James Jackson

Such tonal shifts make Katie Dippold’s show one peculiar barrel of fish, much in the way that Atlanta or Barry were uncategorisable (Hiro Murai, this show’s director, also worked on those). Which means, I suspect, just as many will find it frustrating as will applaud it for being like nothing else around.

What follows is an unpredictable, if ultimately melodramatic psychological drama motored by dark manipulations.

By the final couple of episodes, when the action pinballs to South Korea, things have veered from unpredictable to near-deranged.But let’s not quibble too much. When it’s being funny (such as Austin’s blagging as he fakes it as a physical therapist), being perceptive about neediness and dissatisfaction within a long-term relationship, or being simply downright entertaining in the country club, this beef can still be something rare and delicious.

Ashe is the kind of fresh juice a second season needs, even if it ultimately leads things to a preposterously far-fetched climax. Meanwhile, a slight problem remains that over ten hours the series can dip whenever Hamm isn’t on screen. The various characters’ family dramas sometimes feel as if they’re from a different, slightly schmaltzier drama.

The laughs are waning by the halfway point, so it’s a relief when the class acts Adam Scott and Bradley Whitford show up later (albeit in small roles) to help steady the ship.

Eight episodes twist through their backstories, but first we have to wade through a morass of weeping, hugs and gradual suspicion that doesn’t yet feel properly earned.

The criss-crossing timelines gradually show how all these personal lives evolved over time, and it really does keep you hooked. Loading in such familial emotion is pretty nimble writing.

It’s the kind of show that doesn’t knock your socks off​, but its amiable wit is more than welcome.

Being Ritchie, all this rollicks along, high on its own reimagining — and hats off to the natty suits — but at eight episodes it’s somewhat overstuffed. Things are so much more compelling in the smaller moments.

As the couple repeatedly state their love for each other, fall out and make up over nine — yes, nine — episodes, their relationship does start to feel like an “endless saga” (one character actually yells this).