpable. There's a few plot holes and some unresolved storylines but for a limited series, they are forgivable albeit a touch annoying.

The more I reflect on the story, the more nuance I see. Without giving too much away, the characters background and upbringing shape how each of them responds to trauma, loss, and major life changes, with those responses unfolding on screen.

I'll just end it with, Daniel gets exactly what he deserves in the end.

I normally dont do reviews but my girlfriend and I couldn't stop watching this and binged it in 2 days! It was phenomenal! Great acting, amazing character development and you didn't know who to love or to hate! It was exactly the sort of thing my girlfriend and I like to watch, and there definitely is not enough shows out like this! We hope this is definitely renewed after that cliff hanger! Would be devastating to not do a season 2!