''Why Women Kill'' is an American

dark Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...

anthology television series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a ...

created by

Marc Cherry Marc Cherry (born March 23, 1962) is an American television writer and producer. He is best known for creating the ABC dramedy series ''Desperate Housewives''. Personal life Early life Marc Cherry was born in Long Beach and lived briefly in ...

. Set in multiple time periods, the series depicts the events leading to deaths caused by women. It premiered on August 15, 2019, on

CBS All Access Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

and its first season consists of 10 episodes. The second season premiered on June 3, 2021, on

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

. In December 2021, the series was renewed for a third season. However, it was scrapped before production could begin in July 2022.

Plot

The first season of ''Why Women Kill'' follows three women from different decades who are connected through having all lived in the same

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

mansion and experiencing infidelity in their marriages. Beth Ann Stanton remains content as a

housewife A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...

in 1963 until she learns of her husband Rob's unfaithfulness; socialite Simone Grove discovers her third husband Karl's

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

and begins her own affair with a younger man in 1984; and in 2019, bisexual attorney Taylor Harding finds her

open marriage Open marriage is a form of non-monogamy in which the partners of a dyadic marriage agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded by them as infidelity, and consider or establish an open relatio ...

tested when she and her husband Eli become attracted to the same woman, Jade. The infidelity in each marriage sets off a chain of events that ends with a death caused by a woman.

Cast and characters

Season 1

1963

Main *

Ginnifer Goodwin Jennifer Michelle "Ginnifer" Goodwin (born May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' (2006–2011) and Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the ABC fan ...

as Beth Ann Stanton, Rob's subservient wife. ** Hartlyn Hilsman as a young Beth Ann. *

Sam Jaeger Samuel Heath Jaeger (born January 29, 1977) is an American actor and screenwriter. Life and career Jaeger was born in Perrysburg, Ohio, the son of LeAnne (née Graening) and Charles Jaeger. He is the youngest of four children. He graduated from ...

as Rob Stanton, an

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

married to Beth Ann *

Sadie Calvano Sadie Calvano (born April 8, 1997) is an American actress, known for her role as Violet Plunkett on the CBS sitcom ''Mom ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by rais ...

as April Warner, a waitress having an affair with Rob Recurring *

Alicia Coppola Alicia Coppola is an American actress. She became known for playing Lorna Devon in the soap opera '' Another World'' from 1991 to 1994. Afterwards, she made regular and guest star appearances in various television series, notably ''Jericho'' an ...

as Sheila Mosconi, Rob and Beth Ann's neighbor and Leo's wife who befriends Beth Ann * Adam Ferrara as Leo Mosconi, Rob and Beth Ann's neighbor and Sheila's husband *

Lindsey Kraft Lindsey Brooke Kraft (born January 23, 1983) is an American actress, model and writer. She is best known for playing Marguerite Macaw on '' Getting On'', Leslie Curry on '' Living Biblically'', and Allison on '' Grace and Frankie''. Kraft has a ...

as Claire, Rob's secretary. Guest *

Spencer Garrett Spencer Garrett (born September 19, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Air Force One'' (1997), '' 21'' (2008), '' Public Enemies'' (2009), ''All the Way'' (2016), and '' The Front Runner'' (2018). He is th ...

as Hal Burke, Rob's boss *

Peri Gilpin Peri Gilpin (born Peri Kay Oldham; May 27, 1961) is an American actress. She portrayed Roz Doyle in the television series ''Frasier'' and Kim Keeler in the ABC Family television drama ''Make It or Break It''. She is due to reprise the role of R ...

as Vivian Burke, Hal's wife *

Lio Tipton Lio Tipton (born Analeigh Tipton; November 9, 1988) is an American actor and fashion model. Tipton is known for being the last eliminated on Cycle 11 of ''America's Next Top Model'' and for their roles in the films ''Crazy, Stupid, Love'' (2011 ...

as Mary Vlasin, Rob and Beth Ann's neighbor and Ralph's abused wife *

Scott Porter Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saskat ...

as Ralph Vlasin, Rob and Beth Ann's neighbor and Mary's abusive husband * Ava Scarola as Emily Stanton, Rob and Beth Ann's deceased daughter * Catherine Curry as Elsie Warner, April and Rob's daughter who is under the care of Beth Ann

1984

Main *

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has sta ...

as Simone Grove, a twice-divorced socialite married to Karl ** Harmonie He as a young Simone Grove *

Jack Davenport Jack Arthur Davenport (born 1 March 1973) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' This Life'' and ''Coupling'', and as James Norrington in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series. He has also appeared ...

as Karl Grove, Simone's third husband who is using their relationship to conceal his homosexuality Recurring *

Katie Finneran Katie Finneran (born January 22, 1971) is an American actress best known for her Tony Award-winning performances in the Broadway play ''Noises Off'' in 2002, and the musical '' Promises, Promises'' in 2010.

as Naomi Harte, a wealthy friend of Simone and Tommy's widowed mother *

Leo Howard Leo Howard (born July 13, 1997) is an American actor and martial artist. Howard is known for incorporating his karate skills into his feature film and television roles; as "Young Snake-Eyes" in the 2009 action film '' G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobr ...

as Tommy Harte, Naomi's son who harbors romantic feelings for Simone *

Li Jun Li Li Jun Li is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Iris Chang in the ABC series '' Quantico'', Rose Cooper in the Fox series ''The Exorcist'', and Jenny Wah in the Netflix series ''Wu Assassins''. Early life Li was born in Shangha ...

as Amy Lin, Simone's daughter from her first marriage Guest * Charlie DePew as Brad Jenkins, Amy's fiancé * Ken Garito as the police officer who mistakes Simone for a prostitute *

Christine Estabrook Christine Estabrook (born Mary Christine Estabrook; September 13, 1952) is an American actress, known for her roles on the television series '' The Crew'', '' Nikki'', '' Desperate Housewives'' and ''American Horror Story''; she had a recurring ...

as Joyce Dubner, a hypochondriac neighbor of Simone *

Philip Anthony-Rodriguez Philip Anthony-Rodriguez is an American actor known for his roles on '' Jake 2.0'' as Kyle Duarte, the voice of disc jockey Maurice Chavez in the 2002 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', and as Jetstream Sam in the 2013 video game '' M ...

as Hector, Simone's former hairdresser and Karl's lover *

Dale Dickey Diana Dale Dickey (born September 29, 1961) is an American character actress who has worked in theater, film, and television. She began her career on stage, performing in the 1989 Broadway version of ''The Merchant of Venice'', before appearing ...

as Ruby Jenkins, Brad's mother * Robert Craighead as Dwight Jenkins, Brad's father *

Hayley Hasselhoff Hayley Amber Hasselhoff (born August 26, 1992) is an American actress and plus-size model. She is known for her role as Amber in the ABC Family original series ''Huge''. She is the daughter of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Bach. Hasselhoff starre ...

as Patty Jenkins, Brad's lesbian sister

2019

Main *

Kirby Howell-Baptiste Kirby Howell-Baptiste (born 7 February 1987) is a British actress. She has appeared as a series regular on ''Downward Dog'' (2017), '' Killing Eve'' (2018), '' Why Women Kill'' (2019), and '' The Sandman'' (2022). Her television appearances also ...

as Taylor Harding, a bisexual, feminist attorney in an open marriage with Eli ** Kendall Denise Clark as a young Taylor Harding *

Alexandra Daddario Alexandra Anna Daddario (born March 16, 1986) is an American actress who had her breakthrough portraying Annabeth Chase in the ''Percy Jackson'' film series (2010–2013). In 2021, she starred in the first season of the HBO series ''The White ...

as Jade/Irene, the bisexual lover of Taylor, and then Eli * Reid Scott as Eli Cohen, a screenwriter in an open marriage with Taylor Recurring *

Kevin Daniels Kevin Dwight Daniels Jr. (born December 9, 1976 in San Diego, California), is an American actor who started his career with a supporting role in the 1998 film ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' by director Nicholas Hytner. He has appeared i ...

as Lamar, Eli's agent *Kevin McNamara as Duke, Jade's ex-boyfriend Guest * Saidha Arrika Ekulona as Taylor's sister * Christina Anthony as Velma, Taylor's sister * Odelya Halevi as Willow, an Instagram model working with Mischa and a friend of Jade * Kevin William Paul as Mischa, Willow's fellow Instagram model, who is friends with Jade

Season 2

Main

Allison Tolman Allison Cara Tolman is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Molly Solverson in the first season of the FX television series '' Fargo'', earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Early life and education Tolman has two older ...

as Alma Fillcot, a housewife in 1949 who is desperate to join the local exclusive garden club ** Rachel Redleaf as young Alma *

Lana Parrilla Lana Parrilla (born July 15, 1977) is an American actress. She was a regular cast member in the fifth season of the ABC sitcom ''Spin City'' (2000–2001) and in the fourth season of '' 24'' (2005), and starred in ''Boomtown'' (2002–2003), ' ...

as Rita Castillo, the president of the local garden club and wife of Carlo *

B.K. Cannon Barbara-Kimberly Cannon (born August 27, 1990) is an American actress known for '' Switched At Birth'' and '' Why Women Kill''. She is from Kailua, Honolulu, Hawaii. A survivor of childhood neuroblastoma, Cannon became a volunteer and later dir ...

as Dee Fillcot, Alma's daughter * Jordane Christie as Vern Loomis, a private investigator *

Matthew Daddario Matthew Quincy Daddario (born October 1, 1987) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Alec Lightwood on the Freeform television series ''Shadowhunters'' (2016–2019). He is the younger brother of actress Alexandra Daddario. ...

as Scooter, a struggling actor and Rita's paramour *

Veronica Falcón Veronica, Veronika, etc., may refer to: People * Veronica (name) * Saint Veronica * Saint Veronica of Syria Arts and media Comics and literature * ''Veronica'', an 1870 novel by Frances Eleanor Trollope * ''Veronica'', a 2005 novel by Mary Gai ...

as Catherine Castillo, Rita's stepdaughter and Carlo's daughter *

Nick Frost Nicholas Jonathan Frost (born 28 March 1972) is a British actor, author, comedian, painter, producer and screenwriter. He has appeared in the ''Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz ...

as Bertram Fillcot, Alma's husband and a veterinarian

Recurring

Rachel Bay Jones Rachel Bay Jones (born November 8, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She has played the roles of Catherine in the 2013 Broadway revival of ''Pippin'' and Evan Hansen's mother, Heidi Hansen, in ''Dear Evan Hansen''. The latter earned her ...

as Maisie * Daniel Zacapa as Carlo Castillo, Rita's elderly husband and Catherine's father * Eileen Galindo as Isabel, Rita's maid who is secretly her accomplice and cousin *

Virginia Williams Virginia Williams (born March 18, 1978) is an American actress known for playing C.J Hargenberger in the Netflix sitcom Fuller House. Early life Williams first began her acting education in New York, earning a B.A. in Theatre Performance fro ...

as Grace, a member of the garden club *

Rondi Reed Rondi Anne Reed (born October 26, 1952) is an American actress of stage and screen. A longtime member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, she has appeared in more than 50 productions at that theater. Also active on Broadway, she won the 20 ...

as Mrs. Carol Yost, the Fillcot's grouchy, judgmental next door neighbor who expresses disbelief for Alma getting into the Elysian Park Garden Club * Jessica Phillips as Joan, another member of the garden club * Kerry O'Malley as Mavis, another member of the garden club * Cynthia Quiles as Brenda, another member of the garden club *

as The Narrator *

Warren Kole Warren David Blosjo Jr. (born September 23, 1977) known professionally as Warren Kole, is an American actor known for his role as LAPD Detective Wes Mitchell on the USA Network original series ''Common Law''. He also played Roderick on the FOX ...

as Detective Rohbin

Guest

Ryan McPartlin Ryan John McPartlin (born July 3, 1975) is an American actor, known for his role as Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcomb on the NBC action-comedy series ''Chuck''. Early life McPartlin was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Steve and Lois McPartlin. He w ...

as Tom Madison * Andrew Leeds as Dr. Gibson

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2021)

Production

Development

On September 24, 2018, it was announced that

had given the production a straight-to-series order. The series was created by

who was also expected to executive produce alongside

Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer and writer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated f ...

Francie Calfo Francine "Francie" Calfo is a fictional character on the television series ''Alias,'' portrayed by Merrin Dungey from 2001–03 and again in 2006. Initially the best friend of lead character Sydney Bristow ( Jennifer Garner), Francie is murdered ...

, Michael Hanel, and Mindy Schultheis. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of

Imagine Entertainment Imagine Entertainment (formerly Imagine Films Entertainment), also known simply as Imagine, is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard. Background Brian Graz ...

and

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

. On December 10, 2018, it was reported that the series would receive $8.4 million in tax credits from the state of California. Cherry stated at the 2019 Television Critics Association that there will be "three deaths at the end of the series, and they will all be committed by women. But it's not necessarily the three women on this stage. The victims are not necessarily the men on this stage, and interesting enough, not one person will be killed because of infidelity. Infidelity is just the starting point for these journeys of self‑discovery." On October 16, 2019, the day before the season 1 finale, it was announced that the series was renewed for a second season that would focus on a new set of characters. Julie McNamara, CBS All Access' EVP of Original Content, stated that, "Under the creative direction of Marc Cherry and the incredible performances of the cast, the series has become one of our most streamed original series. We look forward to bringing fans even more of this wonderfully soapy dramedy in its second season and can't wait to see what themes Marc explores next." On November 11, 2020, it was reported that the second season had been suspended production after positive

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

tests of production team members. On December 15, 2021, Paramount+ renewed the series for a third season. On July 1, 2022, the season was reported scrapped just before production was set to begin.

Casting

In February 2019, it was announced that

and

had been cast in starring roles. On February 27, 2019, it was reported that Reid Scott had joined the cast. On March 4, 2019, it was announced that

had joined the cast. On March 7, 2019, it was announced that

had joined the cast. On March 11, 2019,

had been cast. On March 19, 2019,

joined cast as a series regular. On April 5, 2019,

has been cast in a recurring role. On April 17, 2019, Adam Ferrara joined the cast in a recurring capacity. On August 7, 2019,

was cast in a recurring role. In October 2020,

, Jordane Christie,

were cast to star for the second season. In November 2020,

, Jessica Phillips, Eileen Galindo, Cynthia Quiles, and Kerry O'Malley joined the cast in recurring roles for the second season. On April 14, 2021,

was cast in a recurring role for the second season.

Release

''Why Women Kill'' premiered on August 15, 2019, and its first season consisted of 10 episodes on CBS All Access. The second season premiered on June 3, 2021, on

and it consists of 10 episodes.

''Why Women Kill: Truth, Lies and Labels''

On September 20, 2019,

released the first episode of a six episode

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

, entitled ''Why Women Kill: Truth, Lies and Labels'', to help advertise for ''Why Women Kill''. The final episode was released on October 25. Each episode, released weekly on Friday, shares the details of a woman who became a murderer. The podcast is available on

Apple Podcasts Apple Podcasts (known as simply Podcasts in Apple operating systems) is an audio streaming service and media player application developed by Apple Inc. for playing podcasts. Apple began supporting podcasts with iTunes 4.9 released in June 200 ...

Google Podcasts Google Podcasts is a podcast application developed by Google and released on June 18, 2018, for Android devices. In September, 2018, Google Cast support was added to Google Podcasts. At Google I/O 2019, Google announced a web version of Google ...

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

, and

Stitcher Radio Stitcher is a media company that specializes in the creation, distribution, and monetization of podcasts. Stitcher creates original shows through networks such as Earwolf and Witness Docs. Stitcher provides ad sales and distribution services to ...

. Tori Telfer, a true crime writer, narrates each episode.

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the first season holds an approval rating of 67% based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though ''Why Women Kill'' falls short of its ambitious premise, fans of Marc Cherry and his impressive cast will find much to like in its darkly soapy and stylish delights." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". While the aesthetic of the series received praise, critics found that ''Why Women Kill'' lacked character development. Robyn Bahr of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' wrote, "We're supposed to marvel at the changing roles of women over time, but it's hard to get there, intellectually, when none of the three leads feels like a semblance of a real person. Instead, ''Why Women Kill'' comes off as an ungainly fantasy of women's emotional lives, where the threat of infidelity could be the only fuel of marital unhappiness." ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' reviewer

Angelica Jade Bastién Angelica Jade Bastién is an American essayist and critic. She is a staff writer for ''Vulture'', where she has reviewed film and written television recaps since 2015. Bastién also specializes in horror and depictions of women and madness. She ...

agreed with the focus on aesthetics more than plot, stating, "''Why Women Kill'' is akin to an overly complicated craft cocktail, boasting an intriguing brightness, namely in the form of Goodwin's performance, but lacking balance in its competing flavors. It's full of baffling tonal and narrative decisions that undermine what does work about the show—a handful of the performances, the over-the-top, nearly camp production design, the costuming—and undercuts its dramatic potential with broad, nearly slapstick humor that distances us from the characters rather than illuminating who they are." However, Greg Wheeler of 'The Review Geek' changed his view as the series progressed, and gave this favourable summary: 'Why Women Kill is one of those shows that's hurt by early reviews. I've said it many times before that a full season review rating should be reserved for just that – a full season. When it comes to this wonderful drama, this is a perfect example against judging a show by the first few episodes. What began as an artistic trio of stories dancing around a singular idea, quickly blossomed into one of the best shows of the year. Between the strong writing and well paced segments, right across to the different themes and ideas explored each episode, Why Women Kill may just be one of my favourite shows of the year, balancing the artistic juxtapositions and smart editing with the perfect finale to balance things out.' On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 83% based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 7.33/10.

Notes

References

External links

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