Imperfect Women premieres March 18 on Apple TV+, with new episodes weekly.
By Elazar Abrahams
For true fans of television, Imperfect Women is sort of a dream. Kerry Washington and Elisabeth Moss are two of the greatest TV actresses ever – true generational talents. Add in Kate Mara, and you arguably get a third. They’ve each come to define the prestige television wave of the 21st century, anchoring shows like Scandal, Mad Men, and House of Cards. Dropping the three of them into a glossy adult melodrama with a murder mystery component is nothing short of delectable.
All that to say that their new miniseries Imperfect Women is really great! It’s reminiscent of Big Little Lies, where viewers are quickly dropped into a world of grown women and family dynamics colliding with an intense whodunnit.
The series, created by Annie Weisman and adapted from Araminta Hall’s novel, follows three women whose long friendship is recontextualized by a death and the secrets that come spilling out afterward. It goes without saying that everyone is hiding something, and everyone is probably sleeping with someone they shouldn’t be.
The strength of the cast is just extraordinary, each so expressive with their faces, especially Moss, who can sell so much to the camera with a mere look. The eight episode show is not exactly subtle in its scripts, so it’s nice to have such great talent selling it.
The two men that round the main cast also deserve a shout. Corey Stoll brings a sharp presence, and Joel Kinnaman is frankly underrated with what he adds as a grieving spouse. He can play both sincere and suspicious.
The biggest thing holding Imperfect Women back from legendary status is pacing, specifically its structure. The season is told in three chunks, one for each of the three women, and each part is some of the same events narrated from that character’s perspective, meaning episodes keep doubling back to what we have already seen, albeit from a different angle. At many points, the show is catching up with itself.
This is particularly rough in a week-to-week release model. Imperfect Women will end an episode on a cliffhanger, and then take multiple episodes before the story returns to that exact point, because the perspective shifts and the show needs to build up the tension from another character’s headspace. While fun on paper, it feels kind of ridiculous to wait three weeks to get back to where we were already waiting with baited breath.
And while Imperfect Women has a satisfying ending and twists up until the last few minutes, it plays its best cards far too early, revealing enough by the halfway point that the rest can start to feel stretched, because we audiences can sense where things are going even as the characters keep circling the answers.
A few smaller gripes also keep it from reaching its full potential. One wishes the characters were a bit more fleshed out, especially given what these actresses can do when the writing gives them sharper specifics. Also, Kerry Washington’s wig is absolutely terrible. That poor woman. But she’s still terrific, which is kind of the running theme. Even when the show is imperfect, the performers keep it watchable.
Ultimately, Imperfect Women is really sleek and absorbing. Held back by some flaws, it’s still an easy recommendation for any fans of the cast or the genre.
I give Imperfect Women a B+.
TV and City 