- The hit HBO show’s first season was set in Hawaii
- Sydney Sweeney and Jennifer Coolidge starred
- As with every season, somebody left the resort in a body bag
In 2020, HBO commissioned Mike White to create a new TV show that was possible to make while complying with pandemic restrictions. He ended up delivering a hit series that was his biggest success since 2003’s School Of Rock, with viewers gripped by the exploits of awful rich people in beautiful locations.
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It ended up becoming an anthology series with new characters in a new location for every season. While the third season is currently airing, let’s take a trip back in time where it all started for 2021’s debut outing in Hawaii.
What happened to the Mossbacher family?
The Mossbachers consisted of Mark (Steve Zahn) and Nicole (Connie Britton) and their children Olivia (Sydney Sweeney) and Quinn (Fred Hechinger). Olivia brought along a friend, Paula (Brittany O’Grady).
Mark is facing the possibility that he may have cancer. His relief at finding out he’s in the clear is blighted by the revelation from his uncle that his late father was secretly gay and died from AIDS.
Mark attempts to bond with the anti-social, tech-obsessed Quinn, later revealing that he once cheated on Nicole. Quinn then accidentally lets this slip at dinner.
Olivia becomes suspicious of Paula when she begins sneaking out of the hotel. She then sees that she’s begun a secret holiday romance with hotel employee Kai. After Paula discovers that Kai’s family used to own the land that the hotel was built on, she gets him to steal bracelets that she can sell to raise money for a lawsuit. He is, however, caught in the act and goes to prison.
After losing his gadgets, Quinn engages more with the locals and discovers the beauty of nature. In the end, he ends up staying behind on the island.
What about the Pattons?
We also encounter newlyweds Shane (Jake Lacy) and Rachel (Alexandra Daddario) Patton. The pair have come to Hawaii on their honeymoon.
Shane quickly comes to blows with hotel manager Armond after claiming they were given the wrong suite. His mother even arrives at the resort in an attempts to sort the debzcle out. The couple get the upgrade they wished for after Shane catches Armond performing a sex act on hotel employee Dillon in his office.
Fed up with Shane’s entitled attitude, Armond defecates inside his luggage. Shane grabs a pineapple knife as he searches for the intruder, unaware that Armond is still in the room. As the two walk into each other Shane accidentally stabs Armond, killing him.
Meanwhile, journalist Rachel is having doubts about her career. Despite having bigger aspirations, she’s mostly ended up writing clickbait. Shane is encouraging her not to work anymore, making her wonder if she’s becoming a trophy wife, or whether she’s even happy with him at all. In the end, she decides not to leave him.
And what about Tanya McQuoid?
We meet Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) mourning her mother, whose ashes she is scattering in the sea off the coast of the island.
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She ends up befriending massage therapist Belinda and talks to her about potentially funding her welfare business. Tanya cancels a dinner with her to discuss this after meeting Greg, the sports fisherman staying next door. Despite discovering he is terminally ill, they begin a relationship.
To avoid repeating her pattern of developing purely transactional relationships, Tanya cuts ties with Belinda. However, she does leave her some money when she leaves the hotel.
Tanya and Greg appear again in the show’s second season while Belinda has returned for the third.
