The Hunting Wives, based on a book by Mai Cobb who also co-produced the series, is an enjoyable mix of thriller and social satire, with characters resembling those from successful reality shows.
The series begins with the classic “fish out of water” story.
Here Sophie (Brittany Snow moves with her husband Graham (Owen Youngkate) from Boston to the American South, a land of Confederate flags where almost everyone has more than one weapon.
Sophie meets Margo (Malin Ackerman), the wife of Jed, the local powerful man and her husband’s boss, who is preparing to run for governor.
From the very first meeting between the two women in the restroom, there is an obvious tension. Margo, outgoing and sexual, charms Sophie and turns her into a “hunter” in several senses of the word.
The American South has a prominent place in literature and popular culture as representing the “other” of mainstream American life.
Writers have described life in the South with exaggerated grotesque elements.
In film and television, the South is presented as mysterious and decadent.
The Hunting Wives continues this tradition in its unique way.
It combines sharp satire about the South with a plot full of blood and passions.
The women engage in Botox injections, drink alcohol at all hours, and hunt wild boars for leisure.
The “queen” of this group, Margo, rules them firmly.
She hides a dark past, which she shares in common with Sophie, the new member of her clique.
The murder mystery in the series exposes corruption and hypocrisy in the Southern ethos, which presents a façade of religious piety and family values.
From Margo and her husband involved in various sexual games to the young pastor Pete (Paul Til), who is supposed to advise youth but seems more engaged in developing sexual fantasies about them. The series depicts a decadent world where relationships between mothers and daughters, siblings, and men and their wives all involve some form of perversion.
It shows daring scenes even by current American TV standards.
The series also raises questions about identity and sexual orientation, presenting unconventional versions of masculinity and femininity.
The tough sheriff (Brenton Box) is not exactly what he seems, as revealed in his relationship with his wife Kylie (Jamie Ray Newman).
Despite its slightly sleazy tone, the series addresses serious issues in contemporary America. It deals with abortion, immigration, and the right to bear arms the ease with which anyone can purchase and use weapons, often with deadly results.
The Hunting Wives is not prudish or moralistic.
The distinction between “good” and “bad” characters blurs at every moment, up to its open ending.
As a thriller, it may be less convincing, but it succeeds in keeping viewers guessing at least some of the time.
Its strength is in its comedic and dramatic extremity, depicting a universe where anything can happen and almost everything does.
There is little psychological depth in character description, although some flashbacks try to explain the protagonists’ past, yet it presents an engaging story that is easy to get drawn into.
Towards the end of the series, it even references its connection to reality shows when one character is offered a role in a reality series.
This wink to viewers shows that this exaggerated, larger-than-life story mirrors social and political reality, especially in times when public figures act as reality stars.