Good Girls

Good Girls doesn’t always find the balance, but thanks to remarkable performances from its leads and a daring streak of risky storytelling, it’s a welcome addition to the procedural-heavy world of network drama.

Like its main characters, Good Girls, goes to unexpected places. Here’s hoping NBC viewers know a good, original show when they see it.

[Good Girls] is a pulpy, soapy delight that finds a new story to tell about good girls gone bad.

It feels like there’s a built-in shelf life for Good Girls, but watching these frazzled moms use their hard-won problem-solving skills to get out of scrapes is a fun caper while it lasts.

The show relies heavily on the strength of those three principals, and it has chosen wisely in Hendricks, Whitman, and Retta. ... Because Good Girls also operates like a character-driven family drama, the more tension-building aspects of the plot sometimes feels like they’re coming at you too fast.

Hendricks, Retta and Whitman give believably strong and collaborative performances as three people stuck in a dangerous mess. The supporting cast (especially Lillard) also provides a sound base from which the show can broaden its perspectives and subplots. While the show nimbly mixes action with you-go-girl snark, it occasionally stumbles in its fleeting and nominal nods to a feminist subtext, which should be self-evident and not needing an extra coat of empowerment to make it shine.

Good Girls feels like a cable show squished into a network-shaped box, but it's still generally more than watchable thanks to a trio of leading ladies--Christina Hendricks, Retta and Mae Whitman--who appear to be having a tremendous time playing funny, badass characters who are the focus of the show and not just wives or girlfriends.