The Netflix dark comedy series No Good Deed may revolve around an impossibly gorgeous upper-echelon Los Angeles home, but it’s fueled by the cheapest brand of sentimentality—the kind that puts on the respectable outward face of diversity, inclusion, and various twists of the true-crime genre, only to reveal its shallow nature by the climax.
It’s very LA in that way, and the house in question, a 1920s Spanish-style villa, is worth all the fuss, with enough aspirational beauty to make an influencer swoon, so give production designer Nina Ruscio all the accolades, folks. And credit also to a cast that includes Abbi Jacobson, Luke Wilson, Linda Cardellini, Teyonah Parris, Denis Leary, O-T Fagbenle, Ray Romano, and Lisa Kudrow for at least keeping things interesting.
Romano and Kudrow are a married couple whose relationship and economic situation have become strained after the death of their son three years ago, forcing them to sell their gorgeous home with a lifetime of family memories. But they’re forced to confront their own issues and a whole lot more as potential buyers swoop in, all of whom have baggage and secrets of their own.
There are enough very comedic developments and unburied secrets to hold the attention of viewers, and no doubt many will experience the cheapest kind of satisfaction as their classism and prejudices are reinforced. Because upholding the American Family isn’t enough; interlopers must face punishment that borders on (if not embraces) the Old Testament. For all that the U.S. claims to support self-made individualism, it has very specific ideas on who gets to create themselves and how. TV-MA, eight 30-minute episodes
Netflix
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