An uneven but beguiling slice of summer escapism

Two very different sisters fall into the orbit of a billionaire’s wife in super-rich satire Sirens’

- Katie Rosseinsky

Meghann Fahy is fast becoming the patron saint of the superrich satire. First she played enigmatic trophy wife Daphne in The White Lotus, eventually becoming the stealth heroine of the show’s Sicilian second season. Then she cropped up in The Perfect Couple, the soapy Netflix murder mystery that took place on a staggeringly beautiful Cape Cod estate. Now she’s taking the lead in Sirens, another Netflix show set in the world of the 0.01 per cent, where the gorgeous ocean vistas can’t quite offset the lingering sense of unease.

Sirens is based on a play written by Molly Smith Metzler, who is the showrunner behind the 2021 mega-hit Maid. Here, Fahy’s character Devon isn’t a glossy socialite but a bemused outsider and fully fledged hot mess; it’s a role that allows her to show off her White Lotus comic timing, while grappling with emotional depths far deeper than anything The Perfect Couple offered her.

In time-honoured TV shorthand, Devon’s eyes are ringed with smudged eyeliner and her hair looks like she’s left a bit too much time in between root touch-up appointments. And if you don’t pick up on this subtle messaging, fear not: she’s also staggering out of a police station with her possessions in a plastic bag, wearing last night’s clothes.