This absurdist take on a subgenre spoofs such suburban paranoia movies as Rear Window and The Woman in the Window. Kirsten Bell is alcoholic ombrophobiac (Google it, or just watch the show) Anna, left traumatized after the horrific death of her daughter. Spending her days holed up at home with a trashy book and an apparently endless supply of wine, Anna’s spirits are lifted when a hunky neighbour moves into the house across the street.

But all is not as it seems… not least the fact that Neil (Tom Riley) already has a girlfriend (Shelley Hennig). After a night on the vino, Anna witnesses a murder. But with no body to be found and nobody believing her story, she finds herself questioning the impossible… is there really a killer on the loose, or is has she finally lost her wine-and-grief-addled mind?

It’s a familiar setup (hello, Disturbia, and that Simpsons episode), and this miniseries plays its mystery relatively straight. While the silly humour delights, the show’s creators take the story seriously… until they don’t. Silly as it can get, the stakes feel real, the characters plausible. This is Bell’s show, and she is great fun as Anna, doing great work with the moments of serious drama allowed in-between all the wine-slurping and casserole making. The supporting cast of friends, neighbours and murder suspects aren’t quite so well-rounded, but they do a good job of filling out Anna’s world in the limited time given.

While the tonal dissonance can be jarring, the show deserves respect for going as dark as it does. Featuring its own fair share of jaw-dropping twists, and a finale straight out of the classic slasher movie playbook, it’s an unexpected ride – and a far more successful one than last year’s dour, predictable Woman in the Window. Well worth a watch, through the window or otherwise.

The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window is out now on Netflix