Grosse Pointe Garden Society: Fans 'hooked' by suburban thriller about 'scandal, mischief, and murder'
A petition for a series 2 is gathering steam
Grosse Pointe Garden Society is currently being “binged” in multiple households across the UK, with ITVX viewers admitting they are “hooked” on the suburban thriller.
The series landed as a boxset in mid-January and it rose quickly up the charts on the streaming platform. The NBC show first aired in the US in February 2o25, before making its UK premiere on ITVX.
Created by Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs – the writers behind Murder by the Book – will eventually air on ITV2 in the UK. But there are plenty of people who have already devoured the drama.
So what’s the thriller Grosse Pointe Garden Society about, who is in the cast, and why have fans launched a petition for a series 2?
What is Grosse Pointe Garden Society about?
Grosse Pointe Garden Society is a “suburban thriller from acclaimed creators Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs”. The whodunit is set within the “pristine, tightly-managed world of an affluent suburban garden club”. If you liked Big Little Lies, and Desperate Housewives, you’ll likely enjoy this.
Viewers are introduced to four members of a well-to-do garden club, who find their lives “intertwined by scandal, mischief, and a murder that no-one wants to talk”. Their lives start to unravel as they try to remain perfect while dark truths surface…
A synopsis said: “In a wealthy suburb, everything appears to be perfect on the surface. Until four members of the local garden club get entangled in a scandalous murder. Teacher and aspiring writer Alice, real estate agent Catherine, father of two Brett, and socialite Birdie come together on the night of the garden club’s annual gala to bury the body in their own garden. And get rid of the evidence.
“But with mysteries, drama and deceit growing like weeds in each of their personal lives, this secret may not stay undiscovered for long.”
Blending emotional tension with layered mystery, the series “explores the cost of perfectionism, the pressures of suburban performance, and the corrosive power of secrets”. Stylish, atmospheric and psychologically charged, the “irresistibly twisty drama” brings a sharp new lens to the suburban-thriller genre.
How many episodes is it?
Grosse Pointe Garden Society is 13 episodes – unlucky for some. Or, to be precise, unlucky for the person whose dead body is stuffed into the compost bin.
Each episode is around 40 minutes long.
Who is in the cast?
The largely US cast is led by AnnaSophia Robb, who plays Alice Morris. The 32-year-old is best known for playing spoilt brat Violet Beauregarde in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. AnnaSophia also portrayed Carrie Bradshaw in The Carrie Diaries, Alice Green in Mercy Street, and Emma in The Expecting.
Melissa Fumero, 43, stars as Birdie Bradley. Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans will know her as Amy Santiago, a role she played between 2013 and 2021. She also portrayed Adriana Cramer in One Life to Live.
Aja Naomi King, 41, plays Catherine. The actress is most famous for portraying Michaela Pratt in How to Get Away with Murder between 2014 and 2020. She also starred as Dr Cassandra Kopelson in Emily Owens MD, Ali Henslee in Black Box, Wren Foster in Blackout, and Harriet Sloane in Lessons in Chemistry.
Ben Rappaport portrays Brett Navson. The 39-year-old made his name playing Todd Dempsy in Outsourced, before portraying Carey Zepps in The Good Wife, and Seth Oliver in For the People. Ben has also had significant roles in Mr Robot, and Younger.
The first season was filmed at Assembly Studios in Doraville, Georgia. It also features an ensemble cast including:
- Insecure’s Alexander Hodge as Doug.
- Last Man Standing’s Nancy Travis as Patty.
- Breakwater’s Felix Avitia as Ford.
- The Vampire Diaries’ Matthew Davis as Joel.
Why was Grosse Pointe Garden Society axed?
The first rule of Garden Club is that you have to accept there’ll be no more episodes after series 1. NBC announced they had cancelled the glossy thriller in June 2025, after just one season. The reason? Low ratings. The show was one of the network’s least-watched regular series of the 2024-25 season. It averaged fewer than 2 million viewers, ranking as NBC’s lowest-rated scripted series.
However, the series went on to grow its fanbase on Peacock. Viewers, shocked by the brutal axing, blamed the time slot. It initially aired on Sundays, but was moved to Friday nights.
Frustrated fans began a petition to bring the series back. But so far, no announcement was been made.
Reviews for Grosse Pointe Garden Society
Grosse Pointe Garden Society gets a 85% viewer rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while critics gave it 75%.
The Hollywood Reporter praised the performances, saying: King [puts in a] finely calibrated performance as Catherine. And then there’s Birdie herself, easily the highlight of the whole thing.”
AV Club called it a “fun, frothy mystery”, adding: “Grosse Pointe Garden Society has the ingredients that could very well make it bloom into the next Desperate Housewives.”
Variety wrote: “Despite a handful of missteps, the NBC show is engrossing, confounding and off to a promising start.”
‘I am completely hooked’
ITVX viewers have shared their love for the 13-part series.
One said: “This is going to be one to watch. Only the first episode and I am completely hooked.”
Another added: “We’ve watching Grosse Pointe Garden Society and are actually loving it. A good fun murder mystery show. And in the era of short seasons we were super excited that it had 13 episodes!”
A third typed: “Y’all wrong as hell for cancelling Grosse Pointe Garden Society! Season 1 was good!”
Another called it “that cancelled TV show you’ll never stop thinking about”, while one more called it “my favourite show”.
“How did you cancel Grosse Pointe Garden Society?!” fumed another. “I just binge-watched it and it’s amazing! I’m so disappointed.”
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