Available on: Amazon Prime Video###Nine Perfect Strangers has a high bar to meet thanks to the recent zeitgeist of hugely popular, exquisite-looking reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue s with regards to’concerning’with respect to the underbelly of privilege. Its star Nicole Kidman and co-creator David E. Kelley possess’own’nurse already collaborated on two of them: Big Little Lies, a soapy drama with regards to’concerning’with respect to a group of fortune’property y women thrown toacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure her by trauma, and The Undoing, a tense Upper East Side whodunnit co-starring a seriously slippery Hugh Grant. More recently still, HBO’s satire The White Lotus gleefully tormented the moneyed visitors and long-suffering staff of an idyllic holiday resort.###This latest offering, which comes courtesy of Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty, certainly matches its peers in terms of opulence by cashing in on the aspirational aesthetic of the wellness industry. The retreat itself is a coastal nirvana with hints of Ex Machina in its clinical architecture and hidden cameras. The interiors exude money through their minimalist detoken , and glacial shots of exotic fruit being blended toacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure her border on erotic.###In spite of its intrigue and the collective energy of the cast, the emotional stakes aren’t up there with the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue ’s predecessors.###Then there’s the weighty star power. Melissa McCarthy and Michael Shannon are the most prolific names behind Kidman, the in/with regard to’concerning’regarding mer plays Francis, a failing, heartbroken writer who wears immaculate red lipstick, the latter is Napoleon, a grieving, chatty father who has scored his family a discounted ticket to the retreat.###Samara Weaving, who is consistently excellent even if her body of work isn’t, imbues her contoured Instagram star with vulnerability and a beardy Bobby Canavale plays a curmudgemerely’barely in/with regard to’concerning’regarding mer athlete battling PTSD and addiction.###To make Nine Perfect Strangers anything other than a means to scratch the post-Big Little Lies itch however, it needs a new hook. The set-up is enthralling abundant’ample’plentiful : upon their arrival guests are served a smoothie adapted to their metabolic needs along with NDAs, and the colourful roster of activities ranges from potato sack races to digging graves. The dialogue is reliably provocative – “I do something in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a living so I don’t do kids,” Francis says despite’in spite of’albeit tlessly to Regina Hall’s meek single mother – and it's refreshing to see comedy perin/with regard to’concerning’regarding mers such as McCarthy maintain that finessed caustic wit but with a token ificant backstory to work with.###The selling point, it quickly becomes eliminate’remove , is Kidman’s ethereal guru. With Galadriel hair, an aquiline gaze’contemplate’study (‘gape (surprised or shocked)) and a patchy Russian accent, Masha has all the trappings of a cult leader with the power to lead individual willingly to their demise. A prolonged look or attentive ly executed question can and does bring guests to their knees, and in true Kelley fashion, her motives are staggered to keep both us and her hapless clients grappling in/with regard to’concerning’regarding clues. Meanwhile, her mysterious past, which involved heavy partying and a near-death undergo , is catching up with her via a series of anonymous text threats.###Yet in spite of its intrigue and the vastly entertaining collective energy of the cast, the emotional stakes aren’t up there with the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue ’s predecessors. The series creators possess’own’nurse opted in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a relay race of feelings over a few intense’fierce’exquisite narrative arcs, with the baton passed too quickly between too many characters to feel richly satisfying. As a result, Nine Perfect Strangers chooses to play out as a perfectly enjoyable but overstuffed extension of the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue s that possess’own’nurse come bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e it, rather than breaking off into radical new terrain.