My Stepdaughter’s Boyfriend review

The setup

Richard and Holly have cleared a week for the family, and his daughter shows up early with Ethan, a new boyfriend so polite he calls Richard sir. The plan, Richard announces, is to stop working and start enjoying themselves. Then he catches Ethan staring at Holly, the girlfriend's stepmom, and does not reach for a golf club. He takes it as praise: men have been ogling his wife for years, and that just proves he married well. Episode 1 closes with Richard asking Ethan, point blank, whether he wants to sleep with her.

Episode 2

Turns out this is a game Richard and Holly have played before, though she worries she has changed since the last round and he insists she has not. Ethan clears his absence with his girlfriend, who is delighted the men are bonding. Richard sets one rule above all: his daughter stays in the dark. Ethan's first errand is a glass of water, which ends up all over Holly, and she excuses herself to change.

Who's who

• Richard: the host dad, proud of his wife and oddly generous with her
• Holly: Richard's wife, the girlfriend's stepmom, and an old hand at this particular game
• Ethan: the new boyfriend, all manners and sirs, with wandering eyes

Verdict: 6.9 out of 10

The premise lands in the final seconds of Episode 1, and it lands hard: the dad is not the obstacle, he is the organizer. That twist gives the show a weird, specific energy. Episode 2 spends its minute on logistics, a cover story, a ground rule and a spilled glass, which is fine but slow. The obvious fuse for the paid rest is the girlfriend, and the show clearly knows how much it is holding in reserve.

Episode guide