Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
    Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2 But Why Tho 10

    Spider-Man Is Coming To Magic And It’s Just Like The Comics

    08/29/2025
    Star Wars Visions Volume 3 Black

    ‘Black’ Sets The Tone For A Bold New Mixtape In ‘Star Wars Visions: Volume 3’

    08/28/2025
    Olivia Colman in The Roses

    ‘The Roses’ Is A Reimagining, Not A Remake, And That’s Why It Works So Well

    08/27/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » TV » REVIEW: Family Is Everything In ‘No Good Deed’

REVIEW: Family Is Everything In ‘No Good Deed’

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez12/19/20246 Mins ReadUpdated:12/19/2024
No Good Deed But Why Tho 3
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Putting up a for sale sign is a big step. Sometimes, it’s about opening up a new chapter in your life; alternatively, it’s about running away from the last. Either way, selling a family home is a really interesting time, to say the least. Emmy award-winning showrunner Liz Feldman brings her brand of dark comedy to Netflix with No Good Deed. In addition to showrunner duties, Feldman serves as the series’ director with Silver Tree, and writer with Madie Dhaliwal, Cara DiPaolo, Kelly Hutchinson, and Crystal Jenkins.

A series all about the highs and lows of searching for a safe, happy home and what people do to maintain it all, No Good Deed makes the most of its short episode count. The Morgan family abode is at the center of this story. Freshly on the market, Lydia Morgan (Lisa Kudrow) and Paul Morgan (Ray Romano) put their home up for sale. A gorgeous 1920s Spanish-style villa located in one the most desirable neighborhoods in Los Angeles, it’s no surprise when buyers start lining up at their door.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Multiple families all race to buy what they believe to be their dream house convinced it will fix all of their very different problems. Leslie (Abbi Jacobson) and Sarah (Poppy Liu) try to develop the land, but they disagree about having kids. Carla (Teyonah Parris) and Dennis (O-T Fagbenle) are starting their family, but the speed with which they’ve moved has thrown them for more than a loop as an intrusive mom, Denise (Anna Maria Horsford) forces herself to be included in every decision.

And then there are JD (Luke Wilson) and Margo (Linda Cardellini), two rich neighbors who don’t live too far away. An actor and his young wife, this couple is probably the most explored in the series, but that doesn’t mean that the remaining buyers don’t get their time. JD and Margo are also probably the worst people in the series. While JD is just a man in love with a woman who he easily lets take advantage of him, Margo’s lies mount high, and Cardellini does quick work of establishing herself as the series’ antagonist.

Linda Cardellini stuns as Margo in No Good Deed.

No Good Deed (2024) - Netflix

But that’s not a bad thing. For her part, Cardellini is absolutely excellent. Margo isn’t used to getting told no, and despite clearly lying about her age, she also isn’t used to being questioned. While the other families vying for Morgan’s home are likable if not misunderstood, Margo’s obsession with the home quickly borders on troubling.

As Margo begins to do whatever is necessary to buy the Morgans’ family home, the real problem emerges. Lydia and Paul aren’t on the same page. While Paul has been waiting to sell the home so that he won’t need to disclose that his son died there, Lydia sees their home as her last connection to Jacob (Wyatt Aubrey).

Lightbulbs flicker, and Lydia is deadset on believing that their son never left. But as the real estate frenzy picks up, Lydia and Paul begin to butt heads until they’re forced to work together. The couple knows that sometimes the home of your dreams can be a true nightmare, but they also can’t seem to detach themselves from it. However, when Paul’s brother (Denis Leary) makes a blackmailing stop by the home, Paul and Lydia realize that the only way they’ll escape the past is to face it and finally open up about the truth.

While the family may be at a crossroads, the truth is that their son Jacob’s death is less tied to dark secrets and more to a tragedy that turned the Morgan house inside out with guilt and regret. Through flashbacks, we see the Morgan family’s past in their Los Feliz house, both in good times and in bad.

No Good Deed isn’t necessarily as much about a mystery as it is about Lydia and Paul working to protect their last remaining child, their daughter Emily (Chloe East). As you learn more about the Morgan family, the truth is that love runs deeper than fear, even if that love keeps them from giving any buyer and each other the full disclosure they deserve.

Lisa Kudrow and Ray Ramano understand chemistry in this Netflix series.

No Good Deed - Netflix

Lisa Kudrow and Ray Ramano play fantastically off of each other. Their chemistry works because only a family that loves each other so deeply can get under each other’s skin like Lydia and Paul do. But even when they find themselves at odds continuously, their bickering and foundational disagreements shift as the series continues. They aren’t immovable people, but they are hurt people.

The beauty of their relationship happens when the major changes in their life aren’t just selling their home. As harsh truths start to surface, the audience begins to understand that the huge secret they’ve been keeping from their buyers and their families has been a labor of love.

Over the course of the series, Lydia and Paul cope with grief and family revelations, and each damning clue that emerges as the buyers try to play hardball makes everything more complicated. The show’s take on dark comedy isn’t necessarily tied to every damning new clue. Instead, it’s baked into every offhand comment, every small cut away to the prospective buyers and their lives, and most importantly, it’s in the mistakes and comedy of errors that keep happening.

No Good Deed isn’t as dark as creator Liz Feldman’s previous work on Dead to Me, but it doesn’t have to be. Instead, the genre-shifting limited series raises its stakes repeatedly, and the shocking discoveries don’t stop even up until the last episode. This is especially true as the rich couple next door attempts to move in on their property more and more.

While Kudrow and Ramano are the unequivocal stars of the series, Cardellini’s Margo is a standout in the ensemble cast. She’s mean, cold, and absolutely narcissistic. And yet, you can’t help but love her as much as you hate her. No Good Deed may be less impactful than Dead to Me, but it is worthwhile. It’s dark, fun, and absolutely a series that shows that older actors really can expand their filmographies in interesting ways.

No Good Deed is streaming exclusively on Netflix. 

No Good Deed
  • 7.5/10
    Rating - 7.5/10
7.5/10

TL;DR

No Good Deed may be less impactful than Dead to Me, but it is worthwhile. It’s dark, fun, and absolutely a series that shows that older actors really can expand their filmographies in interesting ways.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleThe Best 10 RPGs Of 2024
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Blue Box’ Episode 12 — “Girls…”
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Travis, Ned (Domnhall Gleeson), and Adelola in Season 1 of The Paper
6.0

REVIEW: ‘The Paper’ Season 1 Lacks Conviction

09/03/2025
Mitsuki Yamato Invasion Season 3 Episode 2 still from Apple TV+

RECAP: ‘Invasion’ Season 3 Episode 2 — “The Message”

09/02/2025
John Cena in Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2

RECAP: ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Episode 2 – “A Man Is Only As Good As His Bird”

08/29/2025
Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 promotional still from APple TV+
9.0

RECAP: ‘The Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 8 — “Skin In The Game”

08/29/2025
Ateez featured in KPOPPED
6.5

REVIEW: ‘KPOPPED’ Has Potential But Loses Its Spark

08/28/2025
Sydney Chandler in Alien Earth Episode 4
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Alien: Earth’ Episode 4 — “Observation”

08/26/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Cosmic Spider-Man card details Features

[EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

By Kate Sánchez09/02/2025Updated:09/02/2025

An exclusive look at a new 5-Color Spider entering Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set, and Cosmic Spider-Man is going to be a tough one to take on.

Hololive EN at Radio City Music Hall Events

Hololive EN At Radio City Music Hall Was A Pure Expression Of Fandom

By Adrian Ruiz08/31/2025Updated:09/03/2025

Hololive EN turned Radio City in New York City into the pure expression of fandom: chants, penlights, and community in perfect sync.

Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 promotional still from APple TV+
9.0
TV

RECAP: ‘The Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 8 — “Skin In The Game”

By Will Borger08/29/2025Updated:08/29/2025

Still barreling toward a knock-down, drag-out fight between Gaal and the Mule in Foundation Season 3 Episode 8 ups the stakes.

Karl Anthony Towns in NBA 2k26 But Why Tho
8.5
PS5

REVIEW: ‘NBA 2K26’ Brings Basketball To Life

By Kyle Foley09/03/2025

NBA 2K26 combines improved visuals with some important tweaks to keep the series feeling fresh in the latest yearly release.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here