The Undoing (2020)
TV show · 2020 · Drama, Crime, Mystery · English
Curator score: 4.9/10 (117.8K ratings)
Tagline: Nothing stays hidden.
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.
Ratings:
- Curator score: 4.9/10
- IMDb: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
- Metacritic: 62
- TMDB: 7.4/10
Production: David E. Kelley Productions, Blossom Films, Made Up Stories
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Edgar Ramírez, Noah Jupe, Lily Rabe, Matilda De Angelis, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Edan Alexander, Michael Devine, Donald Sutherland, Annaleigh Ashford
Where to watch: Max
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.
Recommended similar titles:
- Big Little Lies (2017 · Curator 9.3/10 (245.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
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- Sharp Objects (2018 · Curator 8.0/10 (138.2K ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
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- The Night Of (2016 · Curator 9.0/10 (194.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Pure Flix, Max)
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- Mare of Easttown (2021 · Curator 9.3/10 (221.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
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Topics: prestige drama, psychological thriller, whodunit, domestic suspense, courtroom drama, upper-class Manhattan, limited series, twisty, bingeable, HBO
https://watchlist.tannermartz.com/apple/tv-show/the-undoing/83851
The Undoing (2020)
TV show · 2020 · Drama, Crime, Mystery · English
Curator score: 4.9/10 (117.8K ratings)
Nothing stays hidden.
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.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.9/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Metacritic: 62
TMDB: 7.4/10
Production David E. Kelley Productions, Blossom Films, Made Up Stories
Cast Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Edgar Ramírez, Noah Jupe, Lily Rabe, Matilda De Angelis, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Edan Alexander, Michael Devine, Donald Sutherland, Annaleigh Ashford
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.
Recommended similar titles
2017 · Curator 9.3/10 (245.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
Another glossy HBO mystery-drama about secrets, marriage, and social power, with strong performances and escalating tension.
2018 · Curator 8.0/10 (138.2K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A dark, atmospheric limited series that blends trauma, family dysfunction, and murder mystery with a similarly uneasy mood.
2016 · Curator 9.0/10 (194.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Pure Flix, Max
A prestige HBO crime drama with a slow-burn investigation, legal pressure, and a grim, absorbing sense of consequence.
2021 · Curator 9.3/10 (221.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A character-driven murder mystery that balances community detail, emotional weight, and a satisfying investigative arc.
2020 · Curator 7.4/10 (67.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A sleek, twisty mystery with a similar bingeable pace, glamorous surfaces, and escalating personal chaos.
2017 · Curator 8.3/10 (152.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
An anthology of psychologically driven crime stories that leans into secrets, trauma, and reveal-heavy plotting.
2020 · Curator 3.9/10 (81.2K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Spectrum On Demand
A tense, morally compromised thriller about a respected family man pulled into a spiraling criminal cover-up.
2013 · Curator 9.7/10 (124.2K ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu
Not a mystery, but it shares the slow-burn marital tension, secrecy, and elite-level suspense that make this kind of drama addictive.
2014 · Curator 8.3/10 (52.2K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium
For viewers drawn to shifting perspectives, marital fracture, and the emotional fallout of hidden truths.
2024 · Curator 5.8/10 (94.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Apple TV Plus
A polished legal thriller built around suspicion, privilege, and a central case that unravels personal and professional lives.
2019 · Curator 7.4/10 (33.2K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A conspiracy thriller with propulsive twists, institutional distrust, and a strong binge factor.
2016 · Curator 6.9/10 (137.6K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A polished, star-driven thriller with elegant pacing, secrecy, and high-end espionage tension.
Topics
prestige drama, psychological thriller, whodunit, domestic suspense, courtroom drama, upper-class Manhattan, limited series, twisty, bingeable, HBO
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