When a family puts their house up for sale, they cause a bidding war that is deadly.
No Good Deed
No Good Deed is a Netflix dark comedy series created by Liz Feldman. It stars Ray Romano, Luke Wilson, Linda Cardellini, Lisa Kudrow, Denis Leary, O-T Fagbenie, Abbi Jacobson, Poppy Liu, Teyonah Parris, and Anna Maria Horsford.
I was surprised just how much I enjoyed No Good Deed. My family and I binged-watched all eight episodes in one night. The story is simple, or so we are led to believe in the beginning. Paul (Ray Romano) and his wife Lydia (Lisa Kudrow) are trying to sell their Spanish architectural house on Derby Drive. Paul is more determined to sell the house than Lydia is. As three different couples compete for the property, we slowly learn the dark secrets about the house, the owners, and the people bidding on the house.
The first two episodes introduce us to the main characters, and we quickly realize that Lydia is going through some type of mental breakdown over the loss of her son. How her son died is revealed much later in the series, but Paul’s brother, Mikey (Denis Leary) who just got out of prison, is now blackmailing Paul. We also get to learn about the couples bidding on the house starting with Dennis Sampson (O-T Fagbenle), an author working on a deadline for his next best-seller and his wife Carla (Teyonah Parris). Dennis is withholding secrets from Carla, and Carla is withholding secrets from Dennis, but neither are aware of the biggest secret that is kept by Dennis’s mother (Anna Maria Horsford).
The second couple bidding on the house is Sarah (Poppy Liu) a Gynecologist and Leslie (Abbi Jacobson), a lawyer. They have heard rumors about the house and are doing their own investigation with the help of a noisy neighbor (Linda Lavin).
The last couple involved in the bidding are neighbors from across the street. Actor JD Campbell (Luke Wilson) is married to Margo (Linda Cardellini). They have their own dark secrets, and it might concern the death of Paul and Lydia’s son.
Conclusion
No Good Deed is the type of series that I have been craving to take my mind off politics and the mysterious drones flying over our house and most of New Jersey. This series is pure dark humour with so many twists and turns that you are never sure of the outcome. Each episode ends with a surprising cliffhanger that is totally unexpected.
Ray Romano and Lisa Kudrow are the glue that keeps the story from falling apart because with inexperienced actors No Good Deed would have failed, but it doesn’t and that is because each character is carefully fleshed out by creator Feldman. The series also works because each episode is only 30 minutes long…giving us a tight and focused plot.
You can watch No Good Deed on Netflix, and I highly recommend you do so. In fact, I liked it so much that I want to watch it again…it’s that good.
