Meghann Fahy is everywhere these days after her star-making performance as Daphne Sullivan in the second season of The White Lotus before making her way to the big screen a couple of months ago in the positively reviewed thriller, Drop. Now, Fahy is returning to everyone’s televisions in a new Netflix limited series co-starring Milly Alcock, who was recently cast in James Gunn’s DCU as Supergirl; Glenn Howerton, Kevin Bacon; and Academy Award winner Julianne Moore. Sirens comes from Molly Smith Metzler, the acclaimed writer and showrunner behind the Netflix hit mini-series Maid.
While Maid was a unique and harrowing look at a single mother’s battle to make ends meet and recover from her past traumas, Sirens is a derivative but entertaining romp thanks to its sharp humour and the spellbinding performances from Fahy, Moore, and Alcock. This five-episode dark, dramatic comedy series delves into the complex dynamics between two sisters, Simone (Alcock) and Devon (Fahy), who reconnect when Devon shows up at the cliffside Martha’s Vineyard mansion of Simone’s boss’s (Moore) with plans to get her younger sister to return to Buffalo to help care for their deteriorating father, Bruce (Bill Camp). Devon’s main obstacle in getting Simone to come home is her boss: an influential socialite named Michaela “Kiki” Kell. Kiki has Simone tightly wrapped around her finger and isn’t ready to let her go.
When Devon finally gets her moment to confront Simone at the beginning of episode one, the sisters now couldn’t be further apart, personality and lifestyle-wise. Devon is a complete mess who just landed herself a second DUI. At the same time, Simone has entirely adopted the upper-class lifestyle of her boss after cutting herself off from her dysfunctional sister and neglectful father.
Like the title of the series suggests, Sirens is a show about allure. Allure of the rich, beautiful, and powerful. At times, these themes are expertly depicted, especially during intimate scenes between Simone and Devon where it becomes clear how far Simone has come after their traumatic and poverty-ridden childhood and why she’d never risk losing it. However, it’s when the show decides to lean into a more literal interpretation of a Siren, among other questionable plotlines, that it begins to lose steam, intrigue, and becomes overstuffed with ideas that never come to fruition.
A major plotline explored throughout Sirens is Simone’s secret relationship with Ethan Corbin III, played by Howerton, who works with Kiki’s uber-rich husband, Peter Kell (Bacon), and is 25 years older than Simone. It’s clear that the series wants to make a point of the age difference between Simone and Ethan, but it never really pushes the conversation deeper than surface level. Given the amount of time spent on this storyline, which is not at all interesting compared to other situations unfolding, the payoff needs to be much more jaw-dropping than it is.
During this time, Devon is beyond suspicions of Kiki and investigates every aspect of her life. With rumours swirling around the New England beachside town about Kiki’s history with Peter’s first wife, Devon becomes convinced that Kiki must be involved with some shady goingson involving cults, manipulation, and murder. In the end, none of these things turns out to be remotely accurate, making the time Devon spends investigating the accusations and trying to convince her sister feel like an utter waste of time, even if it helps underscore the show’s themes.
Critiques aside, there is still plenty to enjoy throughout Sirens, even if the story never fully comes together the way it could have. Alcock, Fahy, and Moore all turn in Emmy-worthy performances that do much of the heavy lifting to keep the show intriguing and entertaining. Moore delivers the exact amount of camp and scenery chewing necessary for this type of role, but balances it with enough humanity to make Kiki feel like a fleshed-out person instead of the caricature she could have easily become.
Sirens tasks Alock and Fahy with a lot in terms of their performances, and they deliver on every front. Fahy specifically is often breathtaking. Every reaction she gives or emotional outburst she has feels entirely authentic for who Devon is and the difficult things she’s been through. Fahy is also incredibly funny throughout Sirens and often expresses what the viewer is thinking regarding the absurdity of much of what’s happening. Alcock, meanwhile, has the most challenging role out of the three. Simone is undoubtedly a complex character who experiences many highs and lows over the course of the series, and Alcock skilfully captures each emotion.
At times, Sirens can be narratively chaotic and fall into the same pitfalls that many other Netflix limited series struggle with. Still, its short episode count and captivating performances from its lead and supporting cast do more than enough to draw viewers in and keep them engaged until the end.
All six episodes of Sirens are currently available to stream on Netflix.
