Malice – Series Review | Prime Video

MALICE on Prime Video is a new revenge thriller series. It has a stellar cast, but the intensity is somehow lacking. What still makes it worth watching is Jack Whitehall, who is scary good in this. Read our Malice series review here!

MALICE is a new Prime Video series with a revenge plot and a thriller driver. Obviously, there’s a whole mystery to this as well, so it’s like watching a puzzle be laid out on screen. Unfortunately, it’s too slow for my liking.

The series has six episodes, which should make for a tight and intense season. Unfortunately, I was not hooked after the first episode, and the second didn’t do much more for me. I mean, the story is intriguing, but the pacing just did not work for me.

Continue reading our 2025 Malice series review below. Start watching on Prime Video on November 14, 2025.

Lifestyle of the rich and… annoying?!

With Malice, we follow the charismatic tutor, Adam (Jack Whitehall), who is great with kids. This is also how he manages to find his way into the life of the very wealthy Tanner family.

They meet while on a vacation in Greece, where Adam works for another family. However, once the Tanner family’s nanny gets violently ill with a stomach bug of some kind (you’ll know what kind once Adamn feeds her something), he swoops in.

Or rather, he does not swoop in, but the Tanner family asks him to please take the job. Oh yes, he is a crafty networker indeed. And Adam has a plan that involves the patriarch, Jamie Tanner (David Duchovny).

Once the family, now with Adam as their nanny (or “manny”), returns to London, things start to go awry. Adam begins to pit Jamie and his wife, Nat (Carice Van Houten), against each other. All with the goal of bringing down the entire family.

But why? Well, there is always a good reason in the eye of the person doing it. And we will learn why as well, but not until later in the series.

A modern-day Ripley vibe

Malice is very much a revenge thriller focused on the notion that you cannot escape your past. It will catch up, and when it does, you need to figure out how to best deal with it. As a character-driven story, Malice has a great cast, but the writing is just too slow.

Having said that, I really liked Jack Whitehall in this series. He is charming yet insanely sinister, and all at the drop of a hat. I mean, he is eerily off in a way reminiscent of Mr. Ripley, which is also an unavoidable comparison for this series overall.

Obviously, this is a compliment, and I wish this Prime Video series were as good as I feel Jack Whitehall is in his starring role. I love it when these comedic actors take on a darker character portrayal and go all-in.

I definitely feel Jack Whitehall succeeds with that in Malice!

Watch Malice on Prime Video

Malice was created by James Wood, who also writes the series. He previously wrote on The Great and Quacks (which he also created). Directors of the six episodes of Malice are Mike Barker (Broadchurch, The Sandman) and Leonora Lonsdale (The Pale Horse).

I never want to discourage anyone from giving a show a chance. That’s why I can’t help but continue to highlight Jack Whitehall in this review. He delivers such a strong character portrayal that made me wish he’d play a straight-up horror villain next.

Of course, the other cast members also deliver strong portrayals, but this really is about Adam (Jack Whitehall) primarily, so this was the character that could not falter. And he doesn’t. The storytelling and pacing, on the other hand, just did not do much for me.

But hey, maybe this just was not my kind of show. Give it a shot, and maybe Jack Whitehall and the overall story will be a total treat for you.

Malice is out on Prime Video from November 14, 2025.

Details

Creator: James Wood
Directors: Mike Barker, Leonora Lonsdale
Cast: Jack Whitehall, David Duchovny, Carice van Houten, Christine Adams, Raza Jaffrey