She’s Just Not That Into Fidelity to You

Of the all things "mistresses" has going for it, originality isn't one of them. Wives' husbands and husbands' wives slink away for scandalous trysts. Shocking secrets come to light. Dirty deeds are done dirt cheap. It's standard nighttime-soap stuff, not unlike "Desperate Housewives," "Cashmere Mafia," "Lipstick Jungle"—I could go on. But the drama, a British hit now on BBC America, is so well rendered, deftly acted and observantly written, it feels fresh. Sarah Parish, Orla Brady, Sharon Small and Shelley Conn play girlfriends, all embroiled in adulterous turmoil. Even when the plot twists border on the unconscionable, "Mistresses" makes them float with subtle execution. It's yet another reminder of why we borrow so many TV concepts from the Brits: they're just better at this stuff. Naturally, a U.S. version is in the works, so bone up before it's time to give a snobby (but probably accurate) speech about how the original was so much better.