There are TV series that aim to overturn the narrative canons to which we are accustomed, come out of the mainstream, have an A-Lister as their protagonist and very often they are thrillers. Nothing random, crime genre is on fire now for podcasts, literature and on the big screen as well. It can’t be otherwise for television series. Shining Girls just landed on Apple TV+ and is already on everybody’s lips, to be honest already the presence of Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale) had generated a lot of interest, but a few weeks after airing the hype has increased exponentially.
The series is based on the novel of the same name by Lauren Beukes and was written by Silka Luisa, also executive producer and showrunner, Alongside her as executive producer we find Elisabeth Moss together with Leonardo DiCaprio who already in 2013 bought the rights for the transposition of the novel. Kirby Mazrachi (Elisabeth Moss) is a photographic researcher in the editorial staff of a Chicago newspaper, apparently she is a silent worker and immersed in her world, but hides a trauma that forced her to change her name and habits. A tragic murder will reopen Kirby’s old wounds and lead her to find the courage to join the reporter Dan Velazquez (Wagner Moura) to solve the mystery of coincidences that bind her trauma with the terrible news.
Shining Girls brings together many (perhaps too many) elements, from the trauma with its psychological repercussions, to the story twisted in the timeline (sometimes backwards in time) with the addition of a sometimes paranormal mystery. The winning card is still Elisabeth Moss who with her skill makes forgive any stylistic excess.