What makes ‘The Hunting Wives’ so great, according to its stars?
It has not even been a week since The Hunting Wives was released on Netflix. But within that brief amount of time, the social radar has been abuzz about the soapy, erotic thriller that looks like the perfect ammo to beat the summer heat. Based on May Cobb’s bestselling novel, the Netflix series follows Boston transplant Sophie O’Neill’s life of unforeseen twists and turns as she moves to East Texas to leave behind the ghosts of her past.
Upon reaching East Texas, she embroils herself with a group of affluent socialites, also housewives who each have a skeleton, if not more, in their closets. What begins as a journey of escapism soon becomes an adventure into the unknown as Sophie gives in to her fascination with Margo Banks, the wife of her husband’s boss, an oil billionaire.
The relationship between Sophie and Margo is at the centre of The Hunting Wives, which swiftly transitions from genuine affection to obsession and desire. While Netflix ordered quite an intense binge session with the series where danger awaits at every sharp turn, according to the stars, Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman, what strikes the right chord is that the “show is exactly what it’s supposed to be.”
In a recent interview with Paste Magazine, Snow and Akerman were asked to shed light on the aspect that’s most appealing about The Hunting Wives. As per Snow, when the producers first pitched her The Hunting Wives, they promised a show equal parts fun and equal parts danger. It’s a high-stakes thriller that has everything one needs from murder mysteries to sensuality, and still it delivers just what it’s supposed to.
But the part that attracted Snow the most is the meticulous exploration of these characters and “all these different things women go through that aren’t necessarily always seen in these types of shows.” The Hunting Wives is a show Snow would definitely put on her own watchlist. “In fact, I thought I’d be mad if I saw it on Netflix and I wasn’t in it,” she explained.
As for Akerman, the highlight was receiving the scripts. Traditionally, actors are given the pilot episode, and all they can do is hope that the character arc turns out to be “great” as the show progresses. But with The Hunting Wives, she received all the scripts of the eight episodes at the start. To observe the characteristic growth firsthand and its nuances, it was a one-of-a-kind experience.
“Just like Brittany said, I always look for something that’s grounded,” Akerman continued. When the script was given to her, she revealed that she couldn’t hit the brakes. It dawned upon her that if the script-read feels so fulfilling, a proper execution could propel The Hunting Wives to the greatest heights. And considering Snow is on the same boat, it looks like great minds do think alike.