The Franchise

This is pretty fun as a premiss. The acting very solid, and I had a lot of fun with some parts and some episodes. This is lighthearted satire and as such it sometimes hits the mark, but enough of the time it does not.

I would say that except for the premiss and the acting about half of each episode is good fun entertainment. The problem is of course that the other half is either not funny, does not hit the mark or is just unrecognisable for anyone outside. We cannot all have been part of a production crew or know how movies are made.

Despite my reservation this is not bad. I had fun watching this show and there is enough laughter to at least be partly entertained.

I give this a 6/10. I think that is resonable. But I am uncertain if I should recommend this show, I do not think this is for everyone.

When I first saw the rating for the show, it was sitting at a 1.0. Hopefully that has changed by then but it definitely had me curious. When they first announced this, I was sold. It'd been a couple of years now, but Sam Mendes? HBO? The plot was intriguing enough to warrant a check-out. I only feel implored as to not let this sink by the wayside. Only one episode in but it's a very solid pilot. If you have any mild interest in the film industry or any basic understanding of the toxic culture I'm sure they'll be something for you to enjoy. I could only see the negative reviews as a way of self-defensive mechanism but they show the Warner Brothers logo itself so clearly they're comfortable making fun of themselves. I could also see the complaint of everybody just being horrible people but again it's so early to tell and I think there's enough serviceable characters to make way for something more personal.

I am writing this for the hope some of you come across it and balance out the "haters" who don't understand what it's like to work in the entertainment industry.

The negative reviews are asking the questions: " Who are these people?" Answer: these are the people who spend stupid hours (hours away from their real life and family) making the movies that you watch and share life experiences over.

Why do they look like they are all on drugs? Answer: they look "run down" and "weathered" because they are. They are strung out because most days you need to be in the middle of Jersey or Indiana at 3am and problem solve a constant flow of emotions. The 1st AD is the hardest job. You manage everyone and every aspect of the cinema. Then one day you wake up and you look 10 years older than you are.

The show is fast, well-acted and hilarious. The way the show interweaves between character tracks and back into ensemble makes it easy to watch.

Just watch it and don't "listen to anybody" anymore. Find your own opinion and vision on life.

Not sure exactly who this show is for exactly. I've watched a few movies about making movies and they were also comedies. Movies like One Cut of the Dead, Living in Oblivion those are very funny movies while simultaneously makes me wonder why I ever want to work in the industry (though I have no plans on stopping). This show does have its funny moments, again if you've worked on a set you'll definitely relate to this. My favorite moments are the "actors" Richard E Grant plays a prestigious theatre actor who hates his co star played by Billy Magnussen. They were the standout of this episode

Not sure if this show is going to have much to say about the industry other than producers getting in the way of directors but I am interested in where it's gonna go.

Feeling motivated to review (I rarely do) because this show deserves WAY BETTER than its ~6 average rating.

It's like W1A in that the dialogue is so clever it is dripping with hilarious references that would keep you laughing through the 2nd and 3rd rewatches.

The folks giving this a bad review are not appraising this for what it is - a short sharp skewer of overcommercialised showbiz, delivered in digestible helpings. It is not a procedural sitcom, but doesn't hold itself out to be. Instead it has much more heart and approaches some more significant themes.

I think the writing of the characters is fantastic and it's the best I've seen Himesh Patel. Richard E Grant is excellent as ever, and delivers a hugely self effacing performance.