User reviews

Why are people calling this show "woke" and insisting it's a liberal agenda? Is it cause the main character is black and married to a white man? I'm so confused.

Anyway, it's like a Lifetime movie at best. Script is horrible, but it's entertaining and a fun Friday night watch.

I too, I am perplexed as to why some reviewer's refer to this series as "woke." It must be because of the interracial marriage aspect of the two main characters, because I see no other sign of "wokeness" here. If it is just the interracial marriage aspect, then it's a sad commentary about the state of our culture today.

This vehicle to tell a story has been used many times before. It is done adequately here. It really depends upon the plot twists yet to come, and the motives of the characters to see how well this will be pulled off. This series is certainly entertaining, but, I fear, rather predictable. There are ample opportunities for plot twists, and surprises among the various characters. The actors are certainly up to this task of pulling this off, and do a good job with their respective roles. Will the writers give material worthy of the actor's abilities? That remains to be seen.

It is enjoyable entertainment, and I believe it is worthwhile.

I thought the lead female and male where both excellent actors. Don't listen to all the crazies about this movie being woke. Not a clue what they are talking about. Unless you don't like a white man with a black woman. (We all know that's called something else...not woke) sad that a good show has crappy reviews. I enjoyed it. Especially since I didn't have to commit to a second season. It could have easily been a movie instead of a series though. It's worth the watch.

There is literally no other reason to call this WOKE as this show doesn't touch any political or social issues even for a microsecond.

The show is actually a pretty impressive mix of drama and mystery sprinkled with incredible visuals and mindblowing cinematography.

It's a very quiet show that focuses more on the story than on other unrelated side characters. The background music complements and elevates the overall quality of the show. The acting from both the main actors is very impressive too.

The overall vibe of the show can be compared with big little lies and sharp objects (which is a compliment).

I have only watched two episodes so far. Excited for what the show has to offer in the future ones.

This isn't terrible but also not great, and certainly not original. In fact, you'll probably have the story figured out within the first few minutes, but if you have nothing else to watch, I can think of a lot worse options out there (like anything on broadcast channels, For all Mankind, and Invasion comes to mind.)

What I do recommend on Apple is Severance, Black Bird, Defending Jacob, Foundation, See, Ted Lasso, Servant, The Morning Show, Prehistoric Planet..

It's not a terrible series, but it's unoriginal. More style than substance, it's a glossy production with a shallow script. Gugu MR does her best, but her character fails to be that interesting. And no, having a black protagonist married to a white man is not "woke" or propaganda. If you think that in 2022 you need to go outside and observe reality.

Not a horrible series but definitely not one of the best I've watched. Could have been shortened to probably 5 or 6 episodes. There was just a lot of unnecessary interactions. I liked getting to know the characters even if most were not so likable. Plus, you still had no idea if they were good or bad!lol! I liked the scenes of all the different places. Wow! Must be nice to be that rich- or not! The ending was somewhat surprising. But, you kind of had a feeling it was headed that way. I'm not for sure if I'd spend my time watching the next season. Maybe.i guess it will depend on when it comes out and if I have other shows I'd rather watch.

"Surface" lures with some attractive production design, good actors and a plot with a bit of mystery, but rapidly the entire series take the same way as every insignificant daily soaps. The same bad sequence writing, the same kind of dialogues, the same kind of unrealistic situations. There is no shortage of examples. Unpredictable encounters, completely improbable situations that keep reminding us that we are not in a high end series but in a lousy daily type series that indulges in incessant chatter. I made it to the end of the series hoping to finally see an unexpected turn in the story, but, no, nothing but a display of mediocrity. A total mess and disappointment.

I'm not sure why so many people dislike this show, but I think it's great! It feels like reading a good domestic mystery. I also don't know why people are saying this show is woke. There are many shows where I could use that description, but this isn't one of them. So far, I'm a fan! I'd recommend for anyone who loves a good domestic thriller, cozy mystery, etc.

While reading the reviews about this show my curiosity was immediately heightened up, as there was no apparent consensus between anyone. Some called it woke, some said it wasn't; some called it slow, some said it was not. So I decided to see it for myself and find out if I liked it or not.

After watching all of the episodes I can safely confirm that this series is indeed very frustrating. Not because of the plot itself, as it is very interesting, but because it had just so much potential. As most things started getting clarified by episodes 6 and 7, I started thinking that if all the episodes were more tightly packed, faster and more thrilling, and if the details had been planned more carefully, this would have been such a fun show to watch!

Maybe it could've been solved by cutting some of the scenes (like the repetitive kissing/sex and the ones that seem to have no point at all), correcting some of the continuity errors, making the dialog faster and writing parts of it better overall, while still keeping the good elements of the show that characterises this as a drama.

It just saddens me that, while it could have been a great show without changing much of the main plot, we're stuck with bad writing and lose details. Best we can do now is appreciate the San Francisco views and hope that the second season fixes all of this, delivering something that will make me excited about watching.

P. S.: It may indeed seem woke at the beginning but at the end you see it isn't really. That's another thing that could've been solved with better writing.

I'm a fan of Mbatha-Raw. I'd probably watch just about anything with her. That said, "Surface" is pretty bad. I'm generously giving it a '5', mostly due to her welcome presence, but this is at best a 2nd or 3rd rate production. It's rare to hear dialogue that's this cliched outside of daytime soap operas, but they're hitting that mark here. A story about some ultra-wealthy pretty folks with problems is hardly ripe in this (almost or hopefully..) post-pandemic period. It's hard to even care one bit about these characters, or the very obvious story line. Surface is just a disappointing mess.

I just finished the show and do hope for a season two. The story is a psychological mystery thriller and lives up to this throughout the season. It will have you guessing who is guilty and who is innocent and what are the motives behind everyone. There are lots of moving parts and a slow but steady build that left me wanting more. I really hope we get a season two as there are a lot of things left unknown and we the audience deserve to see this one through to the very end.

The girl who plays Sophie did a great job. I loved her in the Morning show and The Black Mirror so it was nice to see her getting this leading role. She deserves it and hope to see her in more things.

No doubt that this was a good story and the first episodes keep you interested. Unfortunately it appears as if the writers worried about a predictable ending and didn't know what to do for a finale.

The final episode makes no sense and leaves a lot of loose ends. So it leaves you with a sense of having watched to go to a dead end.

Season 1 was suspenseful and intriguing but Season 2 is sooo slow with, what appears, no direction. Too much time is spent on Sophie/Tess's face showing the same frowning and always confused expression (I can't stop thinking of SNL's The Californians) and not enough on actual story development. Very little happens in an episode till the last 1 minute. It seems the writers had no idea what was going to happen next and are just feeling their way in the dark. Also, so much in a new episode goes over old material from a previous episode. I keep watching to see where it will lead and if there will be any meaningful outcome.

It's funny, my two favorite actresses, especially since 2012 has been Emily Blunt and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. They both have a vast range and can do any genre, but the problem is one of them only get depressive or dark parts (Gugu) and the other can't get the respect she deserves from those idiots at the Oscars (Emily). I don't think that awards matter currently produces quality work (Emily). Surface is not that for Gugu and neither is her previous one. It's such a depressing drama that it's hard to watch but Gugu carries it as far as she can but that's not enough for even me to continue watching. Even in Loki, they did her no justice and it's a shame. At least she is making a good living but as far as quality goes, these scripts are terrible for her. I hope she is not bailing out like Halle Berry who did 1 or 2 good movies, but the rest was much left to desire but she claims she has good money so that's great, I guess.

Big fan of Gugu and she could read the phone book and I'd watch. But this series is more then a bit disappointing. The premise is intriguing, but the execution is a weak and lazy at best. If this were Lifetime movie, it would have been far better.

I don't see why so many have called this another woke agenda driven series. It's not. But I still give it a 6 for Gigi's performance.

The writers needed to develop more tension as the series moves forward...cliff hangers to end an episode with real payoff in the next episode. Sadly, that just never seems to happen. And as more is revealed near the end, you left feeling regret for even watching.

First, so far, there is not a single thing woke about this series. If there was, I'd be the first to say it. Remember the"boy who cried wolf?" Well don't be the boy who cried woke or you lose your credibility.

As far as the show goes, I am one episode in and I'm bored. I'm pretty sure I know where it is going but hopefully there are some twists that make this a little better than it is so far.

Edit: I made it through 5 episodes. It never got any better. Pass on this one.

Maybe I'm biased because I love Gugu! I don't understand the bad reviews! I'm only on the second episode but so far so good for me! I'm truly invested in this show! I can't wait to see what happens next!

Not sure why people are so down on this show. It doesn't deserve its poor score on IMDB. It probably will appeal to an audience that enjoys reading, simply because it is slow & psychological, almost novel like, as opposed to full of action.

It has excellent production quality, a good script, solid acting; it's a sublime series. It's shot Fincher style, which always works well for a thriller. The lighting, music, tempo & ambiance are rich & seductive.

The slightly disorienting way it's shot mirrors the disorientation of the main character. You're never quite sure what's really going in, even when you finally think you do.

This review is based on Season 1, but we're excited for Season 2. Keep up the great work Apple.

One of the first things I've noticed is how visually beautiful the show is. The color palette is perfect, every little detail is well thought out. And it immediately makes the show stand out. I enjoyed looking at each scene and appreciating all the work put into creating it.

The characters are well written even though unlikable. I love when your initial impression of a character changes drastically, from love to hatred or vise versa, and this is exactly what this show does.

It's been hard to stay calm at times because of how unfair the main character's actions are but I guess that's the whole point. But it's also the reason why I'm not going to watch the second season. I got enough answers and there's nothing that can make me what to look at her face for more time. No, thanks. I guess, the creators did too much of a good job here. The end is not a happy ending but it's the only way such story could end.

Overall, the show is highly entertaining, visually pleasing, keeps you guessing about what's going to be revealed next and is a good mystery.

The story drags along far too slowly. For those familiar with the area the scenes involving the Golden Gate Bridge are too much to stomach with cars traveling the wrong direction on the bridge given the point of origin and destination. I do love some of the ideas such as the color of the home, but overall the story lacks a reason to care about what happens.