HBO’s “The Franchise” lives on the edge of chaos. Keeping utter anarchy at bay is a small, dedicated group of unheralded assistant directors and executive producers, but it’s clear from the jump that any sense of control they have over the irrepressible madness of mega-budget studio movie-making is as temporary as it is temperamental. In the opening scene, Dag (Lolly Adefope) walks onto the “Tecto” set for the first time and, like a cog placed into an already-moving machine, slots seamlessly into the frenzied vibes. After a barely acknowledged introduction, she’s running to and fro, helping her boss Daniel (Himesh Patel) avoid one impending disaster after another so they can actually, maybe, for a few seconds even… roll cameras.

They have to diffuse the anxious director, who’s fallen way behind schedule but still refuses to give up any of the 16 set-ups for his “big waterfall scene...