Land of Women premieres Wednesday, June 26 on Apple TV+.
Summer is the time to take pleasure in a bit of TV getaway, and Apple TV+’s Land of Women is an enthralling streaming equal of a trip seaside learn. (It’s primarily based on a e-book, too: Sandra Barneda’s bestselling novel La Tierra de las Mujeres.) Mostly shot on location within the Spanish autonomy of Catalonia, the sequence immediately transports us together with protagonist Gala (Eva Longoria), her 17-year-old daughter, Kate (Victoria Bazúa), and her getting old mom, Julia (Carmen Maura), to the vineyards of Julia’s hometown, the picturesque La Muga. It’s removed from a contented homecoming: Free-spirited Julia left Spain 50 years in the past below a scandalous cloud, dropping contact with each her youthful sister and the place the place she got here of age. Julia’s repute hasn’t softened with time, nor has her splendidly unapologetic strategy to interacting with the gossipy neighborhood of La Muga. There are echoes of Mamma Mia! to this setup, and Land of Women total – it takes a number of cues (minus the singing) from the beloved island rom-com, at the same time as it really works its personal “returning to your roots” angle with aplomb.
It additionally wastes no time displaying the luxurious life Gala is abandoning – one which was upended by her husband’s felony enterprise dealings. Land of Women’s opening sequence units the stakes excessive, juxtaposing the opening of Gala’s wine store with threats to her life and people of Kate and Julia. Unfortunately, there’s an air of hazard missing right here, as each single plot twist in these six episodes is telegraphed. With so many rom-com elements within the combine – slapstick meet-cutes, sexually charged arguments – Land of Women struggles to strike a correct stability each time it makes an attempt a extra critical tone. Gala fears she, Kate, and Julia will undergo the implications of the $15 million debt racked up by her MIA husband, Fred (James Purefoy). But the 2 henchmen dispatched to search for Gala in Spain are so thinly drawn and cartoonish, it seems like a “Bang!” flag may fly out of their weapons at any second.
But Land of Women isn’t with out its highlights. The household dynamics and the stress inside the city of La Muga are allowed to breathe – even when Gala takes a steamroller strategy to her declare to some property within the city. While the dialogue is multilingual (English, Spanish, and Catalan are all spoken onscreen), Gala can’t assist however reside as much as the “conceited American” label she’s branded with following her first encounter with city heartthrob Amat (Santiago Cabrera). Gala doesn’t play the dumb vacationer, however her entitlement could be off-putting if she weren’t additionally on the receiving finish of comical misfortunes like getting drenched by a sudden rainstorm or being sprayed with mud. This is one place the place Land of Women’s predictability is a bonus: The second we see Gala dressed head-to-toe in cream, we all know she’s asking for a visit to the dry cleaner. Longoria has nice bodily comedy timing, and Land of Women places that expertise to nice use.
There’s super screwball vitality in Gala’s interactions with Amat, and Longoiria’s crackling chemistry reverse Cabrera rapidly makes you overlook there’s a hoop on Gala’s finger. That’s removed from the one impediment to a possible union, and their potential romance is well-paced. Even extra rewarding is watching Gala, Julia, and Kate work together with one another. Each withholds in their very own manner, however nothing is stronger than this trio when their backs are towards the wall. Julia’s well being and the early phases of dementia make her return to La Muga all of the extra poignant; the identical goes for the best way flashbacks to her youth intersect with the current day. It’s in these scenes, the place forgiveness and household overlap, that Land of Women’s emotional whiplash is the least jarring.
Kate is on the verge of maturity, and the trans teen doesn’t have the best time discovering her voice. While she doesn’t know why her mom pulled her out of boarding college for a shock ladies’ journey together with her grandmother, there may be an underlying rigidity to Kate having to supply hormone medicine in a small city that’s expertly and sensitively navigated by creators Ramón Campos, Gema R. Neira, and Paula Fernández. Newcomer Bazúa astounds in her first TV position, matching Longoria and Maura’s vitality, emotion, and playfulness. Even when the goofier elements of the story threaten to stomp on its subtler notes, the three stars stay infinitely watchable.
The individuals and surroundings of La Muga present additional causes to tune in. The vineyards aren’t only a superfluous backdrop – there’s an intoxication to watching the ladies who work there plying their craft (even when we’re getting the CliffsNotes model). If nothing else, Land of Women made me crave a purple wine from a small city in Catalonia. The native tourism board owes a giant thanks to Campos, Neira, and Fernández.
While Land of Women’s premise – and the quantity of story it incorporates – may fall into “may’ve been a film” territory, it does present its main girls extra depth than a two-hour runtime would enable. In reality, by the tip of the finale, I used to be already hoping for a second season. It won’t be breaking new floor in its depiction of a girl who loses all of it, solely to seek out one thing extra helpful the place she least expects it, however even in its paint-by-numbers moments, Land of Women offers the kind of escapism you need from a sunshine-soaked tipple.
