Big Little Lies' attempt to be more diverse in Season 2 feels "like checking the boxes"

Los Angeles Times

"Finally acknowledge Bonnie’s ethnicity? Check," says Greg Braxton of Sunday's episode. "Plug a few dark faces into the mix? Check. Juice up the soundtrack with classic Motown/R&B tunes to bring that Big Chill vibe? Check. Move on to business as usual? Check, check, check. The show would have been better off leaving its head in the white sand. Race remains one of the country’s most heated and divisive issues. Although it might be admirable for (David E.) Kelley and what an HBO publicist confirmed is the all-white ranks of producers and writers on the series to inject more diversity into the proceedings, treating the issue so shallowly, without any sensitivity or understanding, is more than a misguided grab at relevance: It’s offensive."