Mistresses Season 1 - DVD

Content: If a series is about four girlfriends beyond 30 in a big city, about love, sex and marriage, then the assumption is obvious that it is one of the numerous Sex and the City clones, which have seen the light of the TV landscape in recent years, sometimes more, sometimes less successful. Mistresses also leaves this impression at first glance. But only briefly, because it quickly turns out that this British TV series goes its own way.

The story, devised by SJ Clarkson (Toast) among others, centres on doctor Katie (Sarah Parish), widow Trudi (Sharon Small), married Siobhan (Orla Brady) and fun-loving single woman Jessica (Shelly Conn). For years Katie has been having an affair with her married patient John, whom she is helping to hasten his slow, painful death. But after John's death, his son Sam suddenly shows up, desperate to find out who his father's secret lover was. In the process, Katie and Sam become dangerously close. Trudi, on the other hand, who lost her husband Paul in the September 11 attacks, is trying to make it as a single mother. But when sympathetic single dad Richard shows interest in her, her life finally seems to be taking a positive direction. But then she learns a terrible truth about her Paul.

Siobhan and her husband Harry are also far from living a carefree life. Desperate to have a child, the couple try. Sex has long ceased to be a passionate experience, but rather a compulsion, which always leads to arguments. Siobhan therefore takes refuge in an affair with a colleague - with fatal consequences. And Jessica finally enjoys life to the fullest. She takes sex when and from whom she wants. A steady relationship is out of the question for her. But when she meets the attractive Alex (Fringe star Anna Trov), the future wife of a good friend, Jessica feels something like love for the first time.

The first season of Mistresses admittedly often makes use of familiar soap dramatics. Especially the relationship between Katie and her deceased lover's son tends strongly in that direction. But still, the series as a whole seems very true to life, the characters somehow real and not quite as exaggerated as is the case with many, especially American series. Even if there are amusing moments here and there, the basic tone is much more serious and dramatic than in Sex and the City. But that's a good thing, because it's precisely because of this that the series succeeds in stepping out of the oversized shadow of the US role model right from the start. After the first episode Mistresses no longer seems like a copy, but like a series in its own right, which can please with its convincing actors and good scripts.

So it's no wonder that it's hard to turn off the DVD player after only one episode. And before you know it, the first season is already over. What remains is the impression of best TV entertainment, an engaging production and exciting characters, in whose development one would like to continue to participate. Season 2 can't come fast enough. Absolutely recommended - especially, but truly not only for a female audience.

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation of the series is on a good TV level. The color scheme is coherent, the picture overall clean and pleasantly sharp. The sound is dominated by the dialogues, which are mixed a bit more frontally in the German language version, making the original English version sound a bit more harmonious. Overall, this gets a: Good!

Extras: As a bonus, there is a nearly 30-minute look behind the scenes on the second disc (with optional German subtitles), which consists of interviews, footage from the filming and clips from the individual episodes. Good, but not really mind-blowing. If you liked the series, though, definitely give it a look!

Conclusion: Mistresses is an entertaining drama series, which of course evokes associations with Sex and the City, but overall comes across as much more serious, dramatic and also more deeply rooted in reality. The six episodes of the first season are offered on two DVDs in good technical quality and supplemented with a worth seeing look behind the scenes. For lovers of good British TV entertainment, the adventures of these four Mistresses are absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp