'Three Women' Reviews: "The stilted dialogue could perhaps be forgiven if the themes the show is interested in hadn't all been done better elsewhere"

         On September 13, 2024, STARZ premieres 'Three Women', which has received a predominantly negative reception from critics, who gave the series a score of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, but a predominantly positive reaction from viewers, who gave it a score of 71%. In the series, "Writer Gia convinces three women to tell her their stories; entrepreneur Sloane, homemaker Lina and student Maggie are on a crash course to radically overturn their lives." The ensemble cast includes Shailene Woodley, Betty Gilpin, Gabrielle Creevy, and DeWanda Wise. Read the full review round-up below.

        Allison Picurro of TV Guide says, "The stilted dialogue could perhaps be forgiven if the themes the show is interested in hadn't all been done better elsewhere." Adding, "In the interest of accuracy, Three Women is actually about four women: Lina (Betty Gilpin), an unsatisfied housewife and mother with chronic pain who is desperate for her husband to desire her; Sloane (DeWanda Wise), a successful businesswoman in an open marriage; Maggie (Gabrielle Creevy), a teen who had a sexual relationship with her teacher; and Gia (Shailene Woodley), Taddeo's proxy, a journalist haunted by her own traumatic past who is speaking to them for her next book. Over the course of its first season (the series ends pretty definitively, but Taddeo has said she has ideas for a second season), the drama leans heavily into the various ways all four women explore their sexuality. Lina engages in an affair with Aidan (Austin Stowell), the high school boyfriend she idealizes as the one that got away, while Sloane breaks the carefully outlined rules of her arrangement with her husband Richard (Blair Underwood) after meeting Will (Blair Redford), who she can't seem to stay away from. Maggie thinks she's in control throughout her relationship with her teacher (Jason Ralph), only realizing what he took from her after it's over. Gia falls into a relationship with the loving and understanding Jack (John Patrick Amedori), but is too bogged down by a long history of loss to actually get close to him."

Photo by Catherine Heath on Unsplash

        Judy Berman of TIME Magazine notes, "It’s not hard to understand why Taddeo felt compelled to tweak the structure for TV...but in decoupling her voice from those of her subjects, the series severs the mind-meld connection that made Three Women electrifying."

       Isabella Soares of Collider writes, "Three Women has a tour de force ensemble, but its plot is severely hindered by repetitive intimate scenes and multiple stories happening at once." Noting, With these three subjects at the forefront of the series, each having their experiences detailed in parallel with each other, Taddeo's adaptation of Three Women demands raw and sensitive performances. Thankfully, the leading trio has what it takes to convey their characters' wants and lead viewers to care for points of view they may not wholly agree with. Although Wise and Creevy are brilliant in their approaches to Sloane and Maggie, Gilpin is the real deal in Three Women as Lina. Watching Gilpin navigate her character's urge to be embraced, kissed, and wanted while in a dispassionate marriage is nothing short of compelling. When Lina's eyes water in response to watching a kissing scene from The Princess Bride in the middle of a supermarket, it is heartbreaking to witness her desperation for something as simple as a loving touch from her partner. It's impossible not to empathize with Lina, leading one to root for a potential rekindling between her and brooding old flame Aidan (played by Austin Stowell), even though that relationship is bound to go downhill. Gilpin's performance is sensational, and part of what makes Lina's story so much more captivating than the other two narratives."