I am a huge fan of entertainment about classic Hollywood, and I have also enjoyed some of Ryan Murphy’s work (American Crime Story, Feud, some seasons of American Horror Story) so I was genuinely looking forward to this show. What a disappointment.
It is such a lazily written and almost dangerous piece of revisionist history. Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood ‘rewrites history’ by erasing those who really suffered in the name of progress, instead of championing them, and it is therefore a failure of what it wants to do.
So many people struggled through such hardship to get the industry to the (admittedly still imperfect) place it is today, and the characters here seem to quite easily ‘force change’ in a decision that is meant to be progressive but has the complete opposite effect.
There are a few things to like about this show, the strong and period specific production design, and the cast.
The ensemble is undeniably impressive; Jeremy Pope, Joe Mantello, Jake Picking, Jim Parsons, Holland Taylor, Patti LuPone, and Dylan McDermott all do great work and are entertaining.
The two performances that don’t work for me come from actors I know are talented, but Darren Criss and Laura Harrier don’t work for me in these specific roles, and they don’t click together on screen.
The two stand outs in the cast are David Corenswet and Samara Weaving, who both work together and separately very well. They have great charisma and the perfect classic Hollywood look.
Weaving brings a unique quirkinesses to a character that could’ve been bland, and this makes her stand out. Corenswet is the perfect Clark Kent if Henry Cavill never returns to the role.
This could’ve been so much better, and it really should’ve been.
Rating = 2.5/5
Howe's World of Film and TV 