Rank: 2/5
Netflix’s newest original show “Gypsy” premiered June 30 with an intriguing premise of twisted therapist and client relations, and even has the Fleetwood Mac song of the same name playing in the title sequence — but even that paired with Naomi Watts’ (Mulholland Drive, The Impossible) poised performance couldn’t save the show from being a lackluster bore.

Watts plays Jean, a psychotherapist with an interesting array of clients, including an older mother with boundary issues and a college dropout who’s addicted to prescription drugs. When not working, Watts is a frazzled mother of one with a handsome lawyer for a husband. Between her busy schedule, Jean always finds time to buy a coffee from the hole-in-the-wall café where an alluring barista works, who also happens to be the ex-girlfriend of one of her patients. This begins the spiral into Jean’s double life, which the plot of the show is based around. 

There is a clear theme of underlying infidelity and relationship issues between many couples featured on the show. In Jean’s seemingly picture-perfect marriage, she longs for excitement and to break from monotony. Her character begins binge drinking, compulsively lying, using a different name and even stealing a prescription pad to self-prescribe herself with Xanax. The plot feels cliché, with too many issues packed into one show.

Watts plays the typical archetype of the working housewife seeking more from life, yet when she steps out of her comfort zone it fails to excite. At one point, she flees a boring, uptight dinner party to see the barista’s band perform at an underground bar, unbeknownst to her concerned husband. On paper this seems like an interesting storyline, but it falls short in the delivery and is predictable, like the rest of the show.

One silver lining is Watts’ acting — she’s calm, yet still delivers authentic emotion, and seems to portray the unfortunately ill-written character well. The rest of the script is cheesy, basic and overly dramatic at times, and the writers seemed like they were trying too hard to create a deeper meaning out of a slow-moving, jumbled plot line.

When the premiere episode ended abruptly, I was genuinely confused and not interested in the slightest to continue watching. Netflix usually delivers interesting and unique projects, but this was definitely one of its seemingly promising TV series that turned into a flop.