Virginia Sherwood/NBC Thomas Sadoski (l.) and Peter Sarsgaard in ‘The Slap’ "The Slap" just misses being as sharp in the execution as it is in the concept.
It’s easy to get sucked into the premise of this eight-part series, inspired by an Australian show.
Hector (Peter Sarsgaard) is turning 40 and his wife, Aisha (Thandie Newton), invites some family and friends for a party in their Brooklyn backyard.
There’s food, there’s drink, there’s conversation and then cousin Harry (Zachary Quinto) slaps 5-year-old Hugo (Dylan Schombing) because he’s out of control and swinging a bat.
It’s clear Hugo has serious problems, none of which are being solved by his mother, Rosie (Melissa George), because she has serious problems of her own.
Nonetheless, you don’t hit someone else’s kid, and the repercussions, intensified by Harry’s combative counter-response, start to blow up the whole family.
Jeff Reidel/NBC Marin Ireland and Zachary Quinto in ‘The Slap’ It’s an intriguing notion — and classic soap. As the pressure mounts, secrets begin to leak out and splatter all over the room.
“The Slap” promises to be solid drama. Whether it becomes great drama may depend on how extreme the characters become. If it’s too much, we would see less of ourselves in them and not feel the discomfort we should.
Also, the show needs to lose 90% of its voiceover, which tells us things we’re getting much more effectively from the drama.
The cast here is strong, including Marin Ireland as Harry’s wife and Thomas Sadoski as Hugo’s father. Credit them all and credit NBC for offering something out of the box.
- Title:
- 'The Slap'
- Network / Air Date:
- Thursday at 8 p.m., NBC