One of the more difficult stories to tell is one based on the Groundhog Day trope originally made popular by the Bill Murray movie of the same name. Stories of a character reliving the same day over and over run the 
risk of turning into predictable trite that bores the viewer as we wait for some sort of redemption to take place for our hero and time to move forward again properly. The Netflix series Russian Doll avoids telling a trite time-loop tale and takes us on a ride that is highly unpredictable, very, very dark and extremely enjoyable.
We meet our heroine, Nadia Vulvokov (played by Natasha Lyonne), a software engineer, who is the guest of honor at her 36th birthday party; a party she really didn’t want. This party is ground zero for a series of events that will culminate in Nadia dying repeatedly, but always ending up back at the party in a time-loop with no one else having any idea or recollection of what is occurring. We also discover the reoccurring deaths are not just happening to Nadia, but also to someone else named Alan Zaveri (played by Charlie Barnett).
In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s day restarted after he fell asleep each evening. In Russian Doll, each day restarts after a violent and painful death as Nadia is quick to point out. I will tell you that each death is surprising and painful to watch as it unfolds.
So why should you invest your time in this series? Because, in short, this series is tightly written, extremely well acted, beautifully photographed and engaging. We follow the characters, see what they see and understand their circumstances just as they do – when they do. And when Nadia and Alan resolve their dilemma, we share their joy and excitement.
You are warned that the language in Russian Doll is coarse and NSFW. On the other hand, my language would probably be worse and not safe for mixed company too if I repeatedly died the way our heroine, Nadia does – as often as she does. Russian Doll is on Netflix and is highly recommended for your short list.
