“Memories are fragile,” begins the trailer for Apple TV+’s upcoming mystery series, Shining Girls. For Elisabeth Moss’ Kirby Mazrachi, the protagonist of the show, memories are not only fragile, they’re also constantly changing.
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Lauren Beukes, Shining Girls centers on Kirby, a Chicago-based newspaper archivist, in the years after she endured a violent and traumatic assault. But when a woman is found dead under circumstances that eerily mirror those of Kirby’s attack, the aspiring journalist enlists the help of crime reporter Dan Velasquez (Wagner Moura) to track down the perpetrator. Together, Kirby and Dan piece together unlikely connections between various cold cases spanning decades.
As the trailer reveals, Shining Girls is not your typical serial killer story. “After what he did, things aren’t how they should be,” Moss narrates. That’s when shit gets metaphysical. Kirby’s memories–and appearance–are changing inexplicably, causing her to question her reality. One minute she has a pet cat and the next it’s a dog. She has brown hair and then blonde hair, bangs and then a long bob—and something tells us it’s not just because she is making weekly trips to the salon in between murder mystery solving sessions.
In addition to Moss and Moura, the eight-episode thriller stars Jamie Bell as the killer (yes, we already know who the killer is) and Hamilton’s Phillipa Soo as Kirby’s best friend. Amy Brenneman rounds out the cast as Kirby’s mother-slash-roomie. Sidenote: that a woman in her late 30s counts her mother as her roommate is arguably the most haunting aspect of this premise.
From showrunner Silka Luisa, Shining Girls will unveil its first three episodes on April 29. Afterwards, it will be released on Apple TV+ in weekly installments. Luisa and Moss both serve as executive producers, with Moss also directing some episodes. Tune in next month to watch Elisabeth Moss grappling with unspeakable horrors and trauma for a change! We’re calling it now that Moss’ character has been dead the whole time, Bruce-Willis-style.
