Between the Judy Garland biopic Judy and this trailer for Netflix’s What/If, we must be in the midst of a Renée Zellweger renaissance—a Renee-ssaince, if you will. Gone are the days of Bridget Jones and her adorably tipsy diary entries. Here instead is Renée Zellweger making a young, enterprising couple an offer they can’t (won’t?) refuse. The upcoming Netflix series stars Zellweger as a mysterious wealthy woman who offers to fully-fund a couple’s business idea in exchange for a night alone with the husband. Sounds legit! The series, which also stars Jane Levy (Shameless), handsome hunk of cardboard Blake Jenner, and Westworld’s Louis Herthum (Dolores’ dad-bot), looks sort of clunky and overly-melodramatic in the vein of a Lifetime Original. Take this line, for instance: “The worst kind of victim is the one who chooses to create another.” Elegant! Netflix describes the series as a “neo-noir social thriller,” which, also: Sign me up.
Here’s the official synopsis for What/If, which premieres May 24 on Netflix:
Neo-noir social thriller What / If explores the ripple effects of what happens when acceptable people start doing unacceptable things. The season focuses on a mysterious woman’s lucrative but dubious offer to a cash-strapped pair of San Francisco newlyweds.