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Amazon Studios’ Dead Ringers premieres on April 21st via Prime Video, and I could not be more excited for this show to meet the world. A twist-slash-reboot of the 1988 David Cronenberg film, Dead Ringers keeps all the best parts and expands on and refines the rest. You do not need to be familiar with the film at all to enjoy this, which in my opinion is the best possible outcome for a reboot of this nature. The limited series is a triumph of female-led television and it scratches nearly every entertainment itch I have. I will even go as far as to say that as a Black, menstruating med-school-dropout turned screenwriter and Rachel Weisz fan, this show is actually made for me personally!
If you are into medicine and birthing, this show is for you; if you know a little something about complex pregnancies, this show is for you; if you are even a little bit gay for women, this show is for you. There is so much lesbianity in this show, I better hear all the queers discussing it weekly. This is Succession for Lesbians! Now let’s get into why.
Dipping into Women’s Bodies Discourse
To me, the most visually striking thing about Dead Ringers – the thing that arrests me again and again – is the way that it centers and foregrounds issues around women’s health, along with the many different experiences of childbirth. This is a show that knows what it is like to go to the gyno, and it is extremely clear. Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, Black Widow) and writer Alice Birch assembled an all-female writers’ room and the whole room worked together along with medical consultants to present a varied, realistic, and less coldly-clinical view of the work of OB/GYNs than Cronenberg was originally able to deliver. This allows Dead Ringers to respectfully and realistically expose new audiences to the realities of pregnancy, childbirth, and all the testing and maintenance birthing people need in order to attempt to do so safely. It also takes a look at the not-so-safe parts of the process, which I especially loved.
I do not go in for the concept of body horror too much, mainly because I believe the human body can be a site of horrific imagination all on its own – and where the 1984 film version of Dead Ringers leans on generative body horror, the 2023 television update plays much more successfully in the space of Body As Horror. Some of these things – as natural and normal as they are – can be terrifying in the moment, and I appreciate the way Dead Ringers is able to expose viewers to the more horrific, more brutal sides of things such as C-sections and turning the baby (you’ll see) while maintaining the humanity of the subjects involved and normalizing obstetrics and gynecology for audiences who may otherwise be unfamiliar with the gritty details.
A Dark, Twisted Romance
Dead Ringers sits at the center of two love stories – one is relatively normal, and the other is absolutely not. The abnormal story, you will find, is the one between the twin main characters – the Mantle doctors, Beverly and Elliot, Ellie and Bev (Weisz). They are closer than most siblings for sure, and, I assume, closer than most twins as well. They share everything – including lovers – and over the course of the series, we get to see their relationship in all its weirdo glory.
However, the twins’ love is threatened by the other, more familiar love story between Beverly and the actress/ patient, Genevieve (Britne Oldford). Beverly’s attempts to live and love outside of her twin pod obviously affect the love the siblings share – and out of deference to spoilers, I really cannot tell you more than that. Although, I will say that I love the way actors Weisz and Oldford really dig into the psyches of these characters and expertly showcase their complex idiosyncrasies throughout the show. This will have you biting your nails, on the edge of your seat, wigged out by the salacious details and screwy behavior of almost all involved parties. Oldford’s Genevieve is the only normal person in this show, and her performance is a grounded, emotionally resonant breath of fresh air in a show so suffused with outlandish characters.
Beverly’s struggle for individuality in and out of the relationship touches on a larger theme that all characters struggle with – and something we all struggle with in our lives as well. It is no easy task to figure out who you are, and why you are who you are. All of this to say, do not focus so hard on the twins that you miss out on the stellar supporting performances. I especially want to call out Poppy Liu as Greta, the housekeeper-slash-artist who lurks through the background of most episodes. Do not sleep on Greta! She has some surprises in store for you – and some amazing outfits (check out my interview with her for more on that).
Final Thoughts on Prime Video’s Dead Ringers
In summary, you have got to go see Dead Ringers. Rachel Weisz is making sure the gays eat in this compelling study of womanhood, sisterhood, codependency, and its tension with individualism, and the systems one must confront when seeking gynecological care. This is a triumph of an Amazon Studios original, and with HBO and Netflix’s recent issues, it feels like the studio’s first shot at becoming the new hub for prestige television. Let me know what you think – all episodes drop this Friday, April 21st!
This article was edited by John Tangalin.