“The Cleaning Lady” Review: Where An Undocumented Cambodian Doctor Has To Clean Up After Local Cartels

After an elaborate engagement party, Tony De La Rosa (Elodie Jung) wraps up the concert. He gets a job from his daughter-in-law Fiona (Martha Milan). Tony came to the United States to undergo a bone marrow transplant.

His immunocompromised son, Luca (Sebastian and Valentino LaSal), lives in the United States with Fiona and her family. One problem: the donor failed, and Tony’s visa had expired, which meant he, too, and Luke had no papers. Fiona is also undocumented, but more than one reason to move to allow herself and her children to have a better life.

When the client starts petting Tony, Fiona hits him in the throat.

As he fell to the floor breathlessly, Tony opened his airway using whatever sharp tool he had in his hands. It turns out she is a doctor in her native Cambodia and lives in the Philippines. Hoping to return to that life and her husband when Luke receives this transplant.

While working at an underground fighting club, he sees several cartel members killing the man who hired him. To save his life, he tells Armand Morales (Adan Kanto), the local tribal chief. That he knows how to purify blood so that nothing remains.

You may also read “The Standups Season 3” Review: New pack of six and a half hours comedy special

Not only does he save her, but she pays him for his work and tells him he’s officially on call. He was reluctant but generally had no choice. This gets deeper when Armand makes several calls and puts Luca back on the donor list after Tony has visa issues.

Meanwhile, Fiona gets a job as a waitress at a luxury club. But when her boss asks her to sell ecstasy on the sidelines. Tony ironically forbids her because she will be deported if caught. As a result, it nearly exploded while clearing the cartel’s previous safe location; Arman pulls him out but learns that his boss, Hayak Barsamyan (Navid Negaban), will not hold him back.

While watching Miranda Kwok’s The Cleaning Lady (The 100). Sometimes we get irritated when we see a drama. That would be much better if it were a streaming service than an announcer. There’s nothing on the show that’s particularly dumb because the network drama has potential, but it’s disappointing.

Why? Since the show touches on so many topics that can make for a fascinating drama. The show seems to be more often involved in action scenes and “spooky cartels” seem to be more often.

You may also read “Around The World In 80 Days” Review: Where David Tennant Recorded Phileas Fogg’s Adventures

We appreciate that this program shows how many people live in the United States without proper documentation.

Some, like Fiona, want a better life. Others, like Tony, were late. Tony is here to provide care for his son needs; he was so weak that his room was surrounded by plastic and anyone who entered his environment had to shower, scrub and change clothes. Tony dresses her in an astronaut suit and children’s helmet to take her to the doctor’s office. It doesn’t bother anyone; He’s here to make sure his son is safe.

We look forward to learning more about what families like Tony and Fiona need to do to avoid deportation and what the country’s current immigration policies mean for their daily lives. A treatise on the glaring injustices of the American health system would also be of interest.

However, we’d be surprised when the show gets that deep based on the pilot. It looks like it’s more about Tony working for Armand and doing his best not to get killed while he’s being chased by FBI agent Gareth Miller (Oliver Hudson).

And of course, it can be a good show. Not that we’ve never seen or enjoyed a show where people accidentally get caught up in organized crime and watch it affect their entire lives. But The Cleaning Lady feels like a show that could be a lot more complicated than that and probably won’t be given a chance because it broadcasts on Fox rather than a cable network or streaming service.

You may also read “Stay Close” Review: Harlan Coben’s tale of a chill case that connects a cop, a former stripper and a photojournalist

We want The Cleaning Lady to get a little under the surface of some of Tony and his family’s issues. We’re okay with action shows, good guys – bad guys because Jung and the other actors do the material they’re given is good.