Russian Doll is a modern day interpretation of the Groundhog Day. While the theme itself is quite cliché and played out, Russian Doll brings in Netflix’s awesome production to create a mostly enjoyable series. With eight short episodes this is basically the length of a long movie, perfect length which prevents the series from feeling draggy. It’s short enough that it does not have to delve deeply into philosophy but long enough for the characters to evolve organically. I also love the non-judgmental tone of the series. Not surprising, given that one of creators of the show is Amy Poehler, the goddess of wholesomeness.

Natasha Lyonne brings to life a very colorful protagonist, with deep scars and hidden and obviously suppressed emotions, bordering on overacting. Instead of keeping this character shallow and keep the series a light, fun one, as would have been the easy thing to do, the series goes to explore it gradually, as suggested explicitly in the name of the series.

The story itself seems forced at times but because the series is so short the series gets over before you have time to complain. The editing though is exceptional and so is the character development. The theme of the series forces it to be all about its characters, and while the character development is very formulaic it is done in a manner that makes it quite satisfactory to watch, again the short length of the series plays a big part in this. And I love the soundtrack, adding to the psychedelic nature of the experience in the series. Any filmmaker who understands music and its effect on scenes and uses it properly gets the job done with half the effort.

And the elephant in the room, most of the main characters in the series are women, and in this series it feels natural unlike a ghastly female remake of ghostbusters.