Nine Perfect Strangers - What We Know So Far

Nicole Kidman is teaming up for a third time with television writer and creator David E. Kelley, and it looks to be another hit. Kidman first appeared on a show created by Kelley with HBO's wildly popular "Big Little Lies" in 2017 (and its second season in 2019). She then starred in another of Kelley's projects, also for HBO, "The Undoing" in 2020.

This year, the two are bringing their collaboration to Hulu with the upcoming miniseries "Nine Perfect Strangers," which Kelley co-created with John Henry Butterworth. "Nine Perfect Strangers" tells the story of a mysterious 10-day wellness retreat. The show is based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, aka the author of "Big Little Lies." Kelley and Butterworth will serve as co-showrunners and co-writers on the series, while Kidman will act as executive producer in addition to starring (via IndieWire).

Considering so many of the same players are involved, fans of "Big Little Lies" are bound to check out "Nine Perfect Strangers" as soon as it's released on the streaming service. For those curious, here's everything we know so far about the upcoming show.

As of now, Hulu has not yet announced the release date for "Nine Perfect Strangers." We do know that the series has wrapped up its filming, which Kidman announced on her Instagram on December 21, 2020. Kidman wrote in her post, "Sending big love and infinite thanks to all cast and all the crew who made this possible in 2020, WOW." She ended the post by saying that the series will be "coming to you in 2021."

While Kidman's post doesn't exactly narrow it down to a timeframe specific enough to satisfy curious viewers, we at least know we'll see the episodes sometime this year. Further, IndieWire speculated a summer release date, which feels about right.

Considering a short teaser trailer was released by Hulu on April 25, it looks like a summer release date could be on track. For reference, Hulu released the teaser trailer for the fourth season of "The Handmaid's Tale" in late February (with a full length trailer about a month later), and that season will premiere on April 28. If this is any indication of Hulu's release system, then it seems highly likely that "Nine Perfect Strangers" will get a late June release date.

As mentioned, Kidman will star in the series as Masha, the self-help guru in charge of the wellness program. Alongside Kidman, the cast includes other recognizable faces, including Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, Samara Weaving, Manny Jacinto, Luke Hall, and Michael Shannon. The cast is rounded out by Melvin Gregg, Tiffany Boone, Regina Hall, Asher Keddie and Grace Van Patten.

While not many details have been released about the characters they'll be playing, Decider provided a short description of a few key players based on the book. In the novel, Weaving's character, Jessica, has recently developed an obsession with plastic surgery, while Shannon's Napoleon is grappling with the grief of losing a child. McCarthy's character, Frances — who, in the trailer, seems to be the most prominent character after Kidman's Masha — is a romance novelist struggling with a recent rejection. Meanwhile, Jacinto will play Yao, Masha's right-hand man at the resort.

According to Hulu's description, the series "takes place at a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation as nine stressed city dwellers try to get on a path to a better way of living." At the heart of the resort is Masha, who oversees the 10-day retreat. She's described as "a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies." As idyllic as this scenario sounds for the "nine perfect strangers," the program will prove to be unlike anything they could've imagined or expected.

In an interview with The Guardian, the book's author Liane Moriarty revealed her inspiration for writing "Nine Perfect Strangers" came from a fascination with "desire we all have for transformation," and the idea of self-improvement, in general. She continued, "I can never [resist] an article that says, 'Just change this one thing about your life and you'll be transformed forever' — even though you know when you click on it, it won't work, I find it irresistible."

We can expect the show to explore the same idea that Moriarity credited as her inspiration — the ways in which people are drawn into the concept of improving themselves, and the ways in which it tends to play out differently than expected. Hopefully the full length trailer, once Hulu releases it, will give us more information on the upcoming show.