I don't review a lot of TV shows, but this one grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Synopsis: Nadia, a successful, cynical, substance-loving web developer, dies in an accident (this information is NOT a spoiler) during her 36th birthday party and keeps finding herself reborn, replaying the same scene again and again. I know what you're thinking: "Groundhog Day" (a film I love, but with reservations). But that film is mostly played for laughs, and doesn't go nearly as deep into the lead character as "Russian Doll" does. And besides that, Bill Murray's character is, well, a little too Bill Murray-ish (condescending, above-it-all, offhandedly misanthropic).

Nadia Vulvokov (portrayed by Natasha Lyonne, who co-created the series) is no Phil Connors. A seen-it-all New Yorker with serious commitment issues and a deep fondness for drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, she is nonetheless a sympathetic character from the start, much more caring of others than Bill Murray's meteorologist. As the series progresses we learn more about her, especially her dysfunctional childhood in the custody of her psychotic single mom (seen in flashbacks, perfectly portrayed by Chloë Sevigny) and the show goes deeper, delving into the sources of Nadia's pain and anxiety. Further, Nadia is not alone in her tortuous life-and-death loop: she has a fellow sufferer sharing the cycle of existence and mortality, Alan (Charlie Barnett, excellent), an uptight obsessive-compulsive driven to suicidal depression by his cheating girlfriend.

This show will have you laughing one minute and choked up the next. Supporting cast are uniformly good (including veteran actress Elizabeth Ashley as a therapist who's been involved in Nadia's life- and that of her screwed-up mother- since the latter's childhood). No offense to "Groundhog Day," but it looks like a Roadrunner and Coyote cartoon compared to this.