Sirens will have you engaged, even if you don't know what it's trying to say
Given her recent TV and film track record, it's amazing that Nicole Kidman doesn't star in Sirens.
The soapy dark comedy feels like it belongs in the The Perfect Couple, Babygirl, A Family Affair realm of rich white people doing rich white people things.
But it's a different Oscar-winning redhead in this series: Julianne Moore.
The show, based on the play Elemeno Pea by Maid creator Molly Smith Metzler (also in charge here), follows sisters Simone (Aussie Milly Alcock, House of the Dragon) and Devon (Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus), and Simone's boss Michaela (Moore) on an exclusive New England island of Port Haven.
Devon, the older sister, has arrived on the island with a serious bone to pick with her sister. Simone, who she hasn't seen for about a year, has been working as an assistant to Michaela, and is refusing to head back to Buffalo where Devon is taking care of their ailing father, Bruce (Bill Camp, The Queen's Gambit).
Simone and Michaela have a very strange, symbiotic relationship and Devon struggles to reconcile the doting, pastel-wearing woman before her with the sister she helped raise. There's definitely a whiff of cultishness in the air on Port Haven, and Devon is determined to extract her sister from Michaela's bejewelled clutches.
It's not very clear what the point of Sirens is (maybe something about class divides, or the sacrifices people make for security?), but the five-episode series is entertaining enough for a weekend binge.
The performances are good, especially Fahy's, and the costuming is almost a character of its own.
A quirky supporting cast helps build out this Stepford-esque world, with the likes of Kevin Bacon, Glenn Howerton, Felix Solis, Josh Segarra and Trevor Salter as the delightful Captain Morgan.
You won't really know why you watched this show, but you also won't regret putting the time in.
If you're a millennial still trying to fill that One Tree Hill-shaped hole in your life, may we suggest Motorheads?
While not as angsty or well-cast as the seminal 2000s high school show, Motorheads shares a lot with One Tree Hill - not least of which is creator John A. Norris, who was a writer on the earlier series.
Twins Caitlyn (Melissa Collazo, Freaky) and Zac (Michael Cimino, Never Have I Ever) move to their mum's small, semi-rural childhood hometown to move in with their uncle (on their dad's side) for a fresh start.
Coming from the hustle-bustle of New York, their new home of Ironwood, Pennsylvania is a definite change of pace.
But this town has something that Caitlyn is very excited about - a thriving car race culture among the youth. She's been a 'motorhead' for years and has purportedly changed hundreds of tyres, despite being in only her late teens. Zac cares less about the mechanics of the cars, but does long for the glory of racing - especially as their dad was a celebrated (and criminal) street racer.
Their sage yet flawed uncle Logan (Ryan Phillippe, Cruel Intentions) is a mechanic (very Keith Scott-coded for the OTH fans) who has some shady crime connections himself, but is trying to walk on the straight and narrow despite limited funds.
Both the twins have romantic interests from the moment they step into town in classic teen drama style.
And just in case the parallels in plot weren't enough to sell you on the OTH connection, the series opens with a shot of a bridge very similar to that one Lucas Scott walks over in the pilot/opening credits. Very intentional.
The show also uses plenty of popular music, with tracks from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims and Noah Kahan. The Amazon money put to good use.
There are also plenty of flashbacks, where the twins' father is played as a teen by Deacon Phillippe (real life son of Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon), and the songs in this time period are iconic OTH-era jams like Fall Out Boy's This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race and M.I.A.'s Paper Planes.
There must be two Guy Ritchies running around these days, because the director is producing an awful lot of work.
Since 2023, he's released Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant, The Gentlemen (the series version), The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, MobLand (he directed the first two episodes, but was not involved in writing) and now Fountain of Youth.
This latest film doesn't have the classic twisty Ritchie-esque feel to it, as it wasn't written by the Brit, but by Zodiac, Murder Mystery and Scream VI scribe James Vanderbilt (who built his own great-grandfather Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt into the script).
A classic adventure romp, Fountain of Youth sees Luke Purdue (John Krasinski) convince his sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman) to help him find the fabled water source in a quest funded by billionaire Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson).
The mission will take them across several contintents with lots of fun action along the way. Meanwhile the mysterious Esme (Eiza Gonzalez) and Interpol agent Jamal Abbas (Arian Moayed) are hot on the crew's tail.
The secret to uncovering the fountain lies in a series of Renaissance-era paintings, so there's more than a little art theft on this journey.l
Luke is equal parts Indiana Jones, Ben Gates and Rick O'Connell, and the film owes a lot to The Last Crusade, National Treasure and, to a lesser extent, The Mummy.
Fountain of Youth lacks some of the heart of these iconic adventure films, and certainly could do with some more engaging score. The music really plays a big part in an adventure movie, and this one is let down on that front.
If you're a sucker for adventure, especially history-based adventure, then Fountain of Youth is going to hit the spot, even if you're not itching to watch it again right away.
Nicole Kidman might not have been in Sirens, but you can catch her in the second season of Prime Video's Nine Perfect Strangers. This time the action is moved from the sunny climes of Byron Bay to the decidedly frostier Austrian Alps. Joining Nicole for this season are fellow Aussie Murray Bartlett, Henry Golding, Mark Strong, Christine Baranski and Annie Murphy, among others. Also on Prime you'll find the fourth instalment of former Top Gear guru Jeremy Clarkson's reality farming series, Clarkson's Farm, and four-part documentary series about NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, called, inventively, Earnhardt. Over on Netflix you can dive into Fear Street: Prom Queen, a spin-off of the 2021 trilogy based on the R.L. Stine novels. This one is set in 1988 and while it takes a little time to find its rhythm, ends up being a blast. You can also catch Tyler Perry's latest comedy series She the People (Perry's the only person in Hollywood busier than Nicole Kidman and Guy Ritchie), and docuseries Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders on Netflix. Meanwhile on Binge there's another entry in the Librarians franchise, which has spanned several films and four seasons of TV. Now there's another spin-off, The Librarians: The Next Chapter.
Given her recent TV and film track record, it's amazing that Nicole Kidman doesn't star in Sirens.
The soapy dark comedy feels like it belongs in the The Perfect Couple, Babygirl, A Family Affair realm of rich white people doing rich white people things.
But it's a different Oscar-winning redhead in this series: Julianne Moore.
The show, based on the play Elemeno Pea by Maid creator Molly Smith Metzler (also in charge here), follows sisters Simone (Aussie Milly Alcock, House of the Dragon) and Devon (Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus), and Simone's boss Michaela (Moore) on an exclusive New England island of Port Haven.
Devon, the older sister, has arrived on the island with a serious bone to pick with her sister. Simone, who she hasn't seen for about a year, has been working as an assistant to Michaela, and is refusing to head back to Buffalo where Devon is taking care of their ailing father, Bruce (Bill Camp, The Queen's Gambit).
Simone and Michaela have a very strange, symbiotic relationship and Devon struggles to reconcile the doting, pastel-wearing woman before her with the sister she helped raise. There's definitely a whiff of cultishness in the air on Port Haven, and Devon is determined to extract her sister from Michaela's bejewelled clutches.
It's not very clear what the point of Sirens is (maybe something about class divides, or the sacrifices people make for security?), but the five-episode series is entertaining enough for a weekend binge.
The performances are good, especially Fahy's, and the costuming is almost a character of its own.
A quirky supporting cast helps build out this Stepford-esque world, with the likes of Kevin Bacon, Glenn Howerton, Felix Solis, Josh Segarra and Trevor Salter as the delightful Captain Morgan.
You won't really know why you watched this show, but you also won't regret putting the time in.
If you're a millennial still trying to fill that One Tree Hill-shaped hole in your life, may we suggest Motorheads?
While not as angsty or well-cast as the seminal 2000s high school show, Motorheads shares a lot with One Tree Hill - not least of which is creator John A. Norris, who was a writer on the earlier series.
Twins Caitlyn (Melissa Collazo, Freaky) and Zac (Michael Cimino, Never Have I Ever) move to their mum's small, semi-rural childhood hometown to move in with their uncle (on their dad's side) for a fresh start.
Coming from the hustle-bustle of New York, their new home of Ironwood, Pennsylvania is a definite change of pace.
But this town has something that Caitlyn is very excited about - a thriving car race culture among the youth. She's been a 'motorhead' for years and has purportedly changed hundreds of tyres, despite being in only her late teens. Zac cares less about the mechanics of the cars, but does long for the glory of racing - especially as their dad was a celebrated (and criminal) street racer.
Their sage yet flawed uncle Logan (Ryan Phillippe, Cruel Intentions) is a mechanic (very Keith Scott-coded for the OTH fans) who has some shady crime connections himself, but is trying to walk on the straight and narrow despite limited funds.
Both the twins have romantic interests from the moment they step into town in classic teen drama style.
And just in case the parallels in plot weren't enough to sell you on the OTH connection, the series opens with a shot of a bridge very similar to that one Lucas Scott walks over in the pilot/opening credits. Very intentional.
The show also uses plenty of popular music, with tracks from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims and Noah Kahan. The Amazon money put to good use.
There are also plenty of flashbacks, where the twins' father is played as a teen by Deacon Phillippe (real life son of Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon), and the songs in this time period are iconic OTH-era jams like Fall Out Boy's This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race and M.I.A.'s Paper Planes.
There must be two Guy Ritchies running around these days, because the director is producing an awful lot of work.
Since 2023, he's released Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant, The Gentlemen (the series version), The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, MobLand (he directed the first two episodes, but was not involved in writing) and now Fountain of Youth.
This latest film doesn't have the classic twisty Ritchie-esque feel to it, as it wasn't written by the Brit, but by Zodiac, Murder Mystery and Scream VI scribe James Vanderbilt (who built his own great-grandfather Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt into the script).
A classic adventure romp, Fountain of Youth sees Luke Purdue (John Krasinski) convince his sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman) to help him find the fabled water source in a quest funded by billionaire Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson).
The mission will take them across several contintents with lots of fun action along the way. Meanwhile the mysterious Esme (Eiza Gonzalez) and Interpol agent Jamal Abbas (Arian Moayed) are hot on the crew's tail.
The secret to uncovering the fountain lies in a series of Renaissance-era paintings, so there's more than a little art theft on this journey.l
Luke is equal parts Indiana Jones, Ben Gates and Rick O'Connell, and the film owes a lot to The Last Crusade, National Treasure and, to a lesser extent, The Mummy.
Fountain of Youth lacks some of the heart of these iconic adventure films, and certainly could do with some more engaging score. The music really plays a big part in an adventure movie, and this one is let down on that front.
If you're a sucker for adventure, especially history-based adventure, then Fountain of Youth is going to hit the spot, even if you're not itching to watch it again right away.
Nicole Kidman might not have been in Sirens, but you can catch her in the second season of Prime Video's Nine Perfect Strangers. This time the action is moved from the sunny climes of Byron Bay to the decidedly frostier Austrian Alps. Joining Nicole for this season are fellow Aussie Murray Bartlett, Henry Golding, Mark Strong, Christine Baranski and Annie Murphy, among others. Also on Prime you'll find the fourth instalment of former Top Gear guru Jeremy Clarkson's reality farming series, Clarkson's Farm, and four-part documentary series about NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, called, inventively, Earnhardt. Over on Netflix you can dive into Fear Street: Prom Queen, a spin-off of the 2021 trilogy based on the R.L. Stine novels. This one is set in 1988 and while it takes a little time to find its rhythm, ends up being a blast. You can also catch Tyler Perry's latest comedy series She the People (Perry's the only person in Hollywood busier than Nicole Kidman and Guy Ritchie), and docuseries Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders on Netflix. Meanwhile on Binge there's another entry in the Librarians franchise, which has spanned several films and four seasons of TV. Now there's another spin-off, The Librarians: The Next Chapter.
Given her recent TV and film track record, it's amazing that Nicole Kidman doesn't star in Sirens.
The soapy dark comedy feels like it belongs in the The Perfect Couple, Babygirl, A Family Affair realm of rich white people doing rich white people things.
But it's a different Oscar-winning redhead in this series: Julianne Moore.
The show, based on the play Elemeno Pea by Maid creator Molly Smith Metzler (also in charge here), follows sisters Simone (Aussie Milly Alcock, House of the Dragon) and Devon (Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus), and Simone's boss Michaela (Moore) on an exclusive New England island of Port Haven.
Devon, the older sister, has arrived on the island with a serious bone to pick with her sister. Simone, who she hasn't seen for about a year, has been working as an assistant to Michaela, and is refusing to head back to Buffalo where Devon is taking care of their ailing father, Bruce (Bill Camp, The Queen's Gambit).
Simone and Michaela have a very strange, symbiotic relationship and Devon struggles to reconcile the doting, pastel-wearing woman before her with the sister she helped raise. There's definitely a whiff of cultishness in the air on Port Haven, and Devon is determined to extract her sister from Michaela's bejewelled clutches.
It's not very clear what the point of Sirens is (maybe something about class divides, or the sacrifices people make for security?), but the five-episode series is entertaining enough for a weekend binge.
The performances are good, especially Fahy's, and the costuming is almost a character of its own.
A quirky supporting cast helps build out this Stepford-esque world, with the likes of Kevin Bacon, Glenn Howerton, Felix Solis, Josh Segarra and Trevor Salter as the delightful Captain Morgan.
You won't really know why you watched this show, but you also won't regret putting the time in.
If you're a millennial still trying to fill that One Tree Hill-shaped hole in your life, may we suggest Motorheads?
While not as angsty or well-cast as the seminal 2000s high school show, Motorheads shares a lot with One Tree Hill - not least of which is creator John A. Norris, who was a writer on the earlier series.
Twins Caitlyn (Melissa Collazo, Freaky) and Zac (Michael Cimino, Never Have I Ever) move to their mum's small, semi-rural childhood hometown to move in with their uncle (on their dad's side) for a fresh start.
Coming from the hustle-bustle of New York, their new home of Ironwood, Pennsylvania is a definite change of pace.
But this town has something that Caitlyn is very excited about - a thriving car race culture among the youth. She's been a 'motorhead' for years and has purportedly changed hundreds of tyres, despite being in only her late teens. Zac cares less about the mechanics of the cars, but does long for the glory of racing - especially as their dad was a celebrated (and criminal) street racer.
Their sage yet flawed uncle Logan (Ryan Phillippe, Cruel Intentions) is a mechanic (very Keith Scott-coded for the OTH fans) who has some shady crime connections himself, but is trying to walk on the straight and narrow despite limited funds.
Both the twins have romantic interests from the moment they step into town in classic teen drama style.
And just in case the parallels in plot weren't enough to sell you on the OTH connection, the series opens with a shot of a bridge very similar to that one Lucas Scott walks over in the pilot/opening credits. Very intentional.
The show also uses plenty of popular music, with tracks from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims and Noah Kahan. The Amazon money put to good use.
There are also plenty of flashbacks, where the twins' father is played as a teen by Deacon Phillippe (real life son of Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon), and the songs in this time period are iconic OTH-era jams like Fall Out Boy's This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race and M.I.A.'s Paper Planes.
There must be two Guy Ritchies running around these days, because the director is producing an awful lot of work.
Since 2023, he's released Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant, The Gentlemen (the series version), The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, MobLand (he directed the first two episodes, but was not involved in writing) and now Fountain of Youth.
This latest film doesn't have the classic twisty Ritchie-esque feel to it, as it wasn't written by the Brit, but by Zodiac, Murder Mystery and Scream VI scribe James Vanderbilt (who built his own great-grandfather Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt into the script).
A classic adventure romp, Fountain of Youth sees Luke Purdue (John Krasinski) convince his sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman) to help him find the fabled water source in a quest funded by billionaire Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson).
The mission will take them across several contintents with lots of fun action along the way. Meanwhile the mysterious Esme (Eiza Gonzalez) and Interpol agent Jamal Abbas (Arian Moayed) are hot on the crew's tail.
The secret to uncovering the fountain lies in a series of Renaissance-era paintings, so there's more than a little art theft on this journey.l
Luke is equal parts Indiana Jones, Ben Gates and Rick O'Connell, and the film owes a lot to The Last Crusade, National Treasure and, to a lesser extent, The Mummy.
Fountain of Youth lacks some of the heart of these iconic adventure films, and certainly could do with some more engaging score. The music really plays a big part in an adventure movie, and this one is let down on that front.
If you're a sucker for adventure, especially history-based adventure, then Fountain of Youth is going to hit the spot, even if you're not itching to watch it again right away.
Nicole Kidman might not have been in Sirens, but you can catch her in the second season of Prime Video's Nine Perfect Strangers. This time the action is moved from the sunny climes of Byron Bay to the decidedly frostier Austrian Alps. Joining Nicole for this season are fellow Aussie Murray Bartlett, Henry Golding, Mark Strong, Christine Baranski and Annie Murphy, among others. Also on Prime you'll find the fourth instalment of former Top Gear guru Jeremy Clarkson's reality farming series, Clarkson's Farm, and four-part documentary series about NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, called, inventively, Earnhardt. Over on Netflix you can dive into Fear Street: Prom Queen, a spin-off of the 2021 trilogy based on the R.L. Stine novels. This one is set in 1988 and while it takes a little time to find its rhythm, ends up being a blast. You can also catch Tyler Perry's latest comedy series She the People (Perry's the only person in Hollywood busier than Nicole Kidman and Guy Ritchie), and docuseries Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders on Netflix. Meanwhile on Binge there's another entry in the Librarians franchise, which has spanned several films and four seasons of TV. Now there's another spin-off, The Librarians: The Next Chapter.
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Canberra Times
a day ago
- Canberra Times
Sirens will have you engaged, even if you don't know what it's trying to say
Nicole Kidman might not have been in Sirens, but you can catch her in the second season of Prime Video's Nine Perfect Strangers. This time the action is moved from the sunny climes of Byron Bay to the decidedly frostier Austrian Alps. Joining Nicole for this season are fellow Aussie Murray Bartlett, Henry Golding, Mark Strong, Christine Baranski and Annie Murphy, among others. Also on Prime you'll find the fourth instalment of former Top Gear guru Jeremy Clarkson's reality farming series, Clarkson's Farm, and four-part documentary series about NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, called, inventively, Earnhardt. Over on Netflix you can dive into Fear Street: Prom Queen, a spin-off of the 2021 trilogy based on the R.L. Stine novels. This one is set in 1988 and while it takes a little time to find its rhythm, ends up being a blast. You can also catch Tyler Perry's latest comedy series She the People (Perry's the only person in Hollywood busier than Nicole Kidman and Guy Ritchie), and docuseries Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders on Netflix. Meanwhile on Binge there's another entry in the Librarians franchise, which has spanned several films and four seasons of TV. Now there's another spin-off, The Librarians: The Next Chapter.
The Advertiser
4 days ago
- The Advertiser
Sirens will have you engaged, even if you don't know what it's trying to say
Given her recent TV and film track record, it's amazing that Nicole Kidman doesn't star in Sirens. The soapy dark comedy feels like it belongs in the The Perfect Couple, Babygirl, A Family Affair realm of rich white people doing rich white people things. But it's a different Oscar-winning redhead in this series: Julianne Moore. The show, based on the play Elemeno Pea by Maid creator Molly Smith Metzler (also in charge here), follows sisters Simone (Aussie Milly Alcock, House of the Dragon) and Devon (Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus), and Simone's boss Michaela (Moore) on an exclusive New England island of Port Haven. Devon, the older sister, has arrived on the island with a serious bone to pick with her sister. Simone, who she hasn't seen for about a year, has been working as an assistant to Michaela, and is refusing to head back to Buffalo where Devon is taking care of their ailing father, Bruce (Bill Camp, The Queen's Gambit). Simone and Michaela have a very strange, symbiotic relationship and Devon struggles to reconcile the doting, pastel-wearing woman before her with the sister she helped raise. There's definitely a whiff of cultishness in the air on Port Haven, and Devon is determined to extract her sister from Michaela's bejewelled clutches. It's not very clear what the point of Sirens is (maybe something about class divides, or the sacrifices people make for security?), but the five-episode series is entertaining enough for a weekend binge. The performances are good, especially Fahy's, and the costuming is almost a character of its own. A quirky supporting cast helps build out this Stepford-esque world, with the likes of Kevin Bacon, Glenn Howerton, Felix Solis, Josh Segarra and Trevor Salter as the delightful Captain Morgan. You won't really know why you watched this show, but you also won't regret putting the time in. If you're a millennial still trying to fill that One Tree Hill-shaped hole in your life, may we suggest Motorheads? While not as angsty or well-cast as the seminal 2000s high school show, Motorheads shares a lot with One Tree Hill - not least of which is creator John A. Norris, who was a writer on the earlier series. Twins Caitlyn (Melissa Collazo, Freaky) and Zac (Michael Cimino, Never Have I Ever) move to their mum's small, semi-rural childhood hometown to move in with their uncle (on their dad's side) for a fresh start. Coming from the hustle-bustle of New York, their new home of Ironwood, Pennsylvania is a definite change of pace. But this town has something that Caitlyn is very excited about - a thriving car race culture among the youth. She's been a 'motorhead' for years and has purportedly changed hundreds of tyres, despite being in only her late teens. Zac cares less about the mechanics of the cars, but does long for the glory of racing - especially as their dad was a celebrated (and criminal) street racer. Their sage yet flawed uncle Logan (Ryan Phillippe, Cruel Intentions) is a mechanic (very Keith Scott-coded for the OTH fans) who has some shady crime connections himself, but is trying to walk on the straight and narrow despite limited funds. Both the twins have romantic interests from the moment they step into town in classic teen drama style. And just in case the parallels in plot weren't enough to sell you on the OTH connection, the series opens with a shot of a bridge very similar to that one Lucas Scott walks over in the pilot/opening credits. Very intentional. The show also uses plenty of popular music, with tracks from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims and Noah Kahan. The Amazon money put to good use. There are also plenty of flashbacks, where the twins' father is played as a teen by Deacon Phillippe (real life son of Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon), and the songs in this time period are iconic OTH-era jams like Fall Out Boy's This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race and M.I.A.'s Paper Planes. There must be two Guy Ritchies running around these days, because the director is producing an awful lot of work. Since 2023, he's released Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant, The Gentlemen (the series version), The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, MobLand (he directed the first two episodes, but was not involved in writing) and now Fountain of Youth. This latest film doesn't have the classic twisty Ritchie-esque feel to it, as it wasn't written by the Brit, but by Zodiac, Murder Mystery and Scream VI scribe James Vanderbilt (who built his own great-grandfather Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt into the script). A classic adventure romp, Fountain of Youth sees Luke Purdue (John Krasinski) convince his sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman) to help him find the fabled water source in a quest funded by billionaire Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson). The mission will take them across several contintents with lots of fun action along the way. Meanwhile the mysterious Esme (Eiza Gonzalez) and Interpol agent Jamal Abbas (Arian Moayed) are hot on the crew's tail. The secret to uncovering the fountain lies in a series of Renaissance-era paintings, so there's more than a little art theft on this journey.l Luke is equal parts Indiana Jones, Ben Gates and Rick O'Connell, and the film owes a lot to The Last Crusade, National Treasure and, to a lesser extent, The Mummy. Fountain of Youth lacks some of the heart of these iconic adventure films, and certainly could do with some more engaging score. The music really plays a big part in an adventure movie, and this one is let down on that front. If you're a sucker for adventure, especially history-based adventure, then Fountain of Youth is going to hit the spot, even if you're not itching to watch it again right away. Nicole Kidman might not have been in Sirens, but you can catch her in the second season of Prime Video's Nine Perfect Strangers. This time the action is moved from the sunny climes of Byron Bay to the decidedly frostier Austrian Alps. Joining Nicole for this season are fellow Aussie Murray Bartlett, Henry Golding, Mark Strong, Christine Baranski and Annie Murphy, among others. Also on Prime you'll find the fourth instalment of former Top Gear guru Jeremy Clarkson's reality farming series, Clarkson's Farm, and four-part documentary series about NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, called, inventively, Earnhardt. Over on Netflix you can dive into Fear Street: Prom Queen, a spin-off of the 2021 trilogy based on the R.L. Stine novels. This one is set in 1988 and while it takes a little time to find its rhythm, ends up being a blast. You can also catch Tyler Perry's latest comedy series She the People (Perry's the only person in Hollywood busier than Nicole Kidman and Guy Ritchie), and docuseries Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders on Netflix. Meanwhile on Binge there's another entry in the Librarians franchise, which has spanned several films and four seasons of TV. Now there's another spin-off, The Librarians: The Next Chapter. Given her recent TV and film track record, it's amazing that Nicole Kidman doesn't star in Sirens. The soapy dark comedy feels like it belongs in the The Perfect Couple, Babygirl, A Family Affair realm of rich white people doing rich white people things. But it's a different Oscar-winning redhead in this series: Julianne Moore. The show, based on the play Elemeno Pea by Maid creator Molly Smith Metzler (also in charge here), follows sisters Simone (Aussie Milly Alcock, House of the Dragon) and Devon (Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus), and Simone's boss Michaela (Moore) on an exclusive New England island of Port Haven. Devon, the older sister, has arrived on the island with a serious bone to pick with her sister. Simone, who she hasn't seen for about a year, has been working as an assistant to Michaela, and is refusing to head back to Buffalo where Devon is taking care of their ailing father, Bruce (Bill Camp, The Queen's Gambit). Simone and Michaela have a very strange, symbiotic relationship and Devon struggles to reconcile the doting, pastel-wearing woman before her with the sister she helped raise. There's definitely a whiff of cultishness in the air on Port Haven, and Devon is determined to extract her sister from Michaela's bejewelled clutches. It's not very clear what the point of Sirens is (maybe something about class divides, or the sacrifices people make for security?), but the five-episode series is entertaining enough for a weekend binge. The performances are good, especially Fahy's, and the costuming is almost a character of its own. A quirky supporting cast helps build out this Stepford-esque world, with the likes of Kevin Bacon, Glenn Howerton, Felix Solis, Josh Segarra and Trevor Salter as the delightful Captain Morgan. You won't really know why you watched this show, but you also won't regret putting the time in. If you're a millennial still trying to fill that One Tree Hill-shaped hole in your life, may we suggest Motorheads? While not as angsty or well-cast as the seminal 2000s high school show, Motorheads shares a lot with One Tree Hill - not least of which is creator John A. Norris, who was a writer on the earlier series. Twins Caitlyn (Melissa Collazo, Freaky) and Zac (Michael Cimino, Never Have I Ever) move to their mum's small, semi-rural childhood hometown to move in with their uncle (on their dad's side) for a fresh start. Coming from the hustle-bustle of New York, their new home of Ironwood, Pennsylvania is a definite change of pace. But this town has something that Caitlyn is very excited about - a thriving car race culture among the youth. She's been a 'motorhead' for years and has purportedly changed hundreds of tyres, despite being in only her late teens. Zac cares less about the mechanics of the cars, but does long for the glory of racing - especially as their dad was a celebrated (and criminal) street racer. Their sage yet flawed uncle Logan (Ryan Phillippe, Cruel Intentions) is a mechanic (very Keith Scott-coded for the OTH fans) who has some shady crime connections himself, but is trying to walk on the straight and narrow despite limited funds. Both the twins have romantic interests from the moment they step into town in classic teen drama style. And just in case the parallels in plot weren't enough to sell you on the OTH connection, the series opens with a shot of a bridge very similar to that one Lucas Scott walks over in the pilot/opening credits. Very intentional. The show also uses plenty of popular music, with tracks from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims and Noah Kahan. The Amazon money put to good use. There are also plenty of flashbacks, where the twins' father is played as a teen by Deacon Phillippe (real life son of Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon), and the songs in this time period are iconic OTH-era jams like Fall Out Boy's This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race and M.I.A.'s Paper Planes. There must be two Guy Ritchies running around these days, because the director is producing an awful lot of work. Since 2023, he's released Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant, The Gentlemen (the series version), The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, MobLand (he directed the first two episodes, but was not involved in writing) and now Fountain of Youth. This latest film doesn't have the classic twisty Ritchie-esque feel to it, as it wasn't written by the Brit, but by Zodiac, Murder Mystery and Scream VI scribe James Vanderbilt (who built his own great-grandfather Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt into the script). A classic adventure romp, Fountain of Youth sees Luke Purdue (John Krasinski) convince his sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman) to help him find the fabled water source in a quest funded by billionaire Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson). The mission will take them across several contintents with lots of fun action along the way. Meanwhile the mysterious Esme (Eiza Gonzalez) and Interpol agent Jamal Abbas (Arian Moayed) are hot on the crew's tail. The secret to uncovering the fountain lies in a series of Renaissance-era paintings, so there's more than a little art theft on this journey.l Luke is equal parts Indiana Jones, Ben Gates and Rick O'Connell, and the film owes a lot to The Last Crusade, National Treasure and, to a lesser extent, The Mummy. Fountain of Youth lacks some of the heart of these iconic adventure films, and certainly could do with some more engaging score. The music really plays a big part in an adventure movie, and this one is let down on that front. If you're a sucker for adventure, especially history-based adventure, then Fountain of Youth is going to hit the spot, even if you're not itching to watch it again right away. Nicole Kidman might not have been in Sirens, but you can catch her in the second season of Prime Video's Nine Perfect Strangers. This time the action is moved from the sunny climes of Byron Bay to the decidedly frostier Austrian Alps. Joining Nicole for this season are fellow Aussie Murray Bartlett, Henry Golding, Mark Strong, Christine Baranski and Annie Murphy, among others. Also on Prime you'll find the fourth instalment of former Top Gear guru Jeremy Clarkson's reality farming series, Clarkson's Farm, and four-part documentary series about NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, called, inventively, Earnhardt. Over on Netflix you can dive into Fear Street: Prom Queen, a spin-off of the 2021 trilogy based on the R.L. Stine novels. This one is set in 1988 and while it takes a little time to find its rhythm, ends up being a blast. You can also catch Tyler Perry's latest comedy series She the People (Perry's the only person in Hollywood busier than Nicole Kidman and Guy Ritchie), and docuseries Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders on Netflix. Meanwhile on Binge there's another entry in the Librarians franchise, which has spanned several films and four seasons of TV. Now there's another spin-off, The Librarians: The Next Chapter. Given her recent TV and film track record, it's amazing that Nicole Kidman doesn't star in Sirens. The soapy dark comedy feels like it belongs in the The Perfect Couple, Babygirl, A Family Affair realm of rich white people doing rich white people things. But it's a different Oscar-winning redhead in this series: Julianne Moore. The show, based on the play Elemeno Pea by Maid creator Molly Smith Metzler (also in charge here), follows sisters Simone (Aussie Milly Alcock, House of the Dragon) and Devon (Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus), and Simone's boss Michaela (Moore) on an exclusive New England island of Port Haven. Devon, the older sister, has arrived on the island with a serious bone to pick with her sister. Simone, who she hasn't seen for about a year, has been working as an assistant to Michaela, and is refusing to head back to Buffalo where Devon is taking care of their ailing father, Bruce (Bill Camp, The Queen's Gambit). Simone and Michaela have a very strange, symbiotic relationship and Devon struggles to reconcile the doting, pastel-wearing woman before her with the sister she helped raise. There's definitely a whiff of cultishness in the air on Port Haven, and Devon is determined to extract her sister from Michaela's bejewelled clutches. It's not very clear what the point of Sirens is (maybe something about class divides, or the sacrifices people make for security?), but the five-episode series is entertaining enough for a weekend binge. The performances are good, especially Fahy's, and the costuming is almost a character of its own. A quirky supporting cast helps build out this Stepford-esque world, with the likes of Kevin Bacon, Glenn Howerton, Felix Solis, Josh Segarra and Trevor Salter as the delightful Captain Morgan. You won't really know why you watched this show, but you also won't regret putting the time in. If you're a millennial still trying to fill that One Tree Hill-shaped hole in your life, may we suggest Motorheads? While not as angsty or well-cast as the seminal 2000s high school show, Motorheads shares a lot with One Tree Hill - not least of which is creator John A. Norris, who was a writer on the earlier series. Twins Caitlyn (Melissa Collazo, Freaky) and Zac (Michael Cimino, Never Have I Ever) move to their mum's small, semi-rural childhood hometown to move in with their uncle (on their dad's side) for a fresh start. Coming from the hustle-bustle of New York, their new home of Ironwood, Pennsylvania is a definite change of pace. But this town has something that Caitlyn is very excited about - a thriving car race culture among the youth. She's been a 'motorhead' for years and has purportedly changed hundreds of tyres, despite being in only her late teens. Zac cares less about the mechanics of the cars, but does long for the glory of racing - especially as their dad was a celebrated (and criminal) street racer. Their sage yet flawed uncle Logan (Ryan Phillippe, Cruel Intentions) is a mechanic (very Keith Scott-coded for the OTH fans) who has some shady crime connections himself, but is trying to walk on the straight and narrow despite limited funds. Both the twins have romantic interests from the moment they step into town in classic teen drama style. And just in case the parallels in plot weren't enough to sell you on the OTH connection, the series opens with a shot of a bridge very similar to that one Lucas Scott walks over in the pilot/opening credits. Very intentional. The show also uses plenty of popular music, with tracks from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims and Noah Kahan. The Amazon money put to good use. There are also plenty of flashbacks, where the twins' father is played as a teen by Deacon Phillippe (real life son of Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon), and the songs in this time period are iconic OTH-era jams like Fall Out Boy's This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race and M.I.A.'s Paper Planes. There must be two Guy Ritchies running around these days, because the director is producing an awful lot of work. Since 2023, he's released Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant, The Gentlemen (the series version), The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, MobLand (he directed the first two episodes, but was not involved in writing) and now Fountain of Youth. This latest film doesn't have the classic twisty Ritchie-esque feel to it, as it wasn't written by the Brit, but by Zodiac, Murder Mystery and Scream VI scribe James Vanderbilt (who built his own great-grandfather Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt into the script). A classic adventure romp, Fountain of Youth sees Luke Purdue (John Krasinski) convince his sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman) to help him find the fabled water source in a quest funded by billionaire Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson). The mission will take them across several contintents with lots of fun action along the way. Meanwhile the mysterious Esme (Eiza Gonzalez) and Interpol agent Jamal Abbas (Arian Moayed) are hot on the crew's tail. The secret to uncovering the fountain lies in a series of Renaissance-era paintings, so there's more than a little art theft on this journey.l Luke is equal parts Indiana Jones, Ben Gates and Rick O'Connell, and the film owes a lot to The Last Crusade, National Treasure and, to a lesser extent, The Mummy. Fountain of Youth lacks some of the heart of these iconic adventure films, and certainly could do with some more engaging score. The music really plays a big part in an adventure movie, and this one is let down on that front. If you're a sucker for adventure, especially history-based adventure, then Fountain of Youth is going to hit the spot, even if you're not itching to watch it again right away. Nicole Kidman might not have been in Sirens, but you can catch her in the second season of Prime Video's Nine Perfect Strangers. This time the action is moved from the sunny climes of Byron Bay to the decidedly frostier Austrian Alps. Joining Nicole for this season are fellow Aussie Murray Bartlett, Henry Golding, Mark Strong, Christine Baranski and Annie Murphy, among others. Also on Prime you'll find the fourth instalment of former Top Gear guru Jeremy Clarkson's reality farming series, Clarkson's Farm, and four-part documentary series about NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, called, inventively, Earnhardt. Over on Netflix you can dive into Fear Street: Prom Queen, a spin-off of the 2021 trilogy based on the R.L. Stine novels. This one is set in 1988 and while it takes a little time to find its rhythm, ends up being a blast. You can also catch Tyler Perry's latest comedy series She the People (Perry's the only person in Hollywood busier than Nicole Kidman and Guy Ritchie), and docuseries Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders on Netflix. Meanwhile on Binge there's another entry in the Librarians franchise, which has spanned several films and four seasons of TV. Now there's another spin-off, The Librarians: The Next Chapter.
Man of Many
6 days ago
- Man of Many
Will ‘Sirens' Return for Season 2? Here's What We Know So Far
Despite only hitting screens this week, Netflix's new five-part limited series Sirens has already skyrocketed into the streaming service's most-watched spot. The Julianne Moore-led dark comedy, which lands somewhere between The White Lotus and Nine Perfect Strangers, has amassed a remarkable following online and nabbed a series of glowing reviews, with the series' devastating cliffhanger finale raising speculation over a Sirens season two storyline. Julianne Moore in 'Sirens' (2025) | Image: Netflix What is Sirens About? From showrunner Molly Smith Metzler, the five-part limited series follows Meghann Fahy's Devon DeWitt, a down-on-her-luck outcast who finds herself on a downward spiral back in Buffalo, New York. Tasked with caring for her ailing father in her childhood home, Devon is desperate to build a stronger bond with her sister Simone (The Rings of Power's Milly Alcock). However, a strange and imbalanced dynamic between Simone and her new boss, Michaela Kell (played by Julianne Moore), threatens to derail the family reunion. Moore's enigmatic socialite leads a cultish life of luxury that is 'like a drug to Simone', and with Devon deciding that it is time for an intervention, friction occurs. Sirens takes place over the course of one explosive weekend at the Kells' lavish beach estate, when lines are drawn and awkward encounters dominate. 'This story has a lot of teeth,' Smith Metzler told Tudum. 'There are real moments of drama, and it's going to make people uncomfortable. Operatic is a word I like to use to describe it. It's a true dark comedy — and it's got a Greek mythology vibe.' The limited series comprises five tumultuous episodes, each delivering twists, turns and traumatic retellings, culminating in an explosive finale that leaves the door open for a second season. But will the breakout smash actually return or has Sirens reached its conclusion? Glenn Howerton in 'Sirens' (2025) | Image: Netflix Will There Be a Sirens Season 2? Unfortunately for fans, Sirens season two appears highly unlikely. Netflix billed the production as a 'limited series' rather than an ongoing project and Smith Metzler's Elemeno Pea, the play that the series is based on, does not have a sequel. Without the necessary source material to pull from, it would be difficult for Netflix to capture the same level of intrigue and mystery. Moreover, the story does appear to reach a full resolution. While fans online might be dissatisfied with the conclusion, lambasting decisions made and the lack of a full character arc for some key players, the series does arrive at a stifling destination. That being said, the prospect of a second instalment isn't entirely off the table. In a recent interview with Variety, showrunner and creator Molly Smith Metzler revealed that while Sirens' story is essentially 'contained', she is highly interested in working on a continuous series. 'I'm really excited to move into an ongoing space,' she said, 'and I'm actively thinking about that and looking for what that will be.' Meghann Fahy in 'Sirens' (2025) | Image: Netflix Smith Metzler's sentiments were echoed by lead actor Meghann Fahy, who hinted at the concept of future stories within the Sirens universe. Speaking with Variety, Fahy explained that she 'would love to know what happens to Michaela, where she goes. So I think it's definitely within the realm of possibility. We didn't talk about it on set, but I would love to do more.' Even show production designer John Paino seems on board with the idea of a Sirens season two, telling Town & Country Magazine that: 'I think there's a lot to explore there. I would love to do it with everyone because it was a great experience.' In the same interview, Australian actor Milly Alcock, who plays Simone in the series, added that they would 'love to explore' a season two. 'It would just be a different story; I don't know how it would link, because Simone and Devon's relationship, we leave it at such a sad . We leave these two women in this beautiful goodbye, so I don't really know how, if there was to be a second season, how it would kind of go about. But of course, I think that Simone's such a fascinating person. I'd love to.' As of now, Sirens season two does not appear to be going ahead. Despite significant interest from cast members and fans, Netflix has not renewed the limited series. This article will be updated as we learn more about the possibility of Sirens season two. All episodes of Sirens season one are now streaming on Netflix.
