Like ‘The White Lotus’, ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ Argues that Only Rich People Can Afford Happiness

Hulu‘s new drama Nine Perfect Strangers opens on a family that needs help. The Marconi family — chipper dad Napoleon (Michael Shannon), depressed mom Heather (Asher Keddie), and withdrawn daughter Zoe (Grace Van Patten) — are driving to a wellness retreat called Tranquillum in the hopes that they’ll finally be able to heal the grief of Zoe’s twin brother’s death by suicide. Napoleon crows that Tranquillum has given them a steep discount to go. “We got the Golden Ticket!” he shouts. From the jump, we are meant to understand that the happiness that Tranquillum provides is, well, a luxury. Joy is a commodity that few can afford.

Nine Perfect Strangers is actually the second drama this summer to deal with the commodification of happiness. HBO‘s addictive hit The White Lotus also took us to a far-flung resort, visited by wealthy people with little self-awareness. In both series, the show meditates on the sacrifices made by staff to help these guests, all while a sense of encroaching doom fills the air.

In many respects, Nine Perfect Strangers feels like The White Lotus‘s easy, breezier cousin. The drama is slightly campier, the ensemble cast a tad bit more famous, and the tone far soapier. But what both shows do well is arrive at the same conclusion: only the rich can afford to be happy.

Written and directed by Mike White, HBO’s The White Lotus follows the guests and staff of a swanky resort during one hellacious week. Newlywed Shane (Jake Lacy) is more interested in feuding with the hotel manager Armond (Murray Bartlett) than addressing his new bride Rachel’s (Alexandra Daddario) existential crisis. The Mossbacher clan is a powder keg of drama, with patriarch Mark (Steve Zahn) grappling with his masculinity while wife Nicole (Connie Britton) seems invested in only herself. Their daughter Olivia (Sydney Sweeney) and her friend Paula (Brittany O’Grady) find themselves in engaged in a toxic game involving a handsome local waiter. Meanwhile Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) is so bereft she foists herself on spa manager Belinda (Natasha Rothwell), who is only going along with the charade in the hopes Tanya will fund her dreams. Through it all, White pokes at each character’s flaws with razor sharp precision. Ultimately, though, it is a show about people who wantonly take from the less fortunate, with little regard for any justice in that situation. The twist? We know from the first scene someone in the cast will die.

Nine Perfect Strangers is a similar, if different beast. Adapted from Liane Moriarty’s best-selling novel, it stars EP Nicole Kidman as mysterious wellness guru Masha. We are told that Masha was a heartless career woman until someone shot her point blank. While being resuscitated by future employee Yao (Manny Jacinto), Masha finds a moment of peace — and the germ of the idea that will lead to Tranquillum. The nine “perfect” strangers she assembles for this particular 10 day retreat include Melissa McCarthy’s betrayed novelist Frances,  scorned ex-wife Carmel (Regina Hall), prescription drug-addicted former football star Tony (Bobby Cannavale), lotto-winning couple Ben (Melvin Gregg) and Jessica (Samara Weaving), skeptic Lars (Luke Evans), and the aforementioned Marconis, who are only there thanks to Masha’s generosity. Although Nine Perfect Strangers doesn’t open with a promise of a death, threats follow Masha. Every episode feels like the story is surging closer to tragedy.

The White Lotus ends with the wealthy patrons winning. Shane murders Armond by accident and gets to return home, reunited with his now docile wife Rachel. Tanya lets Belinda down, but finds real love with another guest. The Mossbachers’ marriage is stronger than ever and Olivia’s chokehold on friend Paula feels tighter than before, too. As Armond explained to a new recruit in the first episode, as staff, they are interchangeable objects. The wealthy guests get “happily ever afters” because their happiness matters. Or rather, they matter.

The situation is a bit more complex in Nine Perfect Strangers. Not only is the show’s conclusion still up in the air, but the point of Tranquillum isn’t for its patrons to “get away” but to overcome their suffering. Everyone visited Masha is there because they are grappling with true emotional pain, and that inspires sympathy! However Nine Perfect Strangers never lets go of the privilege these guests have. In addition to showing us how beautifully aspirational every part of the retreat is, we get to know the workers. Specifically, there’s the aforementioned Yao, who seems trapped in a twisted love triangle with Masha and fellow employee Delilah (Tiffany Boone). If Yao trusts Masha completely, Delilah has some doubts about the guru’s methods. It’s also understood that Masha helped them, first, and now they work for her. They flit around Tranquillum, hurrying smoothies to patrons and organizing the bulk of activities. And their lives, I’m sorry to say, seem to suck.

It all circles back to a theme rolling through both Nine Perfect Strangers and The White Lotus: some people get to work on being happy and the rest of us just have to work. Now as the world begins to attempt a return to normalcy after a traumatic time, it’s becoming more and more clear that healing from our collective pain is a luxury most of us can’t afford.

Both The White Lotus and Nine Perfect Strangers take pleasure in undercutting their wealthy characters, but ultimately they are the ones allowed to pursue happiness through poolside chats, bespoke smoothies, and the unburdening of their souls upon workers silently weighed down with their own worries.

Where to stream The White Lotus

Where to stream Nine Perfect Strangers