For heartbroken Anna (Kristen Bell), every day is the same. She sits with her wine, staring out the window, watching life go by without her. But when a handsome neighbor (Tom Riley) and his adorable daughter (Samsara Yett) move in across the street, Anna starts to see a light at the end of the tunnel. That is, until she witnesses a gruesome murder.

… Or did she?

The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window  will keep you laughing as you figure out the mystery of this binge-worthy whodunnit.

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window Review

The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window (henceforth shortened to Woman in the House, for everyone’s sanity) takes a swing at the surge of recent thrillers. You know, the kind that follows some sort of unreliable female protagonist who unwittingly ends up swept into solving a heinous crime. (The Woman in the Window… The Girl on the Train… you get the picture.)

Kristen Bell plays the unreliable female protagonist in question. Anna’s convinced she’s seen the woman across the street get murdered through her front window. But she was also mixing prescription meds for hallucinations with a buttload of wine at the time, so… Needless to say, the police didn’t appreciate her nearly incoherent 911 call. Or the complete lack of a body or evidence at the supposed scene of the crime.

But Anna is really, really sure that murder really happened. So if the police won’t investigate, she’ll just have to take matters into her own hands.

Kristen Bell in The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window

Walking the tightrope between thrills and laughs

Bell likened working on The Woman in the House to being a tightrope walker. “I had to balance on the thinnest line between sincerity and jokes,” she described in an early interview.

And that’s really the key to Woman in the House’s success: it pulls off the tightrope walk between thriller and comedy like Cirque du Soleil. 

The series delivers eight short (most under 30 minute) episodes. Every single one gets laughs, but also comes jam-packed with twists and new developments in the murder mystery plot. Yeah, it’s poking fun at these kinds of thrillers, but in a loving way. You can tell The Woman in the House was made by people who really understand what audiences love about a good thriller, and put in the work to make those story beats shine through every step of the way. It’s ridiculous – but aren’t all these kinds of thrillers a bit ridiculous? 

The Woman in the House works because it’s genuinely funny (Bell taking casseroles uber-seriously got me every time) but it also never skimps on the mystery driving the plot. You’re going to be invested in unraveling this crime (if there even was a crime!) step by step, right alongside Anna.

Kristen Bell in The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window

Tropes on tropes, and still subverting expectations

The Woman in the House taps into a trope after murder mystery trope, but uses them to build out its twists, humor, and characters in unexpected ways. When you expect the worst of people, you’re usually proven wrong. And when you expect the best of people… you’re still usually proven wrong. And every new trope and twist development weave together into a show I can only describe as “extremely bingeable.” 

Here’s a few no-context elements from the series to pique your interest: chicken casserole, ventriloquism, ombrophobia, the world’s most difficult-to-fix mailbox, canvas paintings, a creepy attic, raccoon taxidermy, school fundraisers, the tragic recurring loss of vintage pottery, massive quantities of red wine, and a very fun cameo right at the end.

I mean, come on. You gotta know how that all ties into a murder, right?

The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window  premieres on Netflix January 28.

Keep Reading:

Top 5 Best Murder Mysteries Of All Time