The Franchise

This is pretty fun as a premiss. The acting very solid, and I had a lot of fun with some parts and some episodes. This is lighthearted satire and as such it sometimes hits the mark, but enough of the time it does not.

I would say that except for the premiss and the acting about half of each episode is good fun entertainment. The problem is of course that the other half is either not funny, does not hit the mark or is just unrecognisable for anyone outside. We cannot all have been part of a production crew or know how movies are made.

Despite my reservation this is not bad. I had fun watching this show and there is enough laughter to at least be partly entertained.

I give this a 6/10. I think that is resonable. But I am uncertain if I should recommend this show, I do not think this is for everyone.

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.

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 ;)

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.

Sharply written spoof/satire. Been waiting for a show with edge for a while, this one is done well.

A great cast, comedy chops a plenty you are spoiling us.. and it's funny and silly at the same time. Inspired cast, Richard E Grant clearly having a ball (playing a complete **** - love his blurbs to camera during the credits) makes me want to also watch Withnall again. Daniel Bruhl, Himesh Patel, Juliette Stephenson to name a few, and Billy Magnussen especially is brilliant. Having a laugh at the tropes and clichés of certain movie universes, reminded me of Soapdish what's not to like, it's all done so well.

Ignore the bad reviews. I'm bingeing this as its so good. I hope it gets another season.