Culture Wars Come To Netflix In Sapphic Drama 'the Hunting Wives'

In nan expansive contented of shows pinch “wives” successful nan title, Netflix’s caller play “The Hunting Wives” is simply a salacious soap centered connected women behaving badly. But thing is noticeably different successful this eastbound Texas town, wherever nan wives of a blimpish gubernatorial candidate, region sheriff and section megachurch reverend transportation guns successful their handbags. And contempt their expected accepted values and MAGA politics, respective of these women are engaged successful extramarital affairs — pinch each other.

Based connected nan caller by May Cobb, creator and executive shaper Rebecca Cutter’s “The Hunting Wives” expands connected nan original’s “Single White Female” premise, transplanting Brittany Snow’s Sophie from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to an NRA gathering upon her red-state presence pinch her designer husband, Graham (Evan Jonigkeit). A erstwhile “political publicist” connected nan Democratic side, Sophie instantly escapes to nan bath for a Xanax and meets Margo Banks (Malin Akerman), nan captivating, uninhibited woman of Graham’s caller leader and would-be politician, Jed Banks (Dermot Mulroney).

Moral posturing is nan sanction of nan crippled down successful this Texas town, wherever everything is bigger — including nan charades. Most headlines astir “The Hunting Wives” revolve astir Akerman’s larger-than-life Margo, who, moreover successful a bad wig, entrances Sophie alongside nan remainder of her legion pinch her feminine wiles and coquettish attention. She and Jed person an “arrangement” (“Open marriages are for liberals,” she tells Sophie). “I don’t slumber pinch different men, and if Jed and I spot a woman we like, we spell for it.”

But Mrs. Banks isn’t 1 for rules, truthful she’s having dalliances pinch much than conscionable whom her hubby agrees to, and Sophie drops her wide convictions to beryllium pinch Margo quicker than she tin unhook her bra. Soon enough, Sophie is keeping secrets from her husband, conscionable for illustration nan remainder of nan wives, until nan execution of a section cheerleader threatens to rustle everyone’s cautiously manicured covers. Of people ethical nonmonogamy and intersexual fluidity beryllium successful Texas (the bi-curious, membership-based Skirt Club has regular events successful Houston, Dallas and Austin), but dissimilar nan “deplorable” coastal elites, nan residents of nan fictional municipality of Maple Brook wouldn’t situation bring up that benignant of point successful polite conversation.

Katie Lowes, Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman successful "The Hunting Wives."Courtesy Lionsgate

Hypocrisy abounds successful “The Hunting Wives,” which debuted astatine No. 3 connected Netflix past week pinch 5.2 cardinal views and climbed to No. 1 connected nan platform’s U.S. Daily Top 10 chart. With each of nan attraction nan show is receiving, spectator reactions person proved feverish, pinch fans crossed statement lines gamely questioning their sexuality aft witnessing Margo’s effects connected Sophie (as good arsenic Callie, different friend and sapphic person who gets jilted erstwhile Sophie comes to town). The bisexual (emphasis connected nan sexual) quality of nan show has been a cardinal attraction of astir reviews and instrumentality commentary, but, interestingly, there’s overmuch little homophobic guidance than location is disapproval of Margo’s concealed matter pinch nan 18-year-old boy of her friend and nan section reverend. Viewers, blimpish and wide alike, are majorly invested successful nan world of “The Hunting Wives.” It’s Margo’s world, from Reddit threads to TikTok basking takes, and we’re each surviving for it.

Akerman has been emotion nan emotion for her deliciously duplicitous characteristic and said she finds Margo’s contradictions are yet typical of humanity much broadly.

“I deliberation that we group person a definite imagination of really nine useful and matrimony useful and really we should beryllium and what’s asked of us,” she told NBC News. “This [show] tests those boundaries. Absolutely, I consciousness for illustration humans are fluid people. We don’t request to beryllium put into 1 category, and I deliberation it’s OK to descent that standard and inquire yourself and beryllium immoderate you consciousness for illustration being, alternatively of what group show you to be.”

Cutter, nan creator and showrunner, said she wanted to play pinch paradoxes, toeing nan statement of satirizing nan blimpish civilization of “The Hunting Wives” without full-on vilifying nan characters, a plight someway achieved moreover erstwhile they’re murdering people. Cutter points to Sophie arsenic nan resident wide breaking her ain civilized codification to beryllium pinch Margo.

“She’s not precisely personification who’s opinionated up for what she believes successful either,” Cutter said. “So there’s hypocrisy and bad behaviour connected some sides.”

Brittany Snow successful "The Hunting Wives."Netflix

On “The Hunting Wives,” women having romanticist and intersexual relationships pinch 1 different is unspoken bad behavior. Although Jed doesn’t mind his wife’s sapphic leanings, his determination to tally for politician requires a caller benignant of discretion and restraint that puts much sanctions connected Margo than it does for his predilection for threesomes. Margo is cardinal to his nationalist persona arsenic a bully ol’ boy pinch a classical Christian wife, and though nary outright anti-gay utterings are made alongside disparaging mentions of abortion and immigration, Cutter said nan homophobia was intentionally unspoken but implied.

“In nan Christian world, there’s going to beryllium a level of ‘that’s not OK,’ which everyone is past transgressing,” Cutter said. “I deliberation successful that line, ‘Open marriages are for liberals,’ it’s for illustration we’re coding it differently, moreover if nan actions are nan same.”

As heightened arsenic it is, “The Hunting Wives” reflects a very existent population, which whitethorn beryllium uncomfortable for immoderate viewers struggling to find nan nosy successful engaging pinch characters whose individual lives disagree from their governmental motivations. On nan different hand, men person been rewarded respective times complete for playing antiheroes connected surface without nan aforesaid benignant of scrutiny that has immoderate reviewers calling nan bid “vulgar” aliases challenging its expertise to beryllium referred to arsenic a “queer show.” It whitethorn beryllium frustrating to admit that people’s activity lives don’t ever align pinch their nationalist personas and voting habits, but “The Hunting Wives” confronts nan ways successful which sanctimony is often a screen for self-destructive secrets — and neither governmental statement has a monopoly connected that.

Conservative, gun-toting Texas provides a coagulated mounting for a bid for illustration “The Hunting Wives” to artifact pinch conventions — which yet makes it enjoyable for astir viewers to participate for 8 nosy and sexy episodes.

“We’re truthful polarized arsenic a nation,” Cutter said, “and it’s not a superior show. So I deliberation yet group conscionable bask nan ride.”

Having enjoyed occurrence conscionable 2 weeks into its debut, fans are hopeful a 2nd play is imminent. Would location beryllium a world successful which an openly cheery “hunting wife” joins nan ranks? Cutter said she hadn’t thought astir it: “That’s a awesome idea.”