A glossy, compulsively watchable HBO thriller with strong performances and real momentum, but it ultimately leans more on atmosphere and reversals than on a fully satisfying mystery payoff. Best approached as a short, high-end binge rather than a deeply airtight crime drama.
The Undoing
Where to watch: Buy
TV Show · Drama · Crime
Sun
Created by: David E. Kelley
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Edgar Ramírez
Overview
Grace and Jonathan Fraser are living the only lives they ever wanted. Overnight a chasm opens in their lives: a violent death and a chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and her family.
Created by
David E. Kelley
Cast
Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Edgar Ramírez, Noah Jupe, Lily Rabe, Matilda De Angelis, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Edan Alexander
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, compulsively watchable HBO thriller with strong performances and real momentum, but it ultimately leans more on atmosphere and reversals than on a fully satisfying mystery payoff. Best approached as a short, high-end binge rather than a deeply airtight crime drama.
Best for
Viewers who like prestige whodunits with rich Manhattan settings
Fans of twisty domestic suspense and unreliable-appearing relationships
People who enjoy star-driven limited series
Binge-watchers looking for a fast, polished one-season thriller
Skip if
You want a tightly plotted mystery with a deeply earned ending
You prefer grounded procedural crime stories
You’re frustrated by melodrama and soapy reversals
You dislike shows that prioritize mood and performance over logic
Overview
The Undoing is classic David E. Kelley: elegant, glossy, and engineered for maximum watercooler tension. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant are both well cast, and the series knows how to turn a dinner party, a courtroom scene, or a hallway glance into a pressure cooker. It’s the kind of limited series that makes you keep clicking because each episode promises one more revelation.
Worth noting
What keeps it from being an outright recommendation is that the show’s pleasures are often bigger than its mystery mechanics. The suspense is real, but some of the plotting feels designed to surprise rather than fully convince, and the emotional aftermath can feel thinner than the setup. Still, as a six-episode binge, it’s polished, propulsive, and easy to devour.
Bottom line
If you like upscale psychological thrillers with elite-world sheen, this is worth a watch. If you need a mystery that lands with the precision of a great novel, it may leave you wanting more.