It’s the Birthing Suite Life of Rachel and Rachel in an exclusive first-look clip from the upcoming Prime Video series Dead Ringers. The show is a gender-swapped adaptation of David Cronenberg’s 1988 Can-con classic about twin gynecologists Elliot and Beverly Mantle, both played by Jeremy Irons (that’s what makes it scary). In this modernized adaptation of the psychological thriller, Elliot and Beverly are women played by Rachel Weisz, but they still “share everything: drugs, lovers, and an unapologetic desire to do whatever it takes — including pushing the boundaries on medical ethics— in an effort to challenge antiquated practices and bring women’s health care to the forefront.” That last one sounds like the Pfizer ad-copy way of saying they’re gonna be trying out some freaky mad-scientist stuff on their patients.
In this clip, which is from the first episode of the series, the twin Weiszes are scheming in a diner, and it’s immediately apparent which one’s the Zack and which one’s the Cody in their twinship: Elliot wears her hair down, eats with her mouth open, wields sarcasm, and says things like “fuck” and “shit” (we know Dylan Sprouse didn’t technically do that last one on Suite Life, but you know what we mean). Beverly, on the other hand, is soft-spoken, her hair pulled back, and wants “total control.” Her way of achieving it is to open a private practice, and Eliot agrees it’s the dream: “opening a birthing center until we can do literally just that until the end of time, non-stop babies.” Beverly adds that they’ll be able to have a lab of their own, which gets Elliot going, because “well now lab, fucking yes, the lab is the fucking thing.”
Dead Ringers is created and written by Normal People’s Alice Birch. Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Nest) directs the first two episodes and co-executive-produces alongside Weisz and Birch. Other directors onboard include Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, Yellowjackets), Karena Evans (P-Valley, Snowfall), and Lauren Wolkstein (Queen Sugar, Y: The Last Man). If you’ve ever tweeted something like “rachel weisz dissect me with a dirty scalpel mother!” Dead Ringers is the show for you, and it premieres April 21.
