Very few shows are able to bring out the ethos and pathos of big city life.

Expats is a fantastic show, not only for its characters but for the way it shows Honkong in all its glory and decay. In one shot a waiter at a cafe says, "Tell the Govt, Hong Kong is a dying city." There are many shots that bring this out. A shot where one of the poorer expats, Mercy, is shown living in a house with peeling off wall tiles.

The male-fenale inequality, the rich-poor divide, the religious vs non religious people, the protests, this is a show that stays with you long after you have stopped watching it.

A special mention of the brilliant camera work. There's one shot where Alan, the pastor, is walking down a hill when leaving Margaret's house, where the camera beautifully pans over Alan in the foreground and the high sky scrapers in the background. I haven't seen such awesome shots in any show!!

The only aberration is the Botoxed Nicole Kidman. I don't get it why they had to take her. Anyone else, say Emily Blunt or Scarlet Johansson would have been more apt.

The rest of the actors are just superb, specially the Asians.

Kidman aside, the show deserves 9 stars.

It's one of the best things on Prime these days.

PS. Don't be put off by the first episode. The show picks up from the second.