Netflix Review: ‘No Good Deed’ is a Dark and Enticing Ensemble Comedy from the Creator of ‘Dead to Me’

Finding the right person to buy your home isn’t an easy decision. Many sellers don’t have the luxury of waiting for the perfect offer, but some may still be selective, yearning to be sure that the new inhabitants of their beloved space aren’t going to change it in an irreversible way. That lasting attachment is a peculiar phenomenon given that said home will no longer belong to its original owners, but it’s an understandable human sentiment. The new Netflix series No Good Deed utilizes that as its premise, examining not just a handful of prospective buyers but also its current residents who have particularly complicated memories of the home they soon won’t own.

Paul (Ray Romano) and Lydia (Lisa Kudrow) aren’t in a good place, still struggling to get past the loss of their son, and the arrival of Paul’s brother Mikey (Denis Leary) back in town doesn’t help matters at all as the couple is in the slow-moving process of selling their house despite plenty of frantic energy from their realtor Greg (Matt Rogers). Among those eager to move into this dream home are Leslie (Abbi Jacobson) and Sarah (Poppy Liu), who themselves are having trouble starting a family, Carla (Teyonah Parris) and Dennis (O-T Fagbenle), whose relationship may be moving a bit too fast without important matters having been discussed, and JD (Luke Wilson) and Margo (Linda Cardellini), who already live down the street but each have their reasons for wanting to relocate.

This is the follow-up to Liz Feldman’s Emmy-nominated pitch-black comedy series Dead to Me, and it’s a fitting subject that audiences may expect. The comedy comes from the way these people interact despite inherently serious and sometimes fatal situations, and this represents a zooming-out from that show, which was very focused on two main characters and those within their circles. While Romano and Kudrow could be considered the leads, this is a true ensemble show, one that ensures each couple has ample screen time and at least some opportunity to begin diving into their backstories and motivations for wanting to buy this house.

There was a vivid starkness to the way the plot of Dead to Me unfolded that isn’t present here in the same way, with this eight-episode series taking more time to unravel its various secrets. Choosing to focus on couples rather than individuals who no longer have a committed partner by their side is an intriguing choice which does work well, though it’s an inherently different experience. Having so many storylines happening at once translates to less focus, which only means that there isn’t one specific arc to latch onto with a great deal of content to be covered in each episode. It ultimately serves the show, keeping all characters relevant and avoiding any extraneous distractions that merely feel like filler, even if it doesn’t have time to fully delve into all of its players’ histories.

This show benefits from strong casting, with each one of its series regulars having a background in television. Romano and Kudrow, initially known for Everybody Loves Raymond and Friends, respectively, veer towards more dramatic interpretations of their characters than audiences who still associate them with those series might expect, and the results are very positive, complemented by a typically prickly performance from Rescue Me’s Denis Leary. A League of Their Own’s Jacobson and The Afterparty’s Liu are well-paired, as are WandaVision’s Parris and Presumed Innocent’s O-T Fagbenle, though it feels like there’s still much more about those two couples that this show doesn’t fully have time to explore. Wilson’s turn as a relatively clueless actor is fun to watch, but the most memorable player in this ensemble is Feldman’s previous collaborator Cardellini, whose scheming housewife has plenty of tricks up her sleeve.

There’s definitely an appeal to No Good Deed, which has a fitting home on Netflix that should prove most successful when subscribers are asked whether they liked Dead to Me and want something similar. This feels like more than a murder mystery, less playful than Only Murders in the Building and more character-driven than The Perfect Couple, but the strength of its cast also means that it can’t go as deep as might have been possible with each episode focused on one character or couple. Its conclusion doesn’t suggest the likelihood of a second season, but there’s certainly enough fodder here for more clever dark comedy perfectly in Feldman’s wheelhouse.

Season Rating: 7/10

Awards Buzz: Netflix has many horses in the race and this show may just be too late-breaking, and Dead to Me was never an awards juggernaut, earning just six nominations and one Best Comedy Series bid at the Emmys over the course of three seasons. Past Emmy winners Romano and Kudrow as well as past Emmy nominees Leary, Jacobson, Fagbenle, and Cardellini could make the case for a SAG ensemble nomination, but it doesn’t seem likely.