"High Desert," the new AppleTV+ mystery comedy from Nancy Fichman ("Nurse Betty"), Jennifer Hoppe ("Grace and Frankie") and Katie Ford ("Miss Congeniality"), follows the steadfast Peggy down a rabbit hole rabbit of mysteries and rarities of the desert. Ten years after the opening sequence, Peggy is now battling an opiate addiction while working as a waitress at a Western-themed park and restaurant in Pioneertown. Her siblings Stewart (Keir O'Donnell, "Ambulance") and Dianne (Christine Taylor, "Search Party") want to evict her from the modest Yucca Valley home she shared with her mother Rosalyn (Bernadette Peters, "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist”), who passed away a few weeks earlier.
Gone is the Palm Springs dream. This is the true high desert made of small communities right next to the highway, full of tumbleweeds and cacti. It's where the tanning salons of strip malls are fronts for more nefarious businesses and the neon glow of tribal casinos lights up dark desert nights. Determined to keep her home like any good Southern California con artist, Peggy finds a new source of income.
Stars: Patricia Arquette, Weruche Opia, Jayden Gomez
After hearing a woe story from her mercurial co-worker Tammy (Susan Park, "Briarpatch") involving her fiancé Guru Bob (Rupert Friend, "Homeland"), a onetime TV host who had a very public and a private Eye named Bruce (Brad Garrett, “Everybody Loves Raymond”) who owes her $300, Peggy sees a golden opportunity. After collecting the money she owes her friend, Peggy convinces Bruce to let her work for him, convinced that Guru Bob has something fishy.
Over the course of the series, Peggy finds herself caught up in a web of mysteries straight out of a Raymond Chandler novel, including forged paintings, missing wives, talking birds, a former TV extra who looks just like her mother, and a father and daughter hitman team out for blood. There's a compelling nudity to the storytelling of "High Desert" reminiscent of Chandler's best novels, or even Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of "Inherent Vice," with a dash of absurdist humor and Coen brothers-style violence. . And Patricia Arquette is fantastic as Peggy, whose heart is always right, even if she can't always overcome her worst instincts. While there is a wacky cast of characters around her, this is a showcase of Arquette's unique energy. There's a vulnerability to her core, but also the directness of someone who's spent most of her life operating in survival mode.
At times, Arquette's performance is often reminiscent of the charismatic disaster that was Hank Moody, played by David Duchovny on the old Showtime sitcom "Californication." In fact, the whole vibe of the show is reminiscent of that era of Showtime sitcoms, with its convoluted cast of characters who are borderline satirical caricatures of a certain type of Southern Californian. Everyone here is vaguely immoral, but somehow endlessly lovable, though they're probably more fun to watch than ever to hang out with.
Arquette strikes up easy chemistry with her co-star Matt Dillion (“Wayward Pines”), who plays her flighty fresh out of jail, not quite ex-husband, Denny. You feel their passion and tenderness, but they are also an atomic couple that brings out the worst in each other. As Peggy tries to save the house from her and solve the case, Denny continually lures her into a myriad of illicit schemes. However, he is also the type of man who would rescue a dog from a hot car. In a hilarious sequence, he tries to have a heart-to-heart with Peggy as she robs a pot store. Dillion's irresistible charm makes Denny convincing, even when we know he's just no good.
Then there's Rupert Friend as Guru Bob, the epitome of a desert hustler. Following his Howard Beale moment, whose cause is revealed towards the end of the season, the former host embraced drug culture as synonymous with the Coachella Valley as the music festival named after him. A self-described spiritual leader, Guru Bob is hanging by a very thin thread, one that Peggy slowly unravels as she uncovers the truth behind his wife's disappearance. Friend is hilarious, oscillating between the falsely enlightened exterior of him and the screaming man-child he actually is on the inside.
Peggy finds solace in her chaotic life through lengthy conversations, often by phone and FaceTime, with her best friend Carol, who always seems to have a glass of wine in her hand. hand.
Watch High Desert 2023 Tv Series Trailer
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