Prime Video strikes again. I don’t envy TV creators relegated to that app, because it always seems to act in reverse. If people find their way to your show, then… maybe… they’ll give you a marketing budget.

I was thrown for a loop when I saw the poster for Malice, a new series hitting the streamer November 14th. This is something I should know about. This show looks very much in my wheelhouse. Yet, I knew nothing. The internet had one job.

I mean David Duchovny WAS my 1993 through 1998. The Fox Mulder love was real.

Jack Whitehall, meanwhile was foundational for your truly. When I was old enough to buy my first region free DVD player and Region 2 DVDs with adult money, he was one of the first comedians I started with.

Before I get too much deeper, let’s get to the info. Malice drops audiences into a glamorous tropical location and into what feels like a standard story. Rich people doing rich people things… and being terrible all the while. However, things are thrown ever so subtly for a loop when their live-in tutor arrives. While he’s unassumingly awkward on the surface, there’s something bubbling just beneath. David Duchovny, Jack Whitehall, Carice van Houten, Raza Jaffrey and Christine Adams co-star in Malice.

Starting right from the beginning, episode one of the series feels like a fascinatingly complex examination of star persona, specifically that of series lead Jack Whitehall.

In truth, Malice is a really interesting example of whip-smart, layered casting.

Whitehall is one of a host of UK comics currently working with Netflix, so anyone with a subscription and the ability to dig is able to check out his comedy specials. Others, meanwhile, may also look to his roles on the long running comedies Fresh Meat and Bad Education.

To many, however, Whitehall could simply be Emily Blunt’s slightly bumbling brother in The Jungle Cruise. I saw it! I saw it purely for Whitehall, if I’m honest.

Now, get ready for some nerdy analysis here. This, admittedly, won’t mean much for those unfamiliar with Whitehall’s work. However… hear me out.

This is a character, and really a performance that has the potential to cause some consternation.

At first, I found myself distracted, wondering if Jack Whitehall was really the right fit for this part. So much of his traditional persona shines through in his performance. He’s slightly awkward. He’s unassuming. He’s self-effacing. It feels like the slightly bumbling persona he’s worked so hard to polish over the years is coming through clearly in this thriller. That’s right. It feels a little weird.

It must be said, however, if you don’t vibe with Whitehall’s persona, this isn’t going to work for you. However, there’s something brilliant at play in this casting.

The closest approximation really is casting David Tennant in Jessica Jones. As a character, Killgrave indirectly references and utilizes Tennant’s well-known, previous persona. For those who don’t know, Tennant will always be “The Doctor”. Audience members are meant to remember this. The Jessica Jones creators are counting on the audience having a fondness for him and the resulting feeling parallel the mind play occurring in the Marvel show. The audience is almost hypnotized. “That’s the Doctor! He can’t be that bad… right?”

As young tutor Adam in Malice, Whitehall taps into not only his stand-up comedy persona, but his role as teacher Alfie Wickers in Bad Education.

By the middle of the first episode, the reasoning behind Whitehall’s casting becomes crystal clear. He’s Jack Whitehall, “posh”, unassuming and ever-so-slightly awkward. So, when his mask drops, the icy drama hits that much harder. In fact, his shift in character is almost unsettling, weaponizing the persona Whitehall’s perfected over more than ten years in the industry.

If I say nothing else about this show, I’m giddy to see how this continues developing.

Now, let’s get to the Fox Mulder of it all…. oops… sorry, the David Duchovny of it all.

Truthfully, it’s been a while since I’ve been down the Duchovny rabbit hole. I jumped into Californication a bit during college, but I never finished the show for some reason.

As family patriarch Jamie Tanner, Duchovny isn’t doing anything particularly groundbreaking here. Though, there might be something to enoy for those whom Californication was their David Duchovny.

Stories about the rich being awful are frankly, “a dime a dozen”. We’ve seen them before and in this climate, we’re seeing a lot of them.

Duchovny brings a gritty “aloofness” to his role. This is a man with a past. He’s done things… probably not nice things… and he’s now comfortable and enjoying the fruits of his labor. This isn’t Succession. His life isn’t about trying too hard. It’s about enjoying his money. Could it potentially be argued that this is who his Californication character might eventually become?

Ultimately, the structure at this point in Malice rests on Whitehall’s shoulders. His character brings a sense of uncertainty. He’s not quite a ticking time bomb, but there’s something to this young man that just doesn’t sit right.

Malice is a series that I’m interested to see shift and evolve. Carice van Houten, in particular is simmering just beneath the surface, ready for her character to spring to life. There’s a lot more to come here and I can’t wait to see it.

Stay tuned for more discussion of Malice as I’m able to watch the limited series.

Malice is currently streaming on Prime Video in the United States.