Reese Witherspoon has reinvented her acting career by turning bestselling novels includingBig Little Lies into smart,gripping television shows. The latest isLittle Fires Everywhere,based on Celeste Ng's 2017 novel.
The show launched in Australia in late May,on Amazon Prime Video,and has,for the most part,won over critics and audiences alike.
Reese Witherspoon plays a wealthy suburban mum with secrets in Little Fires Everywhere.Erin Simkin/Hulu
On this week'sTelevisionaries podcast,Spectrum deputy editor Kylie Northover andThe Guide andGreen Guide critic Debi Enker join host Louise Rugendyke to debate the show,which centres on the intersecting lives of Elena,a wealthy,suburban mum of three played by Witherspoon,and Mia,a frugal,single mum of one played by Kerry Washington.
Enker says:"From the first episode,there is a real sense of unease about the relationship between these women ... I found those tensions really engaging."
Witherspoon and Washington were executive producers on the eight-part series. It's a fresh example of high-profile women working in front of and behind the camera in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Rugendyke,Northover and Enker discuss whether having a female producer makes a difference for the audience – listen to the podcast in the player below for their wide-ranging conversation aboutLittle Fires Everywhere and women in the TV industry.
Later in the podcast,the experts play a game of Credit Where Credit's Due (see if you can pick which show the opening credits come from) and take a trip down memory lane with a chat about Lucille Ball's groundbreaking sitcom,I Love Lucy.
Once you're done listening to this week's episode,hit the link below to catch up on the entire season,including discussions about this season,how and why popular romantic dramaNormal People might be.