Grosse Pointe Garden Society Brings A Campy, Dual Timeline Murder To An Affluent Garden Club

We know whodunnit, but who is the dead body? That’s the big question in NBC’s new dramedy Grosse Pointe Garden Society.

Set the the affluent suburb of Grosse Pointe, Detroit, our four leads are unlikely conspirators from different backgrounds who come together at an elite garden club. We meet English teacher Alice (AnnaSophia Robb) who’s in-laws want her to settle down, but she’s not ready to give up her dreams of writing in New York. There’s her best friend Brett (Ben Rappaport) who may harbor feelings for her. He is a divorced dad who put his own dreams aside for his ex-wife and regrets it. Catherine (Aja Naomi King) is a type A perfectionist and realtor with a secret affair that threatens to ruin her life. Finally there’s Birdie (Melissa Fumero) who is new to the gardening crew. She is more than meets the eye as an it girl sentenced to community service after a DUI.

We follow them across two timelines. The present where we’re introduced to their lives and the potential victims causing them turmoil that they may want to get rid of, and six months later as they work together to cover up the murder. The questions of who was killed, how, and why are teased throughout each episode, but even after the first four episodes (which were available for press to review) we still don’t have a solid answer.

While the mystery may feel drawn out and slow moving, Grosse Pointe Garden Society has a stellar ensemble cast that will keep you coming back for more. With trust issues, motives galore, and copious amount of gardening puns, there is a lot of over-the-top fun to be had. It’s got an addicting quality to it that made me wish I could binge watch the entire season in one sitting — and Aja Naomi King and Melissa Fumero being huge stand outs definitely played into that.

King is pitch perfect as usual in the role of a woman who is both fragile and strong in the face of the rumor mill of this small town, while Fumero delivers a surprising performance that we haven’t seen from her before. Her character is deeply complex as she balances both an it girl storyline and a deeper subplot about the son she gave up for adoption.

With the campy energy of predecessors like Desperate Housewives and Good Girls, Grosse Pointe Garden Society will have you hooked as you delve deeper into the lives of our four leads… and impatiently waiting to learn who our victim is.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society premieres on NBC on February 23, with new episodes dropping weekly and available the next day on Peacock.