What's Chloe About?

Becky Green obsessively follows her childhood friend Chloe Fairbourne on social media, but when Chloe suddenly dies, Becky assumes a new identity and infiltrates the enviable lives of her closest friends to find out what really happened.

Who's involved?

• Erin Doherty, best known for playing Princess Anne in The Crown Seasons 3-4, is Becky, a lonely woman who becomes obsessed with her old friend’s carefully curated social media presence. Becky lives with her mother in a working-class neighborhood in Bristol, but introduces herself to Chloe’s friends as well-off marketing expert Sasha.
• Poppy Gilbert (Stay Close) is Chloe, a seemingly-perfect housewife who dies by suicide. Chloe appears primarily in dream-like sequences and flashbacks, but her presence looms large over the series.
• Billy Howle (The Serpent) is Elliot, Chloe’s husband. Elliot comes from a wealthy family in Bristol and has lofty political aspirations.
• Pippa Bennett-Warner (Gangs of London) is Livia, Chloe’s best friend and the first member of her inner circle to bring "Sasha" into the fold.
• Brandon Micheal Hall (Search Party) is Josh, an American expat in Bristol who develops a genuine relationship with Becky.
• Jack Farthing (Poldark) is Richard, Chloe’s closest confidante in the group who struggles with issues of his own.
• Alice Seabright (Sex Edication) is the series' creator and executive producer.

Why (and to whom) do we recommend it?

If you’re in search of a twisty thriller, Chloe more than delivers. The six-episode series, which premiered on the BBC in February before arriving on Prime Video, wastes no time establishing Becky as a lonely woman yearning for a fuller life: in the first 10 minutes, we see her flip through Chloe’s old photos on Instagram, begin a temp job for an ungrateful executive, and sneak into a glamorous party under a false name.

With an ailing mother and limited prospects, Becky is clearly desperate to be anyone but herself — a feeling that’s only compounded when she learns Chloe has died by suicide. The two haven’t spoken in years, but Chloe called her twice the night she died, and Becky interprets that as a sign that she should do some digging.

What follows are a series of bad decisions that only get worse as Becky befriends, and later falls into bed with, the members of Chloe’s inner circle.

A spectacular performance from Doherty sells the entire gambit. Given how long Becky’s con goes on, Chloe’s premise could easily strain credulity, but Doherty so thoroughly inhabits both Becky and Sasha’s personae that the season never feels like a slog.

Though Doherty sells the psychological thriller’s many twists, Chloe doesn’t quite stick the landing with its final reveal. Still, even viewers who see the ending coming are likely to enjoy the winding journey.

Pairs well with

• Severance (Apple TV+), another drama that ratchets its tension episode by episode.
• Orphan Black (AMC+), starring Tatiana Maslany as a con artist pulled into a larger conspiracy after witnessing a suicide.
• Get Out (Hulu), Jordan Peele’s acclaimed horror film that will also have you screaming, "What are you still doing there?!" at your TV.