starred in “Stylish,” a thrillingly, almost decadently awkward reality series on the service then called HBO Max. This was putatively an “Apprentice”-style show intended to find Lyons, a recognizable face to style-watchers as the former creative director and president of the retailer J. Crew, an all-purpose consigliere. But the show leaned all the way into its star’s evident discomfort with having to make choices.
But this new cast, in aggregate, is enthusiastic, inclusive, bright, and ebullient — and they are working hard to sell their show. It’s notable that from “online content creator” Sai De Silva to “brand marketing and communications professional” Brynn Whitfield, these women tend to have a professional stake in keeping people talking about them; little, even in the early spats, feels unfiltered.
On the plus side, Lyons’ utter failure to understand why ditching a group vacation provides her peers an opening to play at being angry with her at least generates some real voltage. And production is working overtime, too, with two separate ice-breaking cocktail party games played in the first three episodes. The “two truths and a lie” segment is notably punishing in its length and complete lack of tonal variation — but for Lyons’ contribution.
There are more sharp moments here, often pertaining to how self-styled ultra-contemporary New Yorkers engage with what used to be cool. An endless argument over some women ditching a dinner that happened off-camera because of the perceived un-hipness of the venue features a genuinely amusing running joke about whether the restaurant is more 2005, 2006, or 2012.