Every once in a while, a show comes around that is almost unanimously well-received. Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Good Place, This is Us and Stranger Things are all examples of such cases. Russian Doll is the most recent one.
Russian Doll, starring Natasha Lyonne, is about a woman named Nadia who keeps dying and reliving the night of her 36th birthday. The show follows her attempts to investigate what is happening to her.
Ever since it dropped on Netflix in the beginning of February, Russian Doll has been extremely well-received. It has a 98 percent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, putting it in the league of the aforementioned shows. From Vox to The New Yorker to TIME, Russian Doll is getting positive reviews left and right.
The plot may be a trope recycled often in Hollywood (Groundhog Day, Happy Death Day, etc.), but the execution in Russian Doll is sharp and fresh. The show has excellent writing, superb acting and stunning cinematography. Plus, it has countless laugh-out-loud moments and always keeps viewers guessing.
Plus, Natasha Lyonne is an absolute star. Anyone who has watched Orange is the New Black already knows this, but her star power shines brighter than the sun in Russian Doll. She plays Nadia, as a woman on the brink of insanity, perfectly. Everything from the way she says “cockroach” to her physical comedy is on point.
But, what makes Russian Doll special is that it is completely female-led.
There have been many shows driven by women in the past few years, but Russian Doll is unique in that it is 100 percent created by women. There is not a single man in the writers’ room or director’s chair.
Men have dominated television for as long as Hollywood has been around. It is only in the past decade or so that female stories have come to the forefront.
Female voices in television have been suppressed for so long that when they do come out, they are sharper than ever. Take a look at Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin. These shows won CW its first two Golden Globes and they are mainly written and directed by women.
A show like Russian Doll proves that when talented women come together, they are unstoppable.
We need more Russian Dolls. And more importantly, we need a season two of Russian Doll.