Big drama, small screen: ‘The Undoing’ premieres on HBO
As movie theaters struggle to survive in the wake of shutdowns caused by the COV ID-19 pandemic, fans missing their favorite Hollywood stars find themselves turning to television to fill the void. Luckily, a few of the industry’s biggest talents are headed to the small screen in a gripping drama that will keep viewers guessing.
Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”) stars as Grace Fraser, a therapist who discovers that her seemingly idyllic life may be far from perfect in the wake of a shocking death in “The Undoing,” premiering Sunday, Oct. 25, on HBO. Based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel “You Should Have Known,” the six-part thriller also stars Hugh Grant (“Notting Hill,” 1999) as Grace’s husband, Jonathan, and Donald Sutherland (“MASH,” 1970) as her father, Franklin Renner.
When the series opens, Grace becomes fascinated with another mom from her son’s school. Shortly thereafter, tragedy strikes the school community, setting off a chain of events that leads Grace to question whether she really knew her now-missing husband as she deals with a very public disaster. All the while, she tries to come to terms with the fact that she’s failed to heed her own advice as she struggles to rebuild a life for her family.
The story was adapted for the small screen by 11-time Emmy winner David E. Kelley (“Ally McBeal”), and this isn’t the first time he’s worked with Kidman. He created the recent hit HBO drama “Big Little Lies,” in which Kidman starred. In fact, her stint on two seasons of “Big Little Lies” led to Golden Globe and Emmy wins for the talented actress, who has also had high praise for Kelley’s work on “The Undoing.”
“David has created another propulsive series with a fascinating, complicated female role at its center,” Kidman said in an official HBO.com release.
Lauded as one of the most successful actors of her generation, Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy winner Kidman first came to the attention of American audiences in such films as “Days of Thunder” (1990) and “Far and Away” (1992). The Australian actor went on to appear in such blockbusters as “Batman Forever” (1995) and “Moulin Rouge!” (2001), while also earning praise for her performances in more serious fare such as her role as Virginia Woolf in “The Hours” (2002), the role that earned her an Oscar.
Apparently, her co-star Grant wasn’t so quick to sign on to “The Undoing” because he had already decided to quit acting. Earlier in October, Kidman explained to Australia’s the Sunday Telegraph that she practically had to beg him to play the part of her husband in the series. The dramatic role marks a departure from the kinds of roles he rose to fame playing in romantic comedies such as “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” (1994) and “Notting Hill” (1999), however Grant has proven he’s far from one-dimensional, thanks to other dramatic turns in “Sense and Sensibility” (1995), “Florence Foster Jenkins” (2016) and the BBC miniseries “A Very English Scandal.”
Kidman and Grant are joined onscreen in “The Undoing” by a veritable entertainment industry legend, with Sutherland as widowed financier Franklin. With more than five decades of experience in film, Sutherland is often regarded as one of the most talented actors to have never been nominated for an Oscar, though he was honored with the Academy Honorary Award in 2017. Over the course of his career, he’s appeared in the now-classic films “The Dirty Dozen” (1967), “MASH” (1970), “Klute” (1971), “Animal House” (1978) and “Ordinary People” (1980). He was also seen in “JFK” (1991), “A Time to Kill” (1996) and “Cold Mountain” (2003), which starred Kidman as well.
“The Undoing” also stars Edgar Ramírez (“Zero Dark Thirty,” 2012) as NYPD Det. Joe Mendoza, who rattles Grace as she tries to cooperate with the investigation. Some action-movie fans may remember the Venezuelan actor as CIA assassin Paz in “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007), but Ramírez has more recently garnered acclaim for his portrayal of Gianni Versace in FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”
The rest of the cast includes young actor Noah Jupe (“Wonder,” 2017) as Grace and Jonathan’s son, Henry, Lily Rabe (“American Horror Story”) as Sylvia Steineitz, Norma Dumezweni (“Mary Poppins Returns,” 2018) as Haley Fitzgerald, Sofie Gråbøl (“The Killing”) as Catherine Stamper, Matilda De Angelis (“The Prize,” 2017) as Elena Alves, and Ismael Cruz Córdova (“Ray Donovan”) as Fernando Alves.
Behind the scenes, Danish director Susanne Bier took the reins for all six episodes of the series. She’s best known in North America for her work on the film “Bird Box” (2018) and the TV miniseries “The Night Manager.”
Fans are likely happy “The Undoing” is finally making its way to the screen. Unlike a lot of other series, it has survived the COVID-19 pandemic despite a delay in its premiere. The thriller was originally slated to premiere on May 10, but in late March HBO confirmed the series would move to the fall instead.
Although this fall TV season may not have as many new television shows, movies or special events, series such as this offer a glimmer of hope for those of us who desire quality entertainment on the small screen. While the silver screen has offered fans the crème de la crème of entertainment for years, television is becoming home to content that is just as good, if not better — especially when it features the likes of Kidman and her co-stars. Watch her unravel as Grace Fraser in “The Undoing,” premiering Sunday, Oct. 25, on HBO.