Little Fires Everywhere,& a new miniseries on Hulu, can be hard to watch.Based on Celeste Ng novel of the same name, it takes place in the planned community of Shaker Heights during the 1990s, where the arrival of artist Mia (Kerry Washington) and her daughter Pearl (Lexi Underwood) sets something into motion that (we&re told in the opening scene) will eventually result in a fire that burns the lavish home of the wealthy Robinsons to the ground.While the show has plenty of distinctive characters, it centers to a large extent on the prickly relationship between Mia and Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon).
Every scene between them feels fraught, as Elena awkward and condescending attempts to prove that she a good person (and a not racist) are repeatedly rebuffed.For reasons that it would be too spoiler-y to disclose here, the two of them eventually find themselves in conflict, and their children, along with Elena husband (it genuinely mind-blowing to see Joshua Jackson — Pacey from &Dawson Creek& — as a 40-something dad), get pulled in as well.On today episode of the Original Content podcast, we review &Little Fires Everywhere,& laying out all the ways that the show initial episodes impressed us.
We also offer some general recommendations for what to stream while you&re stuck at home.You can listen in the player below, subscribe using Apple Podcastsor find us in your podcast player of choice.
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(Or suggest shows and movies for us to review!)And if you&d like to skip ahead, here how the episode breaks down:0:00 Intro1:09 Streaming recommendations11:15 &Little Fires Everywhere& review39:34 &Little Fires Everywhere& spoiler discussion (spoilers for first three episodes)