By Coren Feldman
Bad Sisters hooks you from the very first scene. As you watch the funeral of John Paul, the husband of the oldest of the five Garvey sisters, it becomes clear that he was killed and one (or more) of them was the culprit. The show jumps between the present, as a life insurance investigation is inquiring into his death, and the past, when the four younger sisters each reach their breaking point and decide to kill him.
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| The Garvey sisters |
Sharon Horgan, the show's co-creator, had previously written another fantastic show, Catastrophe, along with Rob Delaney, about an American man who accidentally impregnates an Irish woman and the relationship that's built on it. Horgan is clearly a masterful writer with the ability to write great comedic dialogue, make you empathize with every character and feel invested in every scene.
It's those same strengths that makes Bad Sisters such a hard show to put down. Between the suspense of waiting for a murder to happen and the individual stories of each sister and their relationship with their brother-in-law, the show excels where other murder-mystery shows flounder (I'm looking at you, Only Murders In The Building).
The strong relationships between the sisters and the excellent chemistry between the actors propels the show forward, as does the subtle writing of John Paul as an abusive narcissist. Carefully staying away from cartoonish, evil depictions and making his character believable allows us as viewers to both understand how his wife Grace can stay in the toxic relationship and side with the sisters who want him dead.
The decision to have a small family-owned life insurance company looking into the death rather than the police adds a fantastic extra layer to the show. The insurance company is broke and can't afford to pay the claim, and the owner is concerned for his ability to provide for his very pregnant wife and their child. And to complicate things further, his (half) brother hits it off with Becka, the youngest of the Garvey sisters, without realizing she's in the claim they're investigating. Making you empathize not just with the Garvey sisters, but also the people who could potentially lead to their downfall keeps the show grounded, conflicted and so very bingeable.
Even the opening credits, a haunting rendition of "Who By Fire" by Leonard Cohen, perfectly sets up every episode of this funny, dark show, by actually asking the question of how he will die:
And who by fire, who by water
Who in the sunshine, who in the night time
Who by high ordeal, who by common trial
Who in your merry merry month of may
Who by very slow decay
And who shall I say is calling?
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| Coren Feldman is the founder of CorenTV and just accidentally bought extra large tissues. Did you know that was a thing? They're huge. Why would anyone need that? |