The Genius of the first First Wives Club

The title says it all.

I loved, loved, loved The First Wives Club, the 1996 film, and I adore Michelle Buteau. I, therefore, expected to also thoroughly enjoy The First Wives Club, the series. I did not.

Okay, this is hyperbole. I did find the first season entertaining, but I am not so sure I’ll watch seasons two and three.

Perhaps there is a healthy dose of bias in this assessment, but we simply cannot base new work on existing magical, massively entertaining, cult classic work and not make the new work equally, if not more, incredible. My expectations were obviously quite high for the series, but to think that I only caught two references to the original art…I mean, this is not an homage.

It is possible that the series, yes, wanted to honor the film and also stand on its own, but a lot of me wishes that they had titled the series differently.

Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton, the actresses playing the leads in the film, aren’t considered living legends for no reason. Each has several posts on which to lay their claim to fame. This includes four Academy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, three…