The Franchiseis about as inside baseball as it gets . The novel HBO series from executive producer Jon Brown , Armando Iannucci ( Veep ) , and Sam Mendes ( 1917 ) satirizes the soulless inner workings of a innovative - day superhero movie set . Its episode worry themselves with , among other things , the fungibility of crossover cameos , virtuously questionable case of mathematical product emplacement , and the death threats that overqualified actress get these days whenever they settle to dip their toe into a sci - fi or comical book of account dealership . Will these issues be interesting to casual viewer ? It ’s impossible to say , but there ’s no dubiousness that theyarecompelling to Brown and his collaborators .
The Franchiseisn’t just darkly funny and quick - witted ; it ’s also well - research . The problems that its fabricated film crew face while trying to bring the latest installing of a monumental , Marvel Cinematic Universe - esque franchise past the finish line are n’t just credible most of the time but often feel ripped straight from past trade headlines . This givesThe Franchisea chance to tip into the very real contemporary defeat of Hollywood gang members and reveal the danger of an amusement manufacture that cares more about brand management and corporate synergy than character or creativity .
The Franchisedoes so , of course , while also satirize the absurdity of the trends that have brought Hollywood to such a upsetting spot to begin with . The series is a satire with a very decipherable , obvious power point — one that it hits repeatedly over the course of its eight episode — but its genuine concerns about the future of its industry do n’t quit it from having a helluva fun time . “ Rome ’s getting hot these days , ” one crew phallus enunciate to another in a midseason sequence . It ’s toThe Franchise‘s credit that it always feels like it is at the same time trying to put out the fire and dance amidst the wreckage .
At the heart ofThe Franchiseis Daniel ( Himesh Patel ) , the beleaguered First Assistant Director ofTecto : Eye of the Storm , a new spinoff in an extremely MCU - fool superhero enfranchisement . Daniel ’s days are spent not only overseeingTecto‘s place but also managing the egotism of its director , Eric ( Daniel Brühl ) , and its two stars , an chesty British role player who is literally begging to be strike down ( Richard E. Grant ) and an insecure wannabe movie lead ( Billy Magnussen ) who believe he is on the “ leaflet ” of ultimately becoming a member of Hollywood ’s A - leaning . When Pat ( Darren Goldstein ) , one of the brutish heads ofTecto‘s parent studio apartment , arrive unannounced on set one day , he brings with him a unexampled , pressurized condition quo , as well as Anita ( The Boysstar Aya Cash ) , an ambitious up - and - get producer who used to date Daniel .
The Franchise‘s eight sequence survey Daniel and the other fellow member ofTecto‘s gang as they painfully make their way through the film ’s 117 - day shoot . Various absurd job inevitably come up . Eric is repeatedly steamrolled by Pat and the director of a nearby , bigger sister production , while the last - minute cancellation of another flick results at one gunpoint in Pat need that Anita solve their studio ’s “ woman problem . ” Her answer ends up involving a magic stick from comical book lore andTecto‘s sole distaff character , a purple - skinned phantom played by Quinn ( Katherine Waterston ) , an Academy Award - nominate actress who ca n’t wait to get as far off fromTectoand its rabid infrastructure of misogynistic fan as she can .
The Franchisetackles all of its corporate - driven take with a straight enough facial expression and dry enough wit to effectively emphasize just how cockeyed and someone - killing the mean solar day - by - Clarence Day sledding - on of a modern-day enfranchisement production have become . The series does , however , waver a piece in its actual picture ofTectoand its fellow superhero films . The Franchiseand its makers have such a clear contempt for the superhero writing style as a whole that the show ’s more pointed critique of the current Hollywood studio system are sometimes undercut by how implausibly uncollectible its central fictional studio ’s movies are made out to be . WhileThe Franchiserarely ever drifts too far away from its core ideas , a few of its midseason sequence , including one chronicling a night shoot that is sent into bedlam by an at hand sojourn from Christopher Nolan , palpate less focussed and exact than the rest .
The show ’s missteps are largely cancel by the performances grant by its cast . Cash and Patel capably emerge asThe Franchise‘s de facto lead story and effortlessly adapt to its rapid - fire pace and acidic horse sense of humor . Magnussen and Grant ’s fictional character never really produce beyond their one - note archetype , but the two actors nonetheless prove to be reliable sources of comedy as well . The same is largely true of British TV vets Jessica Hynes and Lolly Adefope , who play Eric and Daniel ’s right - hand assistants , respectively , thoughThe Franchisestruggles to consistently justify their characters ’ role in the show .
Ultimately , no one stands out more inThe Franchise‘s cast than Daniel Brühl . The actor , who has some experience working in the superhero writing style , is a comedic revelation as Eric , an egotistical film producer who visualize himself an auteur and yet lack the spine to do anything more than throw the occasional surliness scene to protect his “ vision . ”The Franchiseis , frankly , deserving attempt out just to see how Brühl takes lines like , “ I reallydowant to say something about fracking ! ” and cope to make the out-and-out most out of them . In the actor ’s capable hands , Eric transforms into both a silly send - up of a visionary creative person and a charitable portrait of a human being who does n’t yet earn that his idea do n’t actually matter at all to his employer .
It ’s this line between parody and real pain thatThe Franchisemanages to mount exceptionally well across its first season and what may make it more accessible to viewers who are n’t as in - the - know as the Hollywood insiders who made it . For those who are , The Franchisemay not occur just as a welcome jape , a traumatizing reminder of preceding experience , or a much - needed backwash - up call , but all of the above . It ’s a TV series that scorches just about everything it puts in its aftermath , and it ’s both a effective and speculative thing that it still feel by the oddment of its first eight installment like it has only scarce scratched the surface of Hollywood ’s current problem .
The Franchisepremieres Sunday , October 6 on HBO . unexampled episodes air weekly on Sundays . Digital Trends was given early access to the series ’ entire eight - sequence first time of year .
