Apples Never Fall retries Big Little Lies at Séries Mania

A new book by Liane Moriarty which tells the small family plots of a rich dysfunctional American family and gives a too conventional adaptation.

Yes, Big Little Lies gave a fantastic series (at least season 1) and absolutely fascinating. But this does not mean that all the works of Liane Moriarty will make such good series. Nine Perfect Strangers had already left us more circumspect. This time, Apples Never Fallscreened in preview at Séries Mania, falls completely short.

The decorum is nevertheless very attractive: Joy and Stan Delaney are retiring after training the young talents of American tennis, in their luxurious and popular Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. What to do with retirement? While their children – far from being as successful – bicker, they welcome into their home a young girl who says she was beaten by her partner and is urgently seeking shelter. A few months later, Joy Delaney disappears under mysterious circumstances. The children lead the investigation, which seems to make Dad Stan the obvious culprit…

The killing game is fun, at first glance. A little side Big Little Lies in Florida which does not lack bite. Like a little vibe Succession tennis sauce, where we would love to see the four ill-bred offspring fighting over the inheritance and playing detectives at the same time. The problem is that the characters aren't very interesting. The siblings led by Jake Lacy (The White Lotus) And Alison Brie (Community) does not come close to that of the Roy family. At the same time, Sam Neill in fact crates to make his character unsympathetic. Fortunately, Annette Bening brings a different touch, in the skin of this woman who seeks to live again with retirement, but who will ultimately be reported missing.

The mystery of his kidnapping never fails to intrigue. Except that the drama which would like to scrape off the “happy family” veneer – covering trauma and suffering – is not written well enough. The verbal jousting is lukewarm and the Oedipal exploration laborious, ultimately failing to transform the murder mystery into an exciting family tragedy, which Big Little Lies (or even Desperate Housewives before her) had succeeded so well.

Apples Never Fall, on Peacock, mini-series in 7 episodes, without broadcaster yet in France.