Today any professional in front of or behind the cameras would accept working with Laura Dern and Mike White on any project without the need to read the script, but both went through a dry spell where they felt ignored by Hollywood. A time when they created together a series for HBO that continues to be one of the great unknowns in the Max catalog and a misunderstood gem of television.

Years before Dern starred in Big Little Lies, the production that gave her a second life, and before White created the splendid The White Lotus, the series where the best casting agents fight to sneak in their represented, these friends and neighbors in Los Angeles decided to present Enlightened to HBO, a collaborative project that allowed them to join forces to tell their own stories.

She wanted to talk about a woman who wanted to be a better person and fought for a better world and he wanted to free himself from some personal ghosts. Together they created a completely unique character for Dern: Amy Jellicoe, an exasperating and unbearable woman, but so fragile, vulnerable, and optimistic that makes the viewer feel unnecessarily cruel rejecting her, so they will learn to develop an unexpected empathy without realizing it.

Mike White and Laura Dern in an episode of 'Enlightened'.

What it's about

After an affair with her boss goes wrong and she has a nervous breakdown in the middle of the office, Amy Jellicoe (Dern) spends a stay in rehab at a "new age" spa from which she returns hoping to reform her drug-addicted ex-husband (Luke Wilson) and make her company more socially and environmentally responsible.

However, upon returning to work, she realizes that if she wants to stay, she will have to accept a demotion to the basement of the company. Separated from her husband and forced to live with her mother because she can no longer afford her apartment, her life feels empty and she struggles to put into practice what she learned in rehab.

Despite having everything against her, Amy will not lose sight of her goal: to be a better person and make the world a better place, a mission in which she will have the help of a grey IT guy from the basement, portrayed by White himself.

Laura Dern is the protagonist of 'Enlightened'

Why you'll like it

Enlightened takes the discomfort levels of series like Extras, The Office, or Curb Your Enthusiasm to a higher level only comparable to another of HBO's hidden gems, The Comeback, starring Lisa Kudrow. A protagonist who is not an aspirational hero and constantly challenges a viewer until conquering them without them knowing quite how or why.

The series is not afraid to explore raw emotions, vulnerability, and the complexity of relationships. It is moving and invites reflection with its cocktail of drama, black comedy, introspection, and close characters that make the journey worthwhile

And Dern is spectacular in the role of Amy, and once the viewer learns to accept her as she is, with her many flaws, but also very good intentions, they will discover that she is one of the most complex female characters that television has produced.

*This article has been automatically translated using artificial intelligence