Little Fires Everywhere is currently airing on Hulu, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. If there’s anything we all need while stuck at home (besides a COVID-19 vaccine!), its really good TV.
The television series is based on a novel by the same name by Celeste Ng, who is also a producer of the show. Its got a very Big Little Lies-esque vibe, so if you’ve been missing out on all that good drama, this just might be exactly what you need to fill that void.
The Story
The series follows two families, The Warrens and The Richardsons. The Warren family consists of a single mother, Mia Warren, who’s a nomadic artist. Her daughter, Pearl Warren, is a teenager whos more interested than her mother in putting down roots after moving around her whole life. The Richardsons are a family of six with a big house and a white picket fence life, but plenty of drama in their family dynamic to go around. The two families meet, and chaos ensues over issues of class, race, and what it means to be a parent.
As the title suggests there’s a fire, but there’s also a whole bunch of deep dark secrets and questionable choices. It’s almost like a good mystery, but without the usual murder. It varies a little bit from the book, but it sticks to the spirit of what Ng wrote, and its rare creators can make a TV show work without altering the source material a little bit.
The Details
The show stars Reese Witherspoon as Elena Richardson and Kerry Washington as Mia Warren. The women are also both producers of the series. Witherspoon and Washington are both no stranger to starring roles in popular TV shows, but in Little Fires Everywhere, they take it to the next level.
The show follows the stories of various characters in both the present and the past. The actors in the past manage to capture the perfect essence of their future counterparts, making the transition between past and present completely seamless. Even the facial expressions are expertly mimicked.
The incredible acting takes an already fantastic story and elevates it to something potentially award-winning. The suspense, the emotion, and the riveting story will make you question your own beliefs about people, parenting, and privilege.
The show is also mired in 90s’ nostalgia. The creators do an excellent job of capturing not only the fashion but the essence of the era. From the cars the characters drive to the way their homes are decorated, everything screams 90s’. It makes the show feel both authentic and familiar, even when the subject matter is painful.
Little Fires Everywhere airs every Wednesday night on Hulu. There are five episodes out so far, with three more to go before the story comes to an end. The show is the perfect thing to binge-watch today, you won’t be sorry.
