[[link removed]]

PORTSIDE CULTURE

BREAKING AWAY FROM BAD: TV NEEDS A REST FROM RICH PEOPLE DOING
TERRIBLE THINGS  
[[link removed]]


 

Saloni Gajjar
June 16, 2025
AV Club
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ These days, it’s hard to care about affluent fictional characters
who get away with everything. _

The White Lotus , Your Friends & Neighbors , Nine Perfect Strangers ,
(Photo: Apple TV+) (Photo: Stefano Delia/HBO) (Photo: Reiner
Bajo/Disney)

 

In the second episode of _Your Friends & Neighbor_
[[link removed]]_s_,
Andrew Cooper (Jon Hamm
[[link removed]])
sneaks into an acquaintance’s mansion in broad daylight and pockets
a Richard Mille with a resale value of $358,000. In the next
installment, he chances upon and swipes a Chardonnay worth $32,000
while hiding in the wine cellar of a different neighbor who is busy
screwing her daughter’s young boyfriend. Coop’s haul includes a
Patek Philippe, diamond jewelry, a Birkin bag, expensive art, and wads
of cash over time. His unhealthy addiction to stealing develops after
losing a longtime job as a hedge-fund manager. To maintain a
reputation and facade of elitism, he resorts to pilfering prized
possessions from the same people he parties and makes small talk with
in an affluent New York suburb. Who cares, he essentially posits,
about these one-percenters’ valuables? 

That question could be asked about the show itself, as well several
other series this year that  center on rich (mostly white, mostly
male) people doing bad things: Who cares? Watching Coop slither around
Westmont’s resplendent homes to pluck out items to pawn becomes a
chore, despite Hamm’s admirable acting. There is simply a lack of
emotional investment in Coop’s outcome (or of those he robs or
anyone in the community, for that matter). The Jonathan
Tropper-created show and its navel-gazing voiceovers offer little
insight through softball takes on greed, materialism, and
morality. _YF&N_‘s empty grandeur is just more proof that TV needs
to take a break from terrible rich people. They’ve worn out their
welcome. 

Of course, awful—and awfully wealthy—people committing crimes on
the small screen is nothing new and can be seen in everything from
soapy series (_Dynasty _and _Desperate Housewives_) to outright
comedies (_Arrested Development _and its “light treason”) to
prestige dramas (_Succession_). But even Jesse Armstrong, who created
that last sensational series, couldn’t hit the mark twice. In his
recent film for HBO, _Mountainhead_
[[link removed]], entrepreneurs debate
pulling a political coup to capitalize on a global meltdown their tech
started (and try to literally murder one of their own to do so). But
in a time when the President and a Silicon Valley billionaire are
duking it out on social media, the fictional exploitative men
in _Mountainhead _feel too bleakly on-the-nose to enjoy. 

Like _Neighbors _and _Mountainhead,_ _Nine Perfect
Strangers _also examines wealth inequality in a glamorous
setting—and does so hollowly. The first season of the show
struggled within the confines of Liane Moriarty’s novel, and
the second
[[link removed]] frankly
flounders without that source material to adapt. Hulu’s series
explores psychedelics “expert” Masha Dmitrichenko (Nicole Kidman),
who now runs an ornate wellness retreat in the Alps called Zauberwald.
In season two, she invites a roster of new clients, including
billionaire David Shaw (Mark Strong), to join a bonkers, cutting-edge
program. Masha doesn’t just want David as an investor, though, as
the two share a tumultuous past: After a one-night stand years ago,
she got pregnant and raised their daughter alone until the child’s
tragic death at age seven. Masha blames him and his business partners,
whom she (a former journalist) was secretly investigating. The
remaining Zauberwald clients, _NPS _slowly reveals, have ties to
David. And his profit-seeking agenda has somehow disrupted each of
their lives, as seen in how David’s media company exploited a
humiliating video of Brian’s (Murray Bartlett) outburst on his
children’s show, which destroyed his career and sense of self.  

_NPS _goes from a fever dream to a paltry attempt at being relevant
with a tycoon antagonist who is involved with Russian military
contractors and weapons production. But the show’s unabashed
campiness is not equipped to meaningfully handle such topics. Masha
lingers in a confusing space of rage and lust for David herself,
unable to decide whether she wants to bring him down while they’re
isolated in the snowy mountains, team up with him for the sake of her
enterprise, or somehow find a way to save this seemingly tortured
billionaire who won’t deign to spend time with his adult son (played
by Henry Golding) at the same retreat. The writers of both _Nine
Perfect Strangers _and _Your Friends & Neighbors _also throw in
several meandering subplots, watering down their central theses. 

A similar aimlessness plagued this year’s overly stylized, poorly
paced Thailand-set season of _The White Lotus_
[[link removed]].
Mike White wasn’t able to prod at class disparity and entitlement
like he did in the show’s first two batches. The third one, instead,
prioritizes flashiness over substance, as seen in the incoherent
conclusion of Belinda’s (Natasha Rothwell) arc or the shallowness of
the Ratliffs. 

And looking ahead, Prime Video’s _We Were Liars, _which premieres
June 19, matches _Lotus_‘ sunny aesthetic—and emptiness. Based on
E. Lockhart’s novel, the eight episodes explore the privilege of the
uber-rich and dysfunctional Sinclair clan, which is led by a Logan
Roy-esque patriarch played by David Morse. While summering on their
private island near Martha’s Vineyard, adult family members fight
over their inheritance while their teen children struggle to
understand all this obsession with money. 

Without sufficient depth, spending time with these characters is as
tedious as watching Jason Isaacs’ Tim Ratliff repeatedly swallow
pills and have visions of murdering his family, lest they learn the
truth about his scandal. Going back to _Your Friends & Neighbors_,
Coop seemingly matures after his brush with the cops and brief prison
stint. It’s as if he’s finally recognizes that material assets
aren’t as valuable as his estranged loved ones. Yet, by season
one’s end, he rejects the offer to return to work for a much higher
salary. Instead, he chases a criminal adrenaline rush and robs a
painting from the man who fired him as payback. This act of defiance
is both soulless and predictable. It brings to mind what Coop says
about things like scotch, cigars, and custom-fit golf clubs: They’re
“entire industries built to cash in on the quiet desperation of
rich, middle-aged men.” If only TV shows like these could stop doing
the same damn thing. 

* wealth gap
[[link removed]]
* wealth inequality
[[link removed]]
* materialism
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit portside.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 



########################################################################

[link removed]

To unsubscribe from the xxxxxx list, click the following link:
[link removed]