Writers know it's not always easy to find something you want to write about.

That's why in the new Netflix series The Beast in Me, a writer played by Claire Daines, has mixed feelings about the arrival of her new neighbor, played by Matthew Reese.

On the one hand, he's a famous, rich, and

despised real estate guy who might make a good subject for her next book. On the other hand,

one reason he's despised is that an awful lot of people suspect he murdered his first wife.

What can you say? Everything is about tradeoffs. The two cautiously get acquainted as she tries to figure out the truth. I'm Linda Holmes, and today we're talking about The Beast in Me on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

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Joining me today is one of the hosts of NPR's Code Switch podcast, Gene Demby. Hello, Gene.

What's good with your friend? So good to be here. It is so good to see you. Also, with us is Kristen Mineser. She co-hosts The Nightly on Hatch Plus. I didn't know that. Hey, Kristen. Hey, Linda. Thanks for having me back. Absolutely. We are delighted to have you always. All right. The Beast in Me

unites two of the true big shots of the prestige streaming era, Claire Daines, who of course

starred in Homeland, and Matthew Reese, who starred in The Americans. Danes plays Aggie Wiggs,

a writer whose memoir about her con artist father won a Pulitzer Prize.

But in the years since it was published, she's struggled to come up with a new book,

especially after the death of her young son and the breakup of her marriage.

She's knocking around her fancy house all alone when she realizes she has a new neighbor.

A real estate tycoon named Nile Jarvis, played by Reese, has moved in next door with his wife.

She's played by Brittany Snow.

The very busy, by the way, we should say, Britney Snow.

Jarvis is working on a major construction project that's running into various

problems, but his bigger challenge is that he's widely suspected of having murdered his first wife,

...