There’s a special kind of genius in making something that’s both completely unhinged and weirdly self-aware, and Netflix’s The Hunting Wives pulls off that dangerous balancing act with a martini in one hand and a loaded pistol in the other.
Developed by Rebecca Cutter and based on May Cobb’s bestselling novel, The Hunting Wives is part murder mystery, part social satire, and all steamy soap opera. It has no time for nuance, minimal use for realism, and zero shame in showing rich people behaving like absolute garbage. It’s also utterly watchable.
Netflix’s The Hunting Wives Plot
We follow Sophie O’Neil (Brittany Snow), a Boston PR-turned-housewife who relocates to East Texas with her architect husband (Evan Jonigkeit). She’s nervous, reserved, and immediately alien to the gun-toting, lip-glossed, high-society women of Maple Brook, Texas.
That is, until she meets Margo Banks (Malin Akerman), a magnetic queen bee with a perfect smile and a poisonous charm. One scene, Margo stripping to her lingerie in a bathroom, locking eyes with Sophie, tells you everything you need to know about the show’s subtlety. Spoiler: It has none.
Before long, Sophie is sucked into a glittery world of cocktail-fueled target practice, bisexual dalliances, and social power plays that would make Big Little Lies look like a church potluck.
The Hunting Wives: Soapy, Sleek, and Unapologetically Trashy
Let’s get this straight: The Hunting Wives doesn’t pretend to be prestige TV. There’s no slow burn. There are no deep character arcs. There’s just sex, scandal, secrets, and a death (or more) lurking somewhere in the pine trees.
But here’s the twist: It works really well because the show never lies about what it is. It leans into the camp with its tongue firmly planted in cheek, reveling in its bad taste with the confidence of a show that knows its audience and isn’t afraid to serve them dessert for dinner.
The dialogue is peppered with zingers, gun metaphors, and social jabs. When Margo’s clique declares, “We don’t work. We wife!” It’s equal parts hilarious and terrifying. And when Sophie, a registered Democrat, refers to her frenemies as “little Marjorie Taylor Greens,” you know the writers are playing with cultural flashpoints for more than shock value, they’re teasing at something real, even if they refuse to go deeper.
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Malin Akerman and Brittany Snow Steal the Spotlight in The Hunting Wives
Much of the Netflix show’s appeal comes down to its leads. Malin Akerman, best known for oscillating between bombshell roles and comedic charm, devours this part. Her Margo is equal parts manipulative and maternal, sultry and sinister. Watching her seduce, destroy, and smirk her way through this season is pure delight.
Brittany Snow, as the wide-eyed outsider spiraling into obsession, plays her part with restraint and confusion that never quite spills into caricature. There’s a scene mid-season, a bottle-spinning party gone sideways, that captures her character’s dangerous awakening better than any line of dialogue ever could.
The Hunting Wives dabbles in everything: erotic thrillers, female rivalry, suburban satire, and even murder mystery. The show opens with gunshots in the woods, a classic cold open tease, and sprinkles in just enough noir breadcrumbs to justify its “thriller” label.
But really, this show is about desire and power, and how often the two are confused. That’s where the show flirts with something smarter than it seems. In Maple Brook, sex isn’t about intimacy. It’s about control. Love is messy, but lust is weaponized. It’s a world where everyone’s sleeping with someone else’s partner, and no one is happy, but damn if they don’t look good doing it.
The Hunting Wives Not High Art, but Highly Addictive
The Hunting Wives is not prestige TV, nor does it try to be. Instead, it’s something more elusive: guilt-free guilty pleasure. Its shallow characters, twisted relationships, and soap-opera storylines are presented with just enough self-awareness to make the ride fun, and never insulting.
It’s the kind of show that knows exactly what it’s doing. And if you’re in the mood for guns, gossip, girl-on-girl flirtations, and glamorous dysfunction, it might just be your favorite binge of the summer.
★★★½ out of 5 stars
“Trashy? Sure. But it’s the kind of trash you binge with popcorn and zero regrets.”
FAQs
Yes, the series is adapted from May Cobb’s 2021 novel of the same name.
It’s a blend of mystery thriller, dark comedy, and erotic soap opera, think Desperate Housewives meets Big Little Lies with fewer morals.
If you like over-the-top drama, morally messy characters, and stylish southern scandal, yes. Just don’t expect emotional depth.
The first season has 8 episodes, with the first three available now on Netflix.