ITVX’s “The Hunting Wives” leans fully into chaos, scandal, and excess — a glossy, guilty-pleasure series that’s impossible to resist.
There’s something oddly comforting about a TV show that never pretends to be serious. The Hunting Wives, now streaming on ITVX, understands this perfectly. It doesn’t aim to be subtle, tasteful, or realistic. Instead, it offers eight episodes of bold, messy, over-the-top drama that feels designed to help viewers switch their brains off and just enjoy the ride.
The story follows Sophie O’Neil, a former Democratic campaign manager who leaves her polished life in Massachusetts for a small Texas town when her husband lands a new job. Sophie arrives as an outsider — politically, socially, and emotionally — and quickly finds herself pulled into the orbit of a powerful local circle led by Margo Banks, the glamorous wife of a wealthy businessman with political dreams of his own.
From Sophie’s point of view, Maple Brook is a place where rules bend easily and secrets pile up fast. The women she meets are confident, reckless, and deeply tangled in one another’s lives. Drinking starts early, gossip spreads faster, and loyalty is always shaky. Sophie, who once believed she had control over her life and values, begins to lose her footing as she gets swept up in their world.
What makes The Hunting Wives work is its honesty about what it wants to be. This is not a slow character study or a sharp political drama. It’s a soap with better lighting, famous faces, and fewer limits. The show stacks surprise on top of surprise — affairs, betrayals, shocking twists — often within minutes of each other. There’s barely time to question logic before the next scandal arrives.
The performances lean into the chaos. Brittany Snow plays Sophie with a mix of curiosity and confusion, while Malin Åkerman’s Margo steals scenes with ease, confidence, and danger. The supporting cast fills out the town with characters who feel exaggerated but intentional, like pieces in a high-gloss puzzle of power, desire, and reputation.
If you look closely, there are hints of commentary about politics, class, and hypocrisy, but the show never slows down long enough to explore them deeply. That’s likely a choice. The Hunting Wives isn’t interested in teaching lessons — it’s here to entertain.
And it does. Loudly. Shamelessly. Successfully.
In a time when many shows try too hard to be meaningful, The Hunting Wives feels refreshing in its refusal to apologize for being pure, polished trash. Sometimes, that’s exactly what TV should be.
