The Franchise

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.

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.

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.

Although you do have to be a little bit familiar with the jargon - which will reduce potential viewers - it's on mark and it hits the ground running. The acting is pretty strong right off the bat. I already care about the lead and his struggle.

I don't understand people complaining of not laughing enough. This is not stand up comedy, it's a satirical drama.

Like everything Iannucci touches, it's cringe funny. Not lol funny. The sadness of it all is always lurking in the background. This is what made Veep work on so many levels, those ridiculous characters have some real depth. And I think it's the case here. As it wasn't in Avenue 5 for example (even if I enjoyed it). There's real potential to get deep into pointing out the industry's flaws while showing the human point of view in a rather light vehicule. To me the angle is just right and it reminds me of the political comment in Veep.

I wish more people were appreciative of this kind of craft, as I feel this will get cancelled right out of the gate. Not a lot of series with this kind of beat and style. A Aaron Sorkin meet Mel Brooks kind of thing.

It's on its way to offend super hero fans, and I hope they will realize it's because they're right on point ;)