There are a number of predictable needle drops during “Tiny Beautiful Things,” but not the most obvious one, from Imagine Dragons: “Oh, the misery / Everybody wants to be my enemy.” If you’re not humming that before episode 8, it is only because you don’t know the song.
Adapted from a book by Cheryl Strayed (“Wild”) that was based on her work as an online advice columnist, the series stars Kathryn Hahn , who is watchable in anything, even this.
But somewhere en route from the “Dear Sugar” phenomenon to a collection of essays to a stage play and then a TV series, someone lost the plot.
That someone, evidently, was creator and showrunner Liz Tigelaar , who has reduced the advice-columnist hook to a virtual afterthought and produced a wearying storyline that never quite arcs.
It does, however, fit the woman-centric agenda of the Reese Witherspoon-empowered Hello Sunshine company (“Big Little Lies,” “ Daisy Jones & The Six”), Ms. Witherspoon’s co-executive producers including Laura Dern , Ms. Strayed and Ms. Hahn.