The series Phony premieres on the streaming service Hulu on October 20. The story follows high school senior Sonny Cook and his mother, Ellen, who are so close they are nearly inseparable: they spend all their time together at home and at school, where Ellen is the principal. On the threshold of adulthood, Sonny tries to find his own path and build a relationship with his girlfriend, Chloe.
One evening, just as Sonny is about to have sex for the first time, he is involved in a car accident and wakes up in a hospital. His mother, of course, is sitting by his bed. However, Sonny notices that she has changed somewhat in appearance, and that her behavior has become even more smothering than before.
The teenager begins to suspect that the woman caring for him is not his real mother but a double. As her behavior grows increasingly strange, Sonny turns to old friends and a private investigator for help. They waver: should they believe his stories or chalk everything up to the aftereffects of the accident? Sonny's life is falling apart, while his connection to his mother, or to her image, grows stronger than ever.
As the film and TV outlet RogerEbert.com writes, the series, which begins as a comedy and a detective story, quickly turns into one of the most unsettling thrillers of the year. Critic Kaya Sunyata notes that Phony explores how, in modern parenting, codependency becomes a weapon, and how overprotective parents raise a generation of children who depend entirely on them.
The critic emphasizes that the teenagers in the series, unlike the characters in many other films, come across as modern and complex individuals. Their anxieties stem not only from living in the "broken world" into which they were born, but also from their parents' desperate attempts to control their every step. The series was created by Nick Paley, and the leading roles are played by Sam Neveola and Connie Britton. The premiere will also take place on the Disney+ platform.
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