Bad Sisters is a dark comedy-thriller from Apple TV+ that arrived with little fanfare in 2022 and promptly became one of the most celebrated television series of the decade. Created by Sharon Horgan, who also stars, the series follows the four Garvey sisters in Dublin who conspire to murder their abusive brother-in-law John Paul Williams — a man so comprehensively awful that audiences are cheering for his death before the end of the first episode. The show's masterstroke is its dual-timeline structure, which reveals in the opening minutes that John Paul is dead, then spends ten episodes showing how he might have gotten that way.
The ensemble is uniformly brilliant: Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, and Eve Hewson each bring distinctive textures to the Garvey sisters, creating a family unit so believable and warmly drawn that viewers will want to be adopted into it immediately. Claes Bang is magnificently hateable as John Paul, a performance that requires the audience to understand exactly why murder feels justified while also illuminating the specific and insidious ways such men operate within families. The comedic timing across the ensemble is impeccable, arriving in moments you least expect and making the darkness all the more bearable.
What elevates Bad Sisters beyond its clever premise is its profound emotional intelligence about grief, family loyalty, and the way women are conditioned to endure harm rather than name it. The series was renewed for a second season, which expanded the universe while maintaining the tonal balance that made the original so distinctive. Bad Sisters is that rare achievement: a show that is genuinely funny, genuinely suspenseful, and genuinely moving, often within the same scene.
As Martin Bohm, father of an emotionally challenged boy of 11, we find Kiefer Sutherland bringing an emotional character to life as he tries to understand what makes his son "tick". Martin's son Jacob (who also goes by Jake) has been caught up in a world of his own since his mother perished during the attacks of September 11, 2001. He sees events in the future and seems obsessed by numbers. This series blends spirituality with science as we find out about the connections that bind all of humanity together in ways hidden from normal view. The 11 year old boy may well hold the key to shaping the planet's destiny. The supernatural Touch has a spectacular cast beginning with Kiefer Sutherland (24, The Cowboy Way) as the father Martin Bohm, his son Jake Bohm is portrayed by David Mazouz (TV's Criminal Minds, Mike & Molly), Professor Arthur Teller is played by Danny Glover (the Lethal Weapon series, The Color Purple). Professor Teller and Jake's dad Martin Bohm try to solve the puzzle that is Jake's mind and find a way to break through to him. This series hold promise of becoming a "must see" each week!
Officer Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) works for the CIA and as an operative strives to keep this country safe from another attack such as the one occurring in September 11, 2001. Her latest assignment involves finding a Marine Corp member, Sergeant Nicholas Brody. He was captured in 2003 and considered to be missing in action, but was later found to be held by Al-Qaeda until recently. There is danger that he was "turned" by the enemy and now may pose tremendous risk to our nations security. When Officer Mathison is put on probation due to conducting some unauthorized operations while in Iraq, she finds herself reassigned to Langley, VA and a CIA counter terrorism center. In other words, a desk job. While in Iraq Mathison learned of a prisoner from America there who had become corrupt. Now the CIA superiors of Mathison consider the prisoner Brody to be somewhat of a hero. Claire Danes (My So-Called Life, Temple Grandin) is Officer Carrie Mathison who is employed by the CIA in counter intelligence. Nicholas Brody is played by Damian Lewis (The Forsyte Saga, Band of Brothers), rescued after eight years as a POW. The CIA Division Chief of the Middle East and Carrie Mathison's mentor and former boss is Saul Berenson played by Mandy Patinkin (Chicago Hope, Dead Like Me). Cast is tremendous and story is fresh, up to date, and somewhat disturbing.
Imagine Snow White and Prince Charming coming to life and warning about powerful curses as they deliver their ominous threats. When Snow White finds she is pregnant and the curse looming threatening her baby, she hides until the baby is born, then hides the baby away. The baby, Emma, is secreted away in a wardrobe which is actually the trunk of a magical tree. We next see Emma 28 years later as she returns to assist her parents and do battle with the evil Queen who places curses on her subjects. Emma Sway is a bounty hunter as well as a bail bondsman in Boston as she celebrates her 28th birthday alone, blowing out the single candle on a cupcake she made herself. A boy named Henry approaches and tells Emma he is her son whom she gave away at birth ten years ago. Emma agrees to take the boy to his home in Storybrooke, Maine but can't believe his stories of fairy tale characters coming to life there or that they have been exiled there due to the Queen's curses. Henry has a therapist, Jiminy Cricket and a teacher who is actually Snow White and the Mayor of Storybrooke is the real Evil Queen who has placed curses on almost everyone she comes into contact with. Henry and Emma work together to end the Queen's reign of terror in the world of fairy tale fantasy.
What can you do with a man who is powerful, in a power filled position such as mayor of a major U.S. city (Chicago), and apparently is losing his mental capacities? Maybe approach him carefully and make every attempt to keep his illness a secret from the public. Tom Kane has family, friends, and co-workers who are busy with their own lives and barely notice he has issues. Something is very wrong with Kane but only Dr. Ella Harris, his physician seems to know for sure. Kane has a neurological disorder that is degenerative which means he will only get worse as the disease progresses. Meantime he is trying to run a big expensive city, one that has engulfed lesser men with dirty politics and crooked dealings for decades. Stars Kelsey Grammar (Frasier, 30 Rock) stars as a Richard J. Daley style mayor in the Windy City. Kane's wife Meredith is played by Connie Nielsen (Law & Order: SVU). Kitty O'Neill is Kane's personal aide and played by Kathleen Robertson from 90210, CSI: Miami.
Very self absorbed, as are many surgeons, Dr. Michael Holt begins to question just what his purpose in life actually is when he starts "seeing" his wife again. The problem is that she is deceased. The degree of self confidence found in Holt and many other surgeons is a necessary part of the talent they must possess but the good doctor now doubts his sanity when the spirit of his ex-wife, who recently died in a car accident, begins appearing to him. Anna returns to convince Dr. Holt to keep a free clinic running. She had been the director of that clinic and was involved with many poverty level patients. Michael Holt however, is not so sure he can deal with the poorer patients as he's not used to that type of people. But there is no room for snobbishness in the medical field and the spirit of his diseased wife is there to see he learns that. Anna's sister Christina is a believer in supernatural events and is happy that her sister is back in Holt's life because she feels the doctor was a better person when his dead was with him. Patrick Wilson (The A-Team, Insidious) plays Dr. Michael Holt, Jennifer Ehle (Contagion, The King's Speech) is Anna Holt, and Christina is played by Julie Benz (Saw V, Punisher: War Zone).
From 1927 until 1991 Pan American Airlines was the largest international air transporter in the U.S. When the financial collapse came in 1991 it was only one of many major airlines to either cease business or be sold to another. The stewardess' role was always to accommodate passengers and insure they had a safe and enjoyable flight. Today they are called flight attendants and many are males but back in 1963, the setting for TV series Pan Am, becoming a stewardess with a major airlines was considered the dream job for many young women! In this one hour dramatic program we follow the lives of several "stews" and see how complicated some lives can be even while living the American Dream. When new hire Laura Cameron's photograph graces the cover of LIFE Magazine's latest issue it brings the occupation of stewardess into the spotlight and makes Cameron an instant celebrity even though she's only finished her training three weeks ago. Cameron is played by Margot Robbie (I.C.U., City Homicide), Maggie Ryan is under suspension for not wearing her girdle to work and is played by Christina Ricci (Saving Grace, Grey's Anatomy), and experienced stewardess Kate Cameron (Laura Cameron's older sister) has been approached by a CIA type with a special request, is played by Kelli Garner (Going The Distance, My Generation).
Emily VanCamp, who was previously seen on ABC's Brothers & Sister now gets far more serious and sinister as she moves to the Hamptons seeking Revenge for wrongs committed on her family. The close knit community welcomes her but has no idea what she intends to do while getting her Revenge. The concept comes loosely from an Alexandre Dumas novel titled The Count of Monte Cristo and revenge is something most of us have wanted as some point. Other stars of Revenge include Madeleine Stowe (Unlawful Entry, Twelve Monkeys) as Victoria Grayson, Gabriel Mann (The Thacker Case, Dark Streets) as Nolan Ross, and Henry Czerny (Clear and Present Danger, The Pink Panther) is Conrad Grayson. Exacting Revenge can be dangerous but also rewarding and we will enjoy following along each week as Emily Thorne gets even with those who shaped her future ever since her childhood. She finds plenty of "skeletons in the closet" of the rich and powerful living in the Hamptons and does not want to forgive any of them. She will get her revenge one way or another!
