The Franchise

For some reason silly people have been review-bombing this series with lots of 1/10 ratings and reviews. Ignore these and just give it a watch.

Fans of British comedy and Armando Iannucci will find a lot to like in this. A great series in the tradition of Extras and Veep/Thick of It, commenting on behind the scenes making of movies and television. But similar situations can easily be applied to any other hard-working industry where people go into for their passion, but have to navigate the labytinth of internal politics, brutal business side and overworking to keep trying to achieve their dream careers.

So anyone can find something for themselves in this series, the only consideration is if the type of humor will suit you. And the best way is to find out is to give an actual watch.

Awesome studio type show with awesome techno music and goofy actors within actors not to bad fun entertainment! Surprised the low rating on IMDb at least plenty appreciate The Franchise. I love the cast so much especially Himesh Patel, Billy M, and most everyone else is lovely; I wish I could hangout in a cinema studio it seems so great. The humor is great, the writing is pretty smooth, fairly intriguing and magnificent entertainment value truly deserves better ratings! Delightful series for the most part but hbo is lacking on better shows except The Penguin that is a pure masterpiece - I would understand hate this show is a little chaotic/cheesy.

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 was "with it" for a brief period, and even to me, I feel out of place laughing at some of the show's jokes about situations I have not personally been in. The show centers around an Assistant Director, which unfortunately gives its viewers a bit of imposter syndrome as pretty much none of us have actually been Directors or Producers on multi-hundred dollar superhero production.

That said, the more I watch the show, the more I have grown to like it. Episode 3 may be the best yet for nailing the subject matter, albeit there is nothing particularly new about its social commentary on misogyny in MCU, nor is the satire in the least bit subdued. It is what it is: Lighthearted laughter through parody. I will continue to watch the show, as it's easy viewing and at least good for several laughs. My recommendation is watch at least a few episodes before deciding if it's for you.

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.