brendan halpin

“I think we should watch Sirens,” my spouse said.

“You mean that movie where Hugh Grant is made uncomfortable by Elle MacPherson being naked all the time?” I said.

“No,” she said. “It’s a new Netflix show.”

“Ugh, is it a firefighter drama?” I asked.

“NO. Not that kind of siren,” she said.

“Okay, but what is it?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. Let’s just watch the first episode.”

So this is how I went into Sirens, and after having watched the whole thing, I still can’t really tell you what it is. A family drama with some comedic elements? Kind of! A satire of rich people? Also kind of! A comic mystery with some serious elements? Kind of! But it really doesn’t fit neatly into any genre pigeonhole, which meant I never had any idea what was going to happen next.

I just want to stress how refreshing it is to watch a show that’s not hitting a bunch of pre-fab Save The Cat beats in order to give viewers what they expect from that genre. Now, I love me a good mystery show, and a good comedy, and whatever, but I also enjoy someone having the creative freedom to put something together that actually feels fresh in 2025. It’s not an easy task.

The closest point of comparison is, I guess Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, since both shows feature an outsider soujourning with the mega wealthy in Massachusetts, a pothead patriarch, and Meghann Fahy in a critical role. (She’s much better in this because she’s given much more to do than she was in The Perfect Couple). But everybody’s good. Milly Alcock (God, her middle school years must have been a nightmare) is also excellent in portraying a character that continually surprises. And of course Kevin Bacon and Julianne Moore are excellent, but we really expect nothing less from them, even after Moore’s Boston accent debacle in 30 Rock. Felix Solis is also excellent. Actually everybody’s excellent because they are playing characters that are interesting and multifaceted.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’ll just say the writing on this show was extraordinary. Not only dialogue that sounds both naturalistic and unnaturally eloquent, which is really the sweet spot for movies and plays that almost nobody hits, but also the way our understanding of the characters grows and shifts with every episode.

And while The Perfect Couple had a profoundly dumb big reveal and a postscript that bordered on offensive, Sirens’ ending is both brilliant and unexpected, and I’m still thinking about it 3 days after finishing the series. I don’t know about you, but that almost never happens for me after finishing a prestige TV show. I think because most of them are disposable popcorn entertainment with good actors and high production values. But this one is something different. And better.