Based on Sarah Vaughan’s best-selling 2018 novel of the same name, the Netflix limited series Anatomy of a Scandal is a high society psychological thriller and riveting courtroom drama about the duplicitous nature of Britain’s rich and powerful.

A political elite born and bred, James Whitehouse (Rupert Friend) has always asserted smart decisions and bloody hard work are solely responsible for his rapid upward trajectory of his political career as well as his picture-perfect private life. On the other hand, his doting wife Sophie (Sienna Miller) believes good luck has played a major part in her blissful life until poof!—it’s gone out the window! James is accused of sexually assaulting Olivia Lytton (Naomi Scott), a young parliamentary researcher with whom he cheated.

The road is paved in #MeToo landmines in modern day Westminster. James is quite annoyed at the criminal trial putting the kibosh on his privileged elite life, but he resolutely believes in the family motto — “The Whitehouses always come up on top.”

Pressured by a fixer to the Prime Minister, James’ childhood buddy and partner in crime, Sophie has to sit through the trial because her presence speaks volumes about his character. Unfortunately she is not spared the disturbing details of the incident in the House of Commons as well as the spectacle of his unchecked wealth, privilege and power on display. Apparently, the assault was triggered by an article accusing James of being “breathtakingly arrogant.” The more she learns about his high and mighty attitude, the more she realizes she has buried her head in the sand about his despicable and sinister side. Is James a garden-variety philanderer or an unfeeling brute who takes his pent-up frustration and anger out on his social and intellectual inferiors?

Queen’s Counsel Kate Woodcroft (Michelle Dockery) has built her reputation prosecuting sexual abusers in cases that aren’t clear cut. This “journey from yes to no” relationship rape case is right up her alley. Kate is utterly convinced of his guilt and hell-bent on making him pay for his alleged crimes. Although whip-smart and tough as nails, Kate starts to unravel under the tremendous pressure from both within and without.

Lurking beneath this picture-perfect couple are their Oxford days in the early 1990s when a wild phase of drunken parties and robust sexual encounters was excused and forgiven with the “boys will be boys” rationale. The privileged and entitled young couple handled their schoolmates — the future PM Tom Southern, Alec Fisher, Holly Berry and Alison Jessop — as means to an end for their dangerous acts with little consequence. Who would have thought that the skeletons in the closet could come back to haunt them big time decades later?

The premise of Anatomy of a Scandal is similar to my all time favorite drama The Good Wife (CBS, 2009 – 16). Through her crosses and losses over 156 episodes, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) transformed into ‘the free woman.’ Sophie, on the other hand, learned her lessons in merely six episodes! I’m not being facetious – maybe just a little bit – but Sophie, the #MeToo version of Alicia minus a job, gets a sudden flash of insight; she has always been part of the problem. Stay woke. Too many embarrassed and humiliated wives remain in the problem camp perpetuating sexism, gender inequality, classism, and unchecked privilege.

Anatomy of a Scandal premieres Friday, April 15 on Netflix.

About the Author

Meg Mimura is a TV critic who actually watches shows zealously in search of thought-provoking and paradigm shifting human drama worth our precious time. She is a member of Television Critics Association. Follow her on Twitter.

Inspired by the New York Magazine article “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People” by Jessica Pressler, the Netflix limited series Inventing Anna portrays the rise and fall of Anna Sorokin, aka Anna Delvey (Julia Garner), through the lens of a disgraced journalist Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky), a stand-in for Pressler.

Desperate for her big break, the expecting Manhattan magazine reporter investigates the whys and hows behind the infamous Soho grifter and her glitzy crime saga. Anna maintains she did not do anything wrong and insists that this is how the society punishes women for aggressively going after fame and fortune. She sabotages Vivian’s attempt to connect the dots by pulling off the Hannibal Lecter move – manipulation with false information, deceit, character assassination, and then some.

Just how many doors can you open in the New York City socialite circles without a real fortune of your own? Quite a few, according to the financial, social, and emotional casualties left in her wake. Anna acted like an obnoxiously spoiled and entitled trust fund brat dressed to the nines like old money and browbeat her way into the old ‘catch-22’ situation — I can only get in if I am already in. The illusion of wealth, shameless name-dropping, self-aggrandizement, and arrogance go a long way towards obtaining the keys to the Kingdom. And once you’re in, you can totally cash in your credibility even if it’s merely by association; ‘She has to be good for the money.’ New York’s wealthy elites and big players vouched for Anna, the fake heiress who wanted to establish a lavish art club à la Soho House on Park Avenue South with their money.

Is it wishful thinking or willful blindness? In the face of all evidence to the contrary, Vivian still believes in redemption. Oh, come on, Vivian! Wake up and smell the coffee. Anna casts people in roles that increase her power and sense of importance as if she were the producer, director, writer, and only actor of her own show.

A liar is a liar, and a leopard cannot change its spots. In this current ‘fake-it-till-you-make-it’ culture, however even this textbook case of a narcissistic sociopath could be eventually rewarded just because she is a brand investors might throw money at. I just hope and pray Anna Sorokin is deported ASAP and that’s the end of the story, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we haven’t heard the last of this Instagram-legendary con artist. There is no shortage of shows about the millennial scammers these days, but very few pay attention to the victims of their criminal behavior. As a victim of crime and power abuse, I have a tremendous amount of empathy for those powerless supporting actors who are gaslighted, bullied, harassed, abused, and eventually discarded like trash. Trust me. I feel your pain.

The nine-episode limited series Inventing Anna premieres February 11, 2022 on Netflix.

About the Author

Meg Mimura is a TV critic who actually watches shows zealously in search of thought-provoking and paradigm shifting human drama worth our precious time. She is a member of Television Critics Association. Follow her on Twitter.

COURTESY PHOTO

Emily in Paris, created/written/executive produced by Sex and the City’s Darren Star, follows the professional and personal adventures of Emily Cooper (Lilly Collins). When her company acquires Savoir Paris, a luxury brand marketing agency, Emily is sent to be the American eyes and ears to the transition, specifically to revamp their lackluster social media strategy. She hits the ground running, but not so fast! She runs smack into the French resistance; they are not about to take this ambitious Midwestern millennial lying down. They fight tooth and nail every step of the way to protect their precious Gallic mindset and spirit.

Sylvie (Phillippine Leroy Beaulieu), Emily’s boss, simply dismisses her as a “here today, gone tomorrow invader” into her old guard club. Emily is not only the 21st century “Ugly American” but also a threat to luxury defined by sophistication, taste, privacy, discretion, and mystery that Sylvie is determined to safeguard. It is telling that a younger client had left the agency because it’s an expensive dinosaur.

Undaunted by little knowledge of the language and culture, Emily charges headlong like a Dior-wearing bull in a china shop. She is also accused of being a morality/prude police when she makes a big stink about the workplace sexual harassment and a dicey TV ad that could be construed as sexist in the #MeToo era.

Emily slowly but surely charms some of the old guards frozen in the past. She challenges convention and finds new and better ways of doing things. That’s what millenials do.  But not everything Emily encounters in this illogical culture can be explained by her go-to “lost in translation” excuse. If she gets her head out of the digital sand, maybe, just maybe, she might find herself involved in ways she never imagined before.

With cinematic and culinary razzle-dazzle in the City of Light, we can all live vicariously through Emily’s adventures and misadventures in pre-COVID Paris. It definitely made me crave the good old days when we were free to get gussied up and walk along the Seine under a starry sky. Shoot! Now I have to add Paris to my bucket list!

Emily in Paris is now streaming on Netflix.

About the Author

Meg Mimura is a TV critic who actually watches shows zealously in search of thought-provoking and paradigm shifting human drama worth our precious time. She is a member of Television Critics Association. Follow her on Twitter.

The popular book by Dr. Seuss is now an animated series on Netflix. It follows Guy, a fellow who is down on his luck, and Sam, an upbeat and friendly little guy, as they take a trip looking for an elusive animal. Green Eggs and Ham is a colorful and fun story that brings aspects of life together: friendship, hope, and caring.

When Sam (Sam I Am) rescues a rare animal named a Chickeraffee from the zoo in Glurfsburg,  he hides it in his briefcase because he plans on returning it to his homeland. But when his briefcase is mixed up with that of Guy, well that’s where the fun begins.

Sam and Guy are total opposites in demeanor and lifestyles. They meet little EB, a lonely little girl with an overprotective mother, Michellee. The four of them join together but are ultimately pursued by those who want to capture the Chickeraffee for personal gain. The foursome had only good intentions and along the way they form a strong bond of friendship.

The series is produced by Ellen DeGeneres. Supplying the voices in this rhyming and always entertaining story are Adam Devine (Sam), Michael Douglas (Guy), Ilana Glazer (EB), Diane Keaton (Michellee), and Keegan-Michael Key as the narrator. Eddie Izzard, Jillian Bell, Jeffrey Wright, and John Turturro voice the bad guys in this tale.

This is a fun series for youngsters as well as all ages who love Dr. Seuss and delight in the rhymes and the characters. And who knows, we might all be eating green eggs and ham in the future. Or maybe not.

In any case, this delightful new series comes to Netflix November 8, 2019.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. Follow her on Twitter.