French people call orgasm la beautiful deathBut for Ruby, Stephanie Sue’s maniacal, thirty-something serial dater in Peacock’s latest series “Led,” the deaths happening around her are minor. She’s the typical rom-com hero, or at least she wants to think so: she’s obsessed with them, even going so far as to covet Billy Crystal’s abs in “When Harry Met Sally…” Se is alone, unlucky in love, and never appears to be able to find the right man. But that creepiness comes back to haunt her when, out of nowhere, she discovers that her former partners are dying mysterious, violent deaths, one by one… in the same order in which she slept with them. .
It’s a premise that sits somewhere between “Sex and the City” and, I guess, “It Follows,” but the revival of Nanchakka Khan and Sally Bradford McKenna’s Australian series of the same name has given it a weird, The enthusiast has turned the series into one that is laser-focused on the flight of modern millennial dating life. Like many of us, Ruby is unnaturally insecure, full of anxiety, and always looking to find “the one” the media told us we grew up with. But when her ex-lovers start dropping like flies, she’s forced to ponder the age-old question: “Is it me?”
Unfortunately for her and those around her, this merry-go-round ride through her romantic foibles comes with a death sentence for those close to her, and the rate at which her old flames fade away begins to accelerate. Is. All she has to do is make do with her (metaphorical) little black book and the constant assistance of her best friend, AJ (Zosia Mamet), a true-crime obsessive who quickly uncovers a conspiracy of her sexual rolodex, red threads, and Builds a wall. All.
If the premise of “Led” seems a little daunting to expand into an eight-episode series, you’d be partially right; After the initial shock and mystery of what’s happening to Ruby’s men (and sometimes women) wears off, the show settles into a somewhat predictable rhythm. The back half is much weaker than the front, as Khan and McKenna struggle to insert new wrinkles to complicate whatever curse she’s dealing with (from sexual imperfections to the “Cyrano sex” that keeps Ruby from getting those Allows her to find a way to sleep with people she doesn’t) I want to kill). The central mystery is no longer as engaging once it’s revealed a little more fully, and the last-minute tease for a second season doesn’t hook you in at all.
That said, what wins you over are the performances, especially those of Hsu and Mamet. Fresh from her Oscar nomination for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Hsu sketches in Ruby’s dirty edges without tipping her into outright inappropriateness. Sure, she’s a little Bridget Jones-like in her playfulness, all goofy voices and corny accent, but Hsu allows those eccentricities to function in service of a greater insecurity that keeps her from pursuing romantic activities again and again, again and again. Promotes. Even her budding romance with a client named Isaac (Tommy Martinez) opens up new flavors of insecurity and empowerment, as she not only works to steal him away from her fiancé, but insists on Whether conquering him would actually kill him. It’s smart, sweet work, and she keeps “Led” afloat even in its darkest minutes.
But with Mamet’s AJ dismantling Ruby’s narcissism in much-needed ways, the pair’s fast-paced banter delivers some of the series’ better jokes. AJ’s unnatural joy at being given such a fascinating crime to solve (she’s the kind of girl who idolizes Amanda Knox and raves about the wordplay in the clumsy titles of Ryan Murphy series). is a balm and keeps things from getting too heavy, even as Ruby’s metaphorical body count gets quite literal. But more importantly, she offers a candid view of Ruby’s deep personal flaws, which is what made Death’s list of kills so long – as all the best ones should do.
Overall, “Led” is lightweight almost to a fault; The life-or-death stakes of Ruby’s unwitting sexual murder spree don’t land on a show with the same ease as “Don’t Trust the B–in Apartment 23” (on which Khan and McKenna had previously collaborated). , This goes double for when the show actually tries to arrive at some answers for Ruby’s plight, when the more interesting angle is why Ruby had such a long list of murders in the first place. As a reflection on the way our burdens prevent us from truly forming new relationships, “Led” is far more interesting. Here’s hoping season two focuses more on what actually made Ruby the toxic ex she was (and that’s an understatement, lol).
All episodes were screened for review. “Led” will stream in its entirety on Peacock on December 19.