I’m a simple man — I see Linda Cardellini’s name attached to, well, anything and I instantly either smash that like button or grab my popcorn and click play. From her breakout in Freaks and Geeks to her Emmy-nominated turn in Netflix’s Dead to Me, Cardellini’s range is incredible — comedy, drama, mystery, she can do it all and naturally captivates audiences with her depth and boundless charisma. And for those of us who can’t get enough of her, Netflix has just added a new dark comedy from Dead to Me creator Liz Feldman, titled No Good Deed, that gives the actress an all-new opportunity to shine.
Cardellini isn’t the main star or even the focus of No Good Deed, just to be clear. The series stars Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano as empty-nesters who set off a real estate frenzy after they decide to list their gorgeous 1920s Spanish-style villa, located in one the most desirable neighborhoods in Los Angeles (Los Feliz). Feldman actually started dreaming up the story and the kooky characters who would inhabit it while working on the final season of Dead to Me.
Also in the back of her head at the same time was Cardellini reportedly having mentioned to her that she wanted her next role to be the complete opposite of Dead to Me’s sweet protagonist Judy. Cardellini’s exact words were that she was looking to portray a “badass bitch.” Feldman’s new series presented the opportunity for exactly that, in the form of Cardellini’s Margo Starling — a gorgeous, coiffed status seeker with buried secrets who wants to flip the series’ highly sought-after house so she can profit with her lover who’s a real estate developer.
Here’s how Netflix describes the overall show itself, by the way: “Multiple families all race to buy what they believe to be their dream house, convinced it will fix all of their very different problems. But as Lydia [Kudrow] and Paul [Romano] know all too well, sometimes the home of your dreams can be a true nightmare. As they struggle to hide the dark and dangerous secrets that linger inside their longtime home, Paul and Lydia begin to realize that the only way they’ll escape the past is to finally face it.”
One fan of the show raves on X, “Just finished No Good Deed & I need liz feldman to keep linda cardellini in every project of hers… judy from Dead to Me & margo from No Good Deed are two very completely different characters but linda devours both roles… her & liz are a wild duo.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Long story short, Cardellini’s Margo is pouty, bright-eyed, charismatic, bitchy, and effortlessly ravishing. In fact, there’s not really much in the way of sparks between Kudrow and Romano, if you ask me, which gives Cardellini even more room to do her thing. No Good Deed is currently the #2 Netflix show in the US as of this writing, and the Rotten Tomatoes scores are fairly decent (76% and 81% for the critics’ and audience scores, respectively). Really, though, I’d argue that the series is an early Christmas present from Netflix to fans of Cardellini, who has added yet another memorable, must-see role to her superb body of work.
