'No Good Deed' Fails as a Dark Comedy With its Simple Plot

With a star-studded cast and Liz Feldman as the creator, everyone has been expecting a lot from the dark comedy Netflix series 'No Good Deed’, but it does not deliver.

The series opens with an open house at Paul (Ray Romano) and Lydia (Lisa Kudrow) Morgan’s 1920s Spanish-style villa in Derby Drive,  Los Angeles, introducing the prospective buyers for the house.

Sarah (Poppy Liu) and Leslie (Abbie Jacobson), a lawyer and doctor couple, have been dreaming about living in the neighborhood for too long and Morgans’ home is their ideal home.

Dennis (O-T Fagbenle) and Carla (Teyonah Parris) are also parents-to-be who want to start afresh in a new home with their child. Dennis’s mother wants to contribute to the purchase of the new house and move in with them, which is a point of tension between the couple.

The last prospective buyer couple is soap star JD Campbell (Luke Wilson) and his shopaholic wife Margo (Linda Cardellini). They are already neighbors to the Morgans but are also interested in buying their place since they want to downsize.

Although Paul is very willing to sell the place, Lydia is hesitant, which creates a lot of tension between the couple, leading the viewer to understand that there is more to the story than they let on. To add to their troubles, Paul’s brother Mike (Denis Leary) gets released from prison.

The plot is executed in a typical way with an introduction of a long line of characters, each with secrets of their own, which is supposed to add edge to them and the plot. However, these secrets are not as shocking as they are projected to be, adding nothing new to the plot.

Nonetheless, with Paul and Lydia’s secret, the creators play with the viewers expectations, continuously deceiving us, which is the only thing keeping the viewers hooked to the series.

The show’s focus on the Derby Drive neighborhood shows a contrast between the Morgans’ home and the Campbells’ home. The Spanish villa was first lived in by Paul’s family in the 70s and later on by Paul, Lydia, and their two children, making it more homely. The house has more history with Lydia’s grandmother’s piano and it definitely is classier with its cozy fireplace, earthy colors, arched windows with leaded stained-glass detailing, and wooden flooring.

On the other hand, the Campbells’ home is definitely modern with its no-handle kitchen cupboards, faucets with sensors, marble floors, a sleek staircase, a grand pink pianoforte, and a spacious dressing room. It might be the epitome of modern luxury, but viewers will definitely agree when Lydia says, “It’s like a Vegas brothel in here”. The house reveals Margo’s ostentatious personality and reflects the emotional void in the Campbells family caused by JD and Margo's troubled marriage.

This visual contrast between the two main families’ homes complements the development of the characters and the connections between them.

However, the dark humor of the series shows how the creators have tried too hard, failing to deliver the punch. ‘No Good Deed’ as a dark comedy simply does not work, which is revealed by its many failed attempts at dark jokes like when Leslie says, “Sure a lot of Indigenous people were also murdered on the block, if that helps”. The creators should have simply stuck to the mystery genre for this series, which would have helped to create a more riveting story.

The problem with ‘No Good Deed’ is that the creators worked really hard to keep a distance from the complicated nature of the series’ genres, trying to create a cozy and humorous mystery, which people will love. The dark comedy, the mystery, and the race between the buyers to secure the Morgans’ home would have benefitted from well-developed complexities, but the creators seem to have prioritized simplicity too much.

One can create a complex and dark story without depressing viewers, so the question is why did the creators of ‘No Good Deed’ not do that?

In an interview with Variety, Feldman has hinted at a potential second season, but it is best this story ends here.