Plenty of lively comic timing brings 'Dead to Me' to life

In the peak TV era, we've become accustomed to streaming services serving as the platform for the small-screen appearances of big-screen stars. What are not as usual these days are shows that feature the work of veteran television actors.

The new 10-part dramedy Dead to Me from creator Liz Feldman (2 Broke Girls) offers a corrective to that, bringing veteran TV stars Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini together for a somewhat uneven but undeniably watchable showcase for the two actresses' talents.

On the surface the show may appear to be a younger woman's Grace and Frankie, but the laughs here are far darker and there's a noirish subplot that creates an uneasy mix between buddy movie and murder mystery.

Jen Harding (Applegate) is a high-level real estate agent mourning the recent death of her husband after a hit-and-run accident. At a grief counselling group she meets the free-spirited and over-eager Judy Hale (Cardellini) and before you know it the two women - drawn together by their seeming mutual losses - are getting personal during late-night phone calls and hangout sessions.

The only problem is that - as is revealed in the show's opening episode - Judy isn't the widow she's claiming to be but rather the depressed, retirement-home art-teaching victim of a recent failed pregnancy and break-up with well-to-do ex-boyfriend Steve (Scott Marsden).

Jen - facing the difficulties of raising her two sons without a father and having to deal with her terror of a mother-in-law, surprisingly forgives Judy for her dishonesty and invites her to move into her garden cottage. As things progress, more secrets emerge and the question becomes, will Jen expose Judy's darkest secret and what will she do when she does?

Applegate and Cardellini are both veterans of '90s sitcoms - Applegate from the popularly crass Married with Children and Cardellini from the short-lived but cult teen-comedy Freaks and Geeks. They both have plenty of charm and sharp comic timing and there is a visible, easy-going chemistry between the pair that makes up for some of the unevenness in tone of Dead to Me, which often veers too quickly between its murder mystery and female-bonding elements, leading to a difficult mix of pathos and humour that is jarring at times.

However, there's plenty left to appreciate about the performances of Applegate and Cardellini and the show's focus on the dilemmas and challenges faced by women left alone. Its thriller elements may become a little tiring but its comic focus and execution is much more assured and, should it return, it would perhaps be worth everyone's efforts to keep the show focused on its obvious strengths rather than try too hard to rely on twists and thrills that distract it from doing what it does best.

As a darkly comic female buddy show anchored by two deft performances from two veteran television actors, there's more than enough to recommend Dead to Me, but as a mystery thriller it has little new or interesting to offer in an oversaturated genre.

• 'Dead to Me' is available on Netflix.