REVIEW: ‘Sirens’ (2025) Could Certainly Be Worse

Sirens (2025) doesn’t quite know what type of show it wants to be. Unleashing an overreliance on slapstick humor with a sobering throughline at the center, the latest streamer to grace the Netflix barrage of “content” has its charms but is ultimately vapid. If and when the series flirts with bouts of depth, it rears back into something hokier and sillier. It makes for an uneven and disorienting experience across the five-episode limited series.

A shrill Meghann Fahy stars as Devon DeWitt, a woman with a lifetime of playing caretaker at her wits’ end. Coping with an ailing father with early-onset dementia, we first meet her after a night in jail following her second DUI arrest. Further enraging her is the clinical edible arrangement she finds at the doorstep of her and her father’s home, mailed from her younger sister.

It’s this graceless, detached effort – an arbitrary suggestion of ‘best regards’ or condolences – that finds Devon storming her way to the island where her sister, Simone (Milly Alcock), is currently working as the assistant to the billionaire Michaela Kell (Julianne Moore). Upon arrival, Devon realizes something isn’t quite right, noticing the weirdly intimate and codependent dynamic between Simone and her boss. After two aggressive attempts at begging Simone to help her care for their father, Devon decides to try a different mode of infiltration to get her sister out of Michaela’s grasp.

Created by Molly Smith Metzler and based on her 2011 play Elemeno Pea, Sirens (2025) is entertaining, good even, in quick bursts. There’s nuance to how the writing deals with the trauma that both sisters have carried due to their parents’ neglect. And there’s humor when the largely talented cast comes together, a dinner scene surrounding the Bills being a particular highlight (though this is helped immensely by Josh Segarra who brightens any series he’s in.) But too often it gets lost in its own mythos and desire to make a mystery out of an intense character-driven drama.

Milly Alcock and Julianne Moore carry Sirens (2025). 

The black comedy aspect also doesn’t always work, especially in the early episodes. Fahy’s star is rising, but her attempts at broad comedy fall flat and set the stage for a looser series that it ultimately isn’t. It’s not long before the series pivots into darker territory, with Episode 2 ending with a character having a severe panic attack behind closed doors. Fahy isn’t totally to blame here with the writing somehow striking a peculiar balance between Fiona from Shameless and any given Kaitlin Olsen role, not helped by Glenn Howerton playing a playboy coasting on a rapidly diminishing trust fund.

The rest of the cast only highlights Fahy’s limitations. The seasoned pros, such as Howerton, who is endlessly hilarious, Moore, and Kevin Bacon as Michaela’s husband, are great, but it’s Alcock who steals the show. Alcock is tremendous as Simone, adding layers to a character who, at first glance, is purely a foil for Devon’s perfectly curated messiness. But whenever the writing taps into Simone’s insecurity and issues with her mental health, Alcock shines. But she doesn’t soften the edges of her character, such as when Simone lashes out at Devon.

The strongest dynamic is the one between Simone and Michaela, mainly due to the chemistry between Alcock and Moore. Their relationship is odd and off-putting, with Michaela crawling into Simone’s bed to sleep after being disturbed at night. Michaela is trying to be a boss, mother, and friend, muddying the waters of what a safe and reliable work relationship should be. And it’s some of the most intriguing parts of the series, especially as we learn just how susceptible Simone is to this type of behavior.

But for everything that works, there’s plenty that falls short. If it’s not the plodding attempts at humor or performances that rely on noise and gestures, it’s the abrasive Talbots styling, beige cinematography, and production-line direction. But what’s really frustrating is the way the series cuts itself off at the knees with bad and unrealistic dialogue. From the two sisters screaming at one another about who is the most traumatized to an outsized reaction towards Segarra’s Raymond, and an entire subplot about clam chowder, nothing feels natural.

Already on rocky footing, the Netflix series fumbles the ending. 

I don’t make it a habit to hang out with the rich. So there’s a chance that this is actually how these people talk when they’re in private and dealing with rich people’s “problems.” But there are moments where Sirens (2025) fails to convince that the writers have ever spoken to another human being, which is surely, in part, the point of the series – to dunk on out-of-touch elites. And, in that regard, the more the merrier. However, the series falters because it fails to remember the critical truth when writing strong narratives. Even in the most outlandish stories, there needs to be an element of truth.

It’s a shame because, again, there are threads that work just fine. But Sirens (2025) busies itself with too many unnecessary stories and characters that distract from the best parts of the show. It’s one of the few instances where a Netflix series could afford to be longer to allow the story a chance to breathe rather than forcing itself to juggle too many plots and ever-shifting character dynamics.

Instead, the series doesn’t earn its ending. For a series where the women are the focus, their siren call driving most of the drama, the men, Bacon’s Peter in particular, are let off the hook. But the characters’ choices are particularly glaring for how nonsensical they are. They’re written that way to make easy drama and hinder the plot and effectiveness of the series because of it. The rich will gobble you up and spit you out, and it’s human nature to try and secure yourself. And still, these thematic undercurrents don’t prepare us for the confounding decisions they all ultimately make.

Sirens (2025) is an easy and enticing binge that fails to meet the bar that most of the actors bring to the table. If nothing else, it proves that Millie Alcock is a star who is ready for bigger and better things.

Sirens (2025) is out now on Netflix.