‘No Good Deed’: Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano Are a Wonderfully Flawed Couple Unloading a Home With a Dark Secret

Alci Rengifo

In a city like Los Angeles, those capable of buying an upscale house are part of a small group. The demand for a high-end 1920s Spanish-style property in Los Feliz becomes a darkly funny, ultimately moving gag in Netflix’s “No Good Deed.” It is another good ensemble series with the familiar touch of a crime mystery. Creator Liz Feldman doesn’t recycle the same murder mystery tropes but adapts some of that spirit to a particular home that harbors a devastating secret. As tends to be the case, the characters are be more engaging than the secret itself. Ray Romano and Lisa Kudrow lead the cast to comedic highs, while the real star is their coveted listing.

Paul (Romano) and Lydia (Kudrow) are an average middle class L.A. couple living in what is now an upper middle class neighborhood. He works as a contractor and she is a former pianist who once performed with the L.A. Phil. But trauma has left her too shaky to play. Now they are currently in a financial downturn and need to downsize. Paul has lived in this home his entire life and did many of the renovations himself. Then Paul’s sketchy brother, Mikey (Denis Leary), appears in their driveway. They share a past secret with him that will slowly unfold, one big enough for Mikey to blackmail the couple and demand a large quantity of cash. Now selling their home becomes even more urgent for Paul. Soon enough, there is a circle of potential buyers hovering around. 

The rest of the ensemble takes shape with excellent casting. Dennis (O-T Fagbenle) and Carla (Teyonah Parris) are newlyweds about to welcome a baby. Denise (Anna Maria Horsford), Sarah (Poppy Liu) and Leslie (Abbi Jacobson) are obsessed with the house for various reasons. Leslie is a prosecutor for the DA, which makes things more complicated for Paul and Lydia. JD (Luke Wilson) is an out-of-work actor unable to sustain the overly lavish home designed by his wife, “Margo” (Cardellini). Then there is Greg (Matt Rogers), the self-important real estate agent who has to keep everything and everyone in order. In a city where many hopeful actors are “real estate agents” as their backup option, Greg is a pitch perfect inside joke on being the ringmaster to those fortunate enough to be able to buy a luxury home. When Paul asks him for hard drugs, Greg feigns insults and then admits that, of course, he does coke. It’s L.A., after all. 

“No Good Deed” proceeds to swerve around its central mystery and the lives and wants of everyone involved. We get enough of each potential buyer’s own stories and unraveling secrets to care about them. Dennis and Carla are particularly engaging. Dennis’ overbearing mother, Denise (Anna Maria Horsford), wants to move to L.A. and live with the newlyweds to “help” with their baby. To avoid this, Carla wants to purchase a fixer-upper in Baldwin Hills, the upscale Black neighborhood in Los Angeles, but Denise argues that the Los Feliz house is a better, higher-end option. Leslie, a doctor, and Sarah, the DA attorney, have been trying hard to have a child for some time, but so far each round of IVF has failed. They want a new place to grow, and become a bit obsessed with all things surrounding the sale of Paul and Lydia’s home. JD has been clueless about Margo having affairs. JD his clueless about many things, especially when its comes to the agendas and true identity of his wife. These relationships all feel organic, with a particular warmth between Leslie and Sarah. Poppy Liu, in particular, is one of the best working comic actors on television, as proven in HBO’s “Hacks.”

Like better ensemble shows, this one presents characters we don’t mind following for multiple episodes, especially because the episodes don’t run too long. And the writing packs enough depth to become about more than who gets the house. Paul and Lydia’s shared secret is gradually revealed as something much more tragic than a typical gag. Lydia’s psychological block that’s not allowing her to play the piano and Paul’s boiling, inner despair are connected to the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of their teenage son, followed by the subsequent distancing of their daughter. How this all connects to Mikey is a slowly telling twist. There is more to him than meets the eye, and a brief history between him and Lydia is revealed in a scene where they look at old photos. The moment is nostalgic before the plot gears start turning again. In the end, there is a humanity to Mikey that is unexpected, while others momentarily and ultimately become the villains in this story. While “No Good Deed” lightly navigates through a deeper narrative of what some will do for the ones they love, and what others will do for the love of money, it ultimately reminds us that sometimes it isn’t about buying a new home, it’s about why changing homes can matter much more than just their property values.

“No Good Deed” season one begins streaming Dec. 12 on Netflix.