by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
What is happening to HBO? Since Warner Bros. and Discovery merged, HBO has taken a considerable hit in its programming quality. In the past, HBO would make some of the best quality television out there, but this year in particular, has been challenging for the streamer, with several shows failing to meet its usual standards. Yes, there have been hits like Hacks, The Penguin, and Industry; however, far more have been swings and misses. Moreover, many had high expectations, only to disappoint us.
Perhaps that’s what makes The Franchise so frustrating.
The series revolves around a Marvel-esque cinematic universe in which two movies are filmed. One is a team-up style, high-budget movie that will be a summer tentpole for this studio. The other is a sequel to a standalone superhero movie that isn’t as well-regarded. Following the crew and actors of the latter, The Franchise showcases the struggles of making big-budget movies in an age where expectations, both from the audience and studios, are sky high.
Credit where credit is due, The Franchise has an incredible cast of talented performers. We primarily follow Daniel Kumar (Hamish Patel), the assistant director, who is trying to keep everything afloat. Daniel has to juggle the needs of the studio, the cast, and the crew. He’s the middleman, trying to smooth out disagreements before they become problems. Unfortunately, since this is a sitcom, the disagreements always become problems at some point.
The film’s director is Eric Bouchard (Daniel Brühl), who is more of an arthouse director trying his best to adapt to mainstream Hollywood. The clashes that Eric has with everyone trying to make the movie, titled Tecto: Eye of the Storm, are due to him trying to create something beyond conventional superhero fare. He’s looking for emotion and wants to make art, which clashes with everyone working on the film, since he’s constantly tweaking things. His main ally is Steph (Jessica Hynes), a script supervisor who wants nothing more than to bring Eric’s vision to life. She knows it’s a tall ask, but she still works to make his movie a reality, though at the expense of everyone on set.
Focusing much of the attention on the crew is a wise choice. Often, people don’t understand the heavy lifting required to make a movie. Hundreds of people work on a single project, yet the focus always seems to be on higher-profile names, like actors, directors, and writers. Although much of The Franchise’s focus is on the directors, producers, and screenwriters, spotlighting crew members like the stunt coordinator, pyrotechnics engineer, and set designer is an excellent reminder that the team working on a movie is enormous and deserves recognition, too.
The problem with this strategy is that you must have someone you’re rooting for to be able to empathize with the crew. Dare I say, there aren’t a lot of likable characters in this show. Many of them are selfish, and have their own agendas. The unlikable characters are very evident with the actors. Two that are the focus, a thespian actor that is doing the role for a paycheck (Richard E. Grant) and the cocky lead who is so far up his ego that he can’t see how terrible he is (Billy Magnussen), are so unlikable that it’s hard to care about either character. Yes, I concede that all the characters made me laugh; however, it wasn’t enough for me to find much redemption for them.
There are so many characters, but there are more episodes to give the audience a chance to meaningfully get to know them. On shooting days, they try to elevate the situation to create conflict. Like many sitcoms, though, it all boils down to miscommunication or lack of communication, which is just lazy writing, something I’ve been finding more and more frustrating with HBO shows lately.
Moreover, the series doesn’t lean in enough to convey meaningful messages about Hollywood or the entertainment industry. If the show had anything to say, or commentary to provide, I didn’t see it. Instead, I saw a workplace comedy where people just don’t work well together.
I was excited about The Franchise, but I ultimately felt more disappointed than mad. It could have been an interesting exposé of the entertainment industry’s current state. However, the series squanders a talented cast with a lousy story and characters. HBO has had a bad year, and it will have to do some soul-searching to figure out how to regain its mojo.
Rating: Low Side of It Was Just Okay
The Franchise is currently streaming on Max
You can read more from Mike Hilty and follow him on Instagram, Letterboxd, and Serializd