10/24
The exploits of various guests and employees at a luxury resort over the course of a week. HBO has renewed the series for a second season, despite the series being intended as a one-season limited miniseries. The series will reportedly be an anthology-style series, with new characters for each season. HBO has done this before (with great success) with True Detective (2014). It appeared in Jeremy Vine: Episode 1. 4175 (2021). While some of the first season was awkward, this second season is as masterful as anyone could hope for. It starts off a little slow, the first episode, but it quickly finds its feet and keeps me enthralled over and over again, as if I wasn’t experienced enough. It feels like it’s a review of every thought I’ve ever had about a resort, many of which I’ve long since forgotten. It’s a joy for that alone, but don’t worry, it goes far beyond that, flirting with the operatic heights of drama and beauty, which is entirely appropriate given its Sicilian setting. Given the excellence of the acting and the apparent simplicity of the story, I’d say Mike White, the creator of this series, is something of an unsung genius. The guy seems to ignore boundaries and has one of the sharpest eyes for detail I’ve ever seen.
