'Little Fires Everywhere' Episode 1 sees strong mother-daughter conflicts going up in flames
Taking mother-daughter tiffs to a whole other level arrives Hulu's 'Little Fires Everywhere', based on Celeste Ng's book of the same name. Joining forces with the writer is her 'Big Little Lies' book-to-series adaptation executive producer Reese Witherspoon, who will once again star as one of the leads.
This offers us with yet another blonde bombshell soccer mom slash working woman avatar of Witherspoon, which might seem like an extension of her Madeline McKenzie from the aforementioned HBO show, but with a way more tragic backstory — or so it seems from the trailers released so far.
The trailer opens with the biggest of the eponymous little fires, as we see Witherspoon's character, the affluent Elena Richardson overlooking her burning mansion.
Voiceovers in the background reveal somebody set their home ablaze while the entire family was inside, and soon we are introduced to the possible femme fatale — Mia Warner, played by none other than TV's favorite 'Scandal'-ous woman, Kerry Washington.
Mia comes to town as a homeless woman with a teenage daughter in tow and Elena's generosity and political correctness make her offer the Warrens a place to stay at their rental.
Mia and her daughter Pearl's dynamics are one to die for in the beginning, which is a start contrast with Elena and her four kids' — two girls, and two boys, all teenagers.
Out of them, Izzy, the youngest, loves to rebel against her mother the most, in her classic 14-year-old avatar — something that can only be seen to be aggravated by Mia's presence in their lives when Elena invites her to work at their mansion as the help.
While Mia seems to be influencing Elena's youngest, the teaser also hints at Pearl being influenced by Elena at odd moments.
Whether this is a clash of egos or trying to establish dominance, it's not known yet, but soon unfurls a tale of mystery and dangerous thrill that makes Elena think Mia is a big threat to her family and not just because her artistic influence on Izzy keeps growing.
The teaser hints at a possible dangerous past Mia might have lived as former landlord references can't identify her, and at one point, Pearl can be seen to be so antagonized by her mother than she accuses Mia of not being fully honest with her.
The teaser ends with Elena warning Mia that she knows about Mia's little secret, to which the other woman asks with spite, "Are you threatening me?" It's quite possible that Mia set the Richardson's house ablaze in a fit of rage, or could it be someone totally unsuspicious, like little Izzy?
Find out this Wednesday, March 18, as 'Little Fires Everywhere' premieres with two brand new episodes only on Hulu.