The Handmaid’s Tale
Based on Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale’ follows a woman named Offred attempting to survive in an overpowering society. As birth rates begin to decline quickly and infertility reaches its peak, women are forced to take on the task of helping to repopulate. The Handmaids are made to bear children for wealthy couples and are only valued if able to do so.
The dystopian novel turned show displays the traditional roles of women as creators in a male dominated society. The women are valued based on their ability to produce offspring, which directly connects to how infertile and fertile women are valued now. The show attempts to send a message about treatment of women by stripping its characters of their personal autonomy.
The Great
Based on the younger Catherine the Great, The Great delivers the story of her entrance into a marriage with Emperor Peter III of Russia. She begins to discover the importance of self-worth when Peter appears selfish and stands against her values.
Catherine succeeded in a sudden overthrow of the government and began to change many laws to benefit herself and other women like her. For example, an episode titled ‘Peter and the Wolf’ talks about divorce and playfully draws attention to the equal split of properties between a divorced couple.
The Act
Derived from the true crime case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the show creates a live demonstration of everyday life for Gypsy leading up to the murder of her mother. As the episodes progress, she discovers her mother has been forcing her to be disabled and begins plotting how she’ll break free from her mother.
The twisted story provides drama between the two obvious wrongs committed by both parties. It spreads awareness of the peculiar problem of having a distrustful parent and draws questions around morality.
Nine perfect strangers
Also based on a novel, Nine Perfect Strangers is about a group of people who reach out to a health boutique in order to better themselves. Despite them searching for different things and levels to achieve their goals, they all find serenity at this boutique.
However, the owner of the spa is discovered to be micro-dosing the guests with LSD and ecstasy and locks them all in a room. They are forced to wait until help comes while trying to make sense of the odd situation.
The Patient
This thriller follows the life of a therapist who has been kidnapped by one of his patients. He then reveals to his therapist that he’s a serial killer and plans on killing again. Although he has people that know about his tendencies, they don’t attempt to stop him.
It is up to his therapist to not only protect himself but prevent the loss of more life. He is tasked with working through traumas as he forces the killer to retreat from his old ways and return back into the normal world.
