No Good Deed (2024)

"No Good Deed" (Dec 2024, 8 eps, 35-min, Netflix) This is a drama/comedy with that being an 80/20 split. It's a top notch cast headlined by Lisa Kudrow renowned as "Phoebe" in "Friends", with the rest of the cast being a mix of solid A- and B-list tv actors, and they all turn in really good performances. As other reviewers here intimate, this could've/should've been great but I don't think the showrunners/directors were at the top of their game, and that's why you see some reviewing it as boring, because yes the pacing was uneven though I didn't find myself hitting the FF button as with so many others these days. The basic plot is a homicide in the principals' home they try to deflect since they're selling it, and the cast of characters vying to buy the home while trying to dig into the homicide. It's at times weird and zany so it can be fun to watch. This season's story was concluded so that tells us the showrunners were told not to expect multiple seasons. So, if there is a second season, it would almost have to be an entirely different plot with different characters and maybe a few different actors, so it'd morph into an anthology series but I think Netflix would have to make a multi-season commitment for that and that's pretty rare.

Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano play a couple trying to sell their beloved LA home. Meanwhile, there are 3 couples vying to buy the property, while the owners attempt to conceal a secret about something that happened there. With that duo in the lead and other comic actors like Denis Leary, Linda Cardellini and Luke Wilson, you'd expect the comedy to run rampant. Alas, there are few punch lines and even fewer genuine laughs. The entire cast does a fine job, including the heartfelt emotional moments (which sometime get in the way). Series showrunner Liz Feldman is best known for her series Dead to Me, which was clever and funny (my review). Like that show, this one ends every episode with a twist and the theme trades in darkness. While this series provides some snappy moments and the regular surprises, it's more dark and personal than outright comedy.