Apples Never Fall is a cheap imitation of Big Little Lies
A few years back, it seemed like everywhere you turned, there were gripping stories centered around wealthy neighborhoods hiding dark secrets. This trend was kicked off by David E Kelly’s adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s bestselling book, Big Little Lies. Just when I thought the fascination with crime dramas featuring affluent young characters had faded, another wave of similar stories has emerged.
With Nicole Kidman's new show, The Perfect Couple, topping the Netflix rankings and the launch of the star-studded Apples Never Fall on BBC iPlayer, it seems like we're back in 2017. However, this latter series comes off as a weak imitation—full of clichés typical of an overly dramatic genre. While it may satisfy those looking for more stories about privileged families and their juicy secrets, it doesn't bring anything fresh to the table.
*Apples Never Fall* is yet another story from Moriarty—though it's not her most beloved work and certainly has one of the most awkward titles. Starring Annette Bening and Sam Neill, the series draws comparisons to *Big Little Lies*, but with its soft color palette and upscale characters, it seems to aim for a vibe similar to *The White Lotus* as well.
As the show presents a dull color scheme, swaying palm trees, and a haunting melody, it’s impossible not to recall Mike White’s sharp critique of wealthy vacationers at upscale resorts. Unlike The White Lotus, though, the humor in this series seems unintentional and arises solely from the awkwardness of the conversations.
We find ourselves in the exclusive neighborhood of West Palm Beach, Florida, home to the Delaney Tennis Academy. The matriarch, Joy Delaney (played by Bening), rides her bike through the picturesque streets, gliding past extravagant homes and vibrant blue swimming pools. She makes a quick stop to grab an apple, but just moments later, her bike lies abandoned in the street, its wheel rotating slowly. Joy has vanished, leaving behind a trail of blood and scattered apples. It's quite a dramatic turn of events.
The following day, Joy's kids, all sporting quintessentially American names – Amy (Alison Brie), Troy (Jake Lacy), Logan (Conor Merrigan Turner), and Brooke (Essie Randles) – are gathered at lunch, feeling anxious about their mother, who has disappeared after a bicycle accident.
The conversation is packed with background information, as the characters acknowledge that they've "all been pretty difficult recently" and suggest that the children don’t fully trust their father, Stan (Neill).
Similar to The White Lotus, which kicks off with a murder before taking viewers back to the start of the week, the storyline then moves back in time to an unclear point before Joy's disappearance.
As the day before her and Stan's retirement from their well-loved children's tennis academy arrives, the Delaney siblings put on cheerful faces for the world to see. Yet, when the doors close, their family dinners are filled with tension. Frustrations surface among them and their grumpy father as they channel their anger on the tennis court, where Stan pushes his children hard, insisting they’re becoming too soft.
In the series, the story flips back and forth between two different time periods. However, since there isn’t much visual distinction between these timelines, it can be quite challenging to determine if the events are happening in the past or the present. While there are certainly surprises along the way, they often feel clichéd and easy to anticipate.
The clichés come at us quickly, and aside from Bening, who manages to add some depth to the frantic middle-aged mom character, the rest of the cast seems to be going through the motions. Brie, Neill, and Lacy have all portrayed similar characters before—Lacy notably in The White Lotus.
The two lesser-known actors portraying the younger Delaney siblings, Turner and Randles, deliver stronger performances, likely because they haven't previously starred in this same series. The entrance of Savannah (Georgia Flood), an enigmatic woman who appears at the parents' doorstep covered in blood, adds an intriguing new element to the story. Ultimately, though, Savannah turns out to be the least developed character in the group.
Not much about Apples Never Fall really catches my attention, which I think is intentional. This show seems built to take the place of Big Little Lies and the similar series that came after it. While Apples Never Fall doesn’t need to completely change the crime drama formula to be engaging, I had hoped it would make some effort, especially considering its impressive background.
'Apples Never Fall' will air on BBC One tonight at 9:25 PM. You can also watch the entire series available for streaming on BBC iPlayer.
