‘Sirens’ (Review)

That’s certainly an interesting way to do a show, I guess. Netflix‘s Sirens centers around sisters Simone (Milly Alcock) and Devon (Meghann Fahy) who find themselves in the orbit of the enigmatically alluring Michaela Kell (Julianne Moore) on one Labor Day weekend. That’s actually a slight fib, Alcock’s Simone works for her as an assistant/number two, and Fahy’s Devon is trying her darnedest to get her sister out of what is – by all accounts – a cult.

What could’ve been a superb five-episode saga about sisterhood and class, with a summery vibe that actually cooled me down a little in this temperate weather, turned out to be a series of almost-greats stringed together by solid performances and a smattering of one-liners.

You Might Be Tempted By Sirens

I certainly was. Following on from The White Lotus (Season 3), and Season 2 of Nine Perfect Strangers, there’s a current of shows that focus on escapism through rich people getaways. I won’t harp on about what those shows should try and do, read my NPS2 review for that, but the trend is not easily ignored. What I appreciated about Sirens is that it promised (and delivered on that promise) to hone in further on the setting of a Labor Day weekend.

However, the show’s official logline reads, in part: “… a whip smart & darkly funny exploration of women, family, power, and class.” I’m sorry to say that it simply doesn’t do as much as it’s leading you to believe. There’s virtually zero meaningful, insightful class commentary, there’s an almost laughably low amount of power struggle, and the ending of the show has a message that doesn’t land in the way that I imagine showrunner Molly Smith Metzler wanted it to.

Sirens operates as more of a five-episode vignette into the lives of these sisters that just happens to take place over Labor Day. The settings, both spatial and temporal, do nothing to catalyze the events of the show. The impetus for the whole series is Alcock’s character sending a fruit basket to her sister. There’s nothing critically wrong with that approach, either, but the show’s refusal to acknowledge it for what it is — a family drama — and, instead, purport itself to be a genre-defining piece of contemporary media may leave a sour taste in your mouth.

Give Meghann Fahy ALL The Awards

While I didn’t buy the relationship between Devon and Simone as initially presented, Meghann Fahy works incredibly hard to try and sell you on it — and that effort is genuinely successful. She definitely has the most to work with, as Moore and Alcock are pretty immovable re: their characters, which gives her a lot more room to showcase her range. In Sirens, Fahy goes from vulnerable lows to concerning highs, sometimes within the space of ten minutes. Her comedic delivery is phenomenal because of how real it is, making the less dynamic scenes more lively.

This isn’t to say that Alcock and Moore are bad; they, too, are extremely adept. The first (and only) thing I’ve seen Alcock in was House of the Dragon, where there were some weak spots in her performance. Here, she’s completely believable as this totally enchanted, naïve young woman with a past from which she’s desperately trying to move forward.

Her mechanism for doing that is Michaela. Again, Julianne Moore is an incredibly skilled performer. She managed to bring tension when it was needed, but the character herself felt very one-dimensional. I love Revenge, it’s one of my favorite shows of all time, but Michaela Kell was extremely Victoria Grayson-coded. The intrigue was there, but her character’s presence wasn’t looming enough early on to make the ending feel satisfying.

Also in the show are Glenn Howerton (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Kevin Bacon (MaxXxine), who bring a confusing presence. Their actions are what drive the plot forward, not the actions of Sirens‘ three stars, which makes the show’s success as a story about women feel slightly inadequate.

Is Sirens Any Good?

If you go into Sirens wanting a glamorous show about rich people doing rich people things, that happens to line up with your long-weekend plans, you’ll like it… if you know exactly what you’re getting into. But, if you’re going into it believing it’ll be some deeply critical exposé on what the uber rich do in their cliffside mansions when it’s a holiday, it may be wise to temper those expectations.

All episodes of Sirens are now streaming on Netflix.