10/45
The exploits of various guests and employees of a luxury resort over the course of a week… HBO has renewed the series for a second season despite the show being intended as a limited one-season mini-series. It’s said to be an anthology series with new characters for each season. HBO has already done this (to general acclaim) with True Detective (2014). While some of the first season was cringe-worthy. This second season is as masterful as anyone could hope for. It starts off a bit slow, the first episode, but it soon finds its feet and impresses over and over again, winning me over as if I’m not exactly experienced. It feels like a review of every thought I’ve ever had about the resort, many of which I’ve long since forgotten. That’s a treat in itself, but don’t worry, the flirtation with opera-like peaks of drama and beauty goes far beyond that, something entirely appropriate considering the story takes place in Sicily without, I’d say, Mike White, the series’ creator, a kind of unsung genius. The guy seems to be unaware of boundaries combined with one of the sharpest eyes for detail I’ve ever seen.
