TV Review: Connie Britton Pulls Double Duty in Hulu’s Wry Mystery “Phony”

Hulu’s Phony is about as genre-bending as a mystery series can be. From creator Nick Paley (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) and showrunner Anthony King (The Afterparty), it may have an outlandish premise at its core, but everything else plays like a quirky teen comedy. Sharing a streamer with Only Murders in the Building, it’s hard not to brand it as a YA version of that show.

Sonny Cooke (Sam Nivola, The White Lotus) is the son of high school principal and single mom Ellen (Connie Britton, a different season of The White Lotus) in a small Oregon town. After surviving a bad car accident, Sonny is convinced that the mom at his hospital bedside is not his actual mother. Is he just paranoid, or is there something to his irrational fear?

Subtle tweaks to Britton’s look create a before-and-after effect that lets the audience feel the changeling effect Sonny notices. But this also comes through a remarkably subtle performance shift that shows why Britton is still one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood. She’s essentially doing double duty, playing Ellen and her replacement (or is she? I’ve only seen the first half of the season, so I’m legitimately asking).

Sam Nivola seems in his element as Sonny, a mostly carefree teenager with a wholesome relationship with his mom, who had started keeping secrets from her before the accident. The teen supporting characters feel like they could’ve attended the same school as Hulu’s PEN15 or FX’s English Teacher: sincerely funny, but able to navigate the angsty moments of this genre, plus the Mystery Machine-style sleuthing, if there’s even a mystery to solve.

Part of the fun of Phony is the way it keeps you guessing. Much of the comedy also comes from the editing, which keeps returning to the town pond, home to both beavers and a notorious body-dumping spot. The early episodes repeatedly cut to a beaver witnessing crimes in the night, a gag that’s funny but also lays the groundwork for Sonny not being entirely paranoid.

Phony has a unique voice that takes a full half-hour episode to settle into, but once you’re there, you’re hooked. I expect the back half to deliver an exciting ride with wild twists and unexpected turns, plus more laughs with its wry comedic style. Don’t miss it; there’s nothing phony about Phony.

I give Phony 5 out of 5 stars.

Phony premieres Tuesday, October 20th, with the first two episodes, then individual episodes weekly.