Quite frankly, the Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window is not necessarily an alluring title. Before writing this article, I rolled over this series over a dozen times. Instead of sounding like something more “murder-like,” it sounded like a homage to Dr. Suess.
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This show is a comical psychological thriller. With not much to do in Anna’s free time since her daughter's death, she took up the hobby of people-watching and drinking copious amounts of wine. To her great delight, a handsome neighbor with a daughter moves into the house directly across the street to her great satisfaction.
While sitting in her wine-stained chair, she sees the unexpected: the murder of her hot neighbor’s girlfriend. After being gaslit by the detective, she becomes a detective herself, hoping to find out what happened.
This serious had all the essential creepiness that almost all psychological thrillers possess. The show had the creepy handyman that dedicated 99% of his time fixing her mailbox, who supposedly has little regard to life, his or others. It has weird creaks in the attic.
Everything seemed oddly predictable. Although this series is supposed to have some comedic value, it lacked thereof so terribly that it just seemed like a low-budget production. You know, those terrible movies with the only jokes are awful acting.
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The casting of this series is not bad at all. We have the beloved Kristen Bell and Michael Ealy; however, the show did such a terrible job of trying to be funny and unpredictable that it became the exact opposite.
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For example, the whole show is a cliché. Having mean PTA moms, that quirky best friend, hots for the neighbor, the neighbor having a mean shady girlfriend. The show felt so familiar and dry that the only thing that kept me watching was hoping for some epic plot twist.
But, nope! The only plot twist was that the daughter was the murderer, not the father. However, it was not an “Aha!” moment.
For me, it was like an “oh, okay!” For the whole series, we built this narrative around the father, including terrible jokes along the way, that when it became someone else, I was relieved when it was over. Without building enough suspicion around any other characters, by giving us tiny hints about whom it could be, having the viewer’s mind chase back and forth, the only thrill coming out of the thriller would be the sight of the end credits.
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In addition to the lack of suspicion surrounding other characters, the creators tried to bombard the viewers with as much thrill as possible in the last episode or two. The handyman was the supposed killer, Anna was the suspected killer, Rex was the supposed killer, and the husband was the supposed killer. The pacing of introducing these “killers” was terrible. It did not have us on the edge of our seats; it just felt like the creators were trying to fill an empty show with something substantial.
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Surprisingly, in terms of recommending the show to anyone, I say go for it; this show is a solid 5.5. Do not get me wrong; it is terrible. But if you are genuinely looking for something to watch, or you are crawling on the floor in boredom, this show will entertain you with its stupidity.
Enjoy! Or don’t, I know I didn’t.
