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The Better Sister has the quality of a Mills & Boon story, but in a murder novel.
Chloe (Jessica Biel – Accidental Love) gets home from a night out to find that hubby Adam (Corey Stoll – Rebel Moon Part One: A Child Of Fire) has been murdered, before it goes back 36 hours to briefly show the events that led up to that, but there’s not too much to get into, other than the fact it’s not a good idea to pick up the murder weapon!
Meanwhile, because Chloe is a highly successful businesswoman, there’s someone online doxxing her, i.e. they’re posts her address online. Plus, she gets a package threatening “Shut your trap or we’ll shut it for you!”
It just feels like rich people’s problems, with no-one coming across as even slightly concerned that a murder has taken place in their home. There’s also a ridculous moment where Chloe allows two cops to break the news of Dad’s death to son Ethan. As if she wouldn’t be present?! Come on, now, even Channel 5 would turn down this script! And they’ll take anything!
For the two cops, while trying to figure out who did the deed – including whether or not it was someone in the family – although they have forensics to sweep the house, cop Nancy (Kim Dickens – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children) thinks nothing of doing their job for them, in case she’s better at it. She’s trying too hard.
For Chloe’s sister, Nicky (Elizabeth Banks – Migration 3D), she comes into it because Chloe’s effectively adopted Ethan, given Nicky is a former drug addict. However, the latter is seemingly still able to look after their mum, now divorced from Bill (Matthew Modine – Zero Day), who’s since turned gay and is married to a man; and somewhere along the way, Chloe has a black stepmother. Erm… when did that marriage take place? I think we’ve ticked one diversity box too far.
Add in some flashback scenes, and when they meet, the two sisters arguing about who Ethan should stay with, and this is excessively tedious. I really don’t care who killed Adam. He had the personality of cardboard, anyway.
The Better Sister is on Prime Video from today.
Cert: 
Running time: 60 minutes per episode (8 episodes)
Release date: May 29th 2025
Studio: Prime Video
Format: 2.39:1
Series Directors: Leslie Hope, Stephanie Laing, Dawn Wilkinson, Craig Gillespie, Azazel Jacobs
Producers: Jamie Crowell
Screenplay: Ariel Doctoroff, Olivia Milch, Regina Corrado, Brittany Dushame, Lauren Stremmel
Novel: Alafair Burke
Music: Will Bates
Cast:
Chloe Taylor: Jessica Biel
Nicky Macintosh: Elizabeth Banks
Adam Macintosh: Corey Stoll
Nancy Guidry: Kim Dickens
Ethan Macintosh: Maxwell Acee Donovan
Matt Bowen: Bobby Naderi
Jake Rodríguez: Gabriel Sloyer
Bill Braddock: Matthew Modine
Catherine Lancaster: Lorraine Toussaint
Michelle Sanders: Gloria Reuben
Doorman Arty: Michael Harney
Hank: Frederick Weller
Ken: Paul Sparks
Sheila: Janel Moloney
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.