The Nine Perfect Strangers Trailer Just Made Me Scared Of Wellness Retreats
Not even Nicole Kidman could convince me to whoosah.
Nicole Kidman is the gift that keeps on giving. After captivating audiences in Big Little Lies and, most recently, in HBO Max’s The Undoing, the actor is starring in what’s sure to be another must-watch TV event: Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers. Kidman will take on the role of Masha Dmitrichenko, a director of a fancy health and wellness retreat in Australia. But judging by the trailer, this is no ordinary retreat – and Masha is definitely not your average self-help guru.
The project reunites Kidman with several Big Little Lies alum, including author Liane Moriarty (she wrote the Nine Perfect Strangers novel that inspired the series), executive producer and showrunner David E. Kelly, and producer Bruna Papandrea. Kidman will also serve as an executive producer on the show. While the trailer gives off spooky and mysterious vibes, all eight episodes of the series will be directed by Jonathon Levine, known for comedies including Long Shot and 50/50, suggesting the show may be a mashup of genres.
Speaking with Vanity Fair, Kelly said, “The series is ultimately rooted in human pathologies, and what leaps out as ridiculous gets very real. The goal was to deliver a fun ride which emotionally resonates. A hoot with a sniffle chaser.”
Based off of the trailer and the star studded cast, you’re going to want to add Nine Perfect Strangers to your summer watchlist.
Nine Perfect Strangers Trailer
The trailer kicks off with Kidman, aka Masha, calmly welcoming her nine guests to “Tranquilium House,” a 10-day retreat. And while not everyone is happy to be there, it’s clear that they’re all hoping to heal themselves and are down to try whatever Masha suggests — even laying inside of ditches they’ve dug themselves. But they also seem to be doing normal wellness stuff too, like stretching, meditating, swimming and, immersing themselves in nature. In order to let go of the pain they feel, Masha asks them to “surrender yourself to me.”
As the trailer goes on, however, the group begins to question Masha’s motives. Can you blame them? She’s creepy! Masha tells the group to “start the protocol,” and the guests seem to either be having breakdowns, or maybe breakthroughs? It’s unclear, but Masha assures them, “there’s nothing to fear.”
The trailer ends with Melissa McCarthy’s character asking, “is Masha batshit or is she the real deal?”
Guess we’ll have to wait and find out.
Nine Perfect Strangers Cast
The Nine Perfect Strangers cast is literally perfect. Starring opposite Nicole Kidman is none other than Melissa McCarthy, who’ll be playing Frances Welty, the character at the center of the novel. The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto, who’s rocking a mustache in the show, is playing Yao, one of Masha’s staff members. Meanwhile, Tiffany Boone is playing Masha’s second staff member, Delilah. The prolific Regina Hall will star as Caramel Shneider, one of the nine guests, and Bobby Cannavale, recently seen in Amazon’s Homecoming and The Irishman, will play another guest as well. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Luke Evans, Michael Shannon, Zoe Terakes, Samara Weaving, Melvin Gregg, and Asher Keddie.
Nine Perfect Strangers Plot
The show is based on the 2018 novel by author Liane Moriarty, who also wrote Big Little Lies, so you know Nine Perfect Strangers is bound to be just as entertaining if not more. The novel follows Frances Welty, a successful writer who is looking to heal herself as she joins eight other strangers at a wellness retreat. What Frances and the other guests don’t know is that this year, Masha is implementing a new “protocol” because she’s tired of only helping people temporarily. Marsha wants to make “permanent” changes in her guests, whatever that means. As the guests begin to get to know one another and reveal their struggles, they can’t help but second-guess Masha and her methods.
Nine Perfect Strangers Release Date
Nine Perfect Strangers was shot in 2020 during the pandemic in Australia. In a 2020 interview with Variety and the iHeart podcast The Big Ticket, Luke Evans explained the strict guidelines the cast had to adhere to during filming.
“I can’t see anyone for two weeks. I have to be tested every other day,” Evans said. “Everything is going to be delivered to my room and I have to stay in a room in Australia and not leave it for two weeks just so that we can then be free to go and shoot something.”
The first three episodes of Nine Perfect Strangers will hit Hulu on August 18, while the remaining five will stream on a weekly basis.
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