A funny thing happened in 2017.
This little show called Imposters dropped on Stan and suddenly it was all anybody in my circles of friends and colleagues wanted to talk about.
While it was not exactly a sleeper hit, I don’t think anybody really expected this dark, roguish comedy to take off with quite the swell of popularity and critical acclaim that it did.
But that, my friends, is the beauty of Imposters. It hits you hard by surprise, lures you in and before you really know what’s happening it’s stolen multiple hours of your life and has left you feeling empty and alone while you you wait around for the second season to drop. Without so much as a kiss goodbye or a hint of story-lines to come.
For those of you not in on the con that is Imposters, it follows a smart, savvy and manipulative lady called Maddie (Inbar Lavi) who has a special knack for morphing herself into the woman of both men and women’s dreams, marrying them and then disappearing without a trace with all the money and assets they possess.
In season one, Maddie’s game is thrown out of wack when three of her ex-spouses band together and track her down in order to enact revenge. While also secretly trying to find out if she ever really loved them.
All does not go to plan, however, when her former band of fake lovers Ezra (Rob Heaps), Richard (Parker Young) and Jules (Marianne Rendón) finally confront the woman who ruined their lives, only to find out that she was never working alone.
And her bosses are a hell of a lot scarier than she ever was.
Take a look at the trailer for Imposters season two, airing on Australia via Stan.
Inbar Lavi’s Maddie (or Ava or Alice or CeCe or Saffron…depending on which one of her ex-marks is talking about her) is a compelling character who shifts from evil temptress vixen to vulnerable and complicated lost soul during the season as her real backstory is slowly revealed and she finds herself longing to give up her life of deceit.
While Maddie’s story of manipulation and possible redemption is the central thread that holds Imposters together, the true magic and comedy of the series comes from her trio of scorned lovers.
Ezra, Richie and Jules are the ultimate band of rag tag compatriots, hailing from three completely different worlds and backgrounds yet they quickly form a tight unit that acts as a make-shift family. They fight and they argue but ultimately they all have each other’s backs.
Looking for another Stan show to become obsessed with? You should get hooked on UnReal.
The chemistry between the three actors who bring these charterers to life is off the charts, ensuring that each of the scenes they share is brimming with humour, wit and emotion.
When we meet them they are all somewhat broken human-beings, all because each of them became the best version of themselves while married to their version of Maddie, and now find themselves lost.
Once banded together, they quickly pick up the con-artist tricks of the trade (honestly, the scenes where they teach themselves to pick-pocket are among the great joys of my life) and come to discover that a life of crime might actually be for them.
