HBO Original comedy series "The Franchise" marvels in darkly humorous debut!
The Franchise debuted on Sunday, October 6 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. The writers of The Franchise paint a satirical picture for audiences that shows how a creative impasse between directors, network execs, producers, show runners, actors, and fans can make or break a film if key elements to the story are not present.
The Franchise follows an unloved, fictional, superhero franchise movie set crew as they fight for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe. The comedy series shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking, to ask the question — how exactly does the cinematic sausage get made? Because every f*ck-up has an origin story.
However, differing ideas and opinions on what will sell, why what previously sold did, and what is expected to sell now can be miles apart. The use of dark humor in moments of importance or discussion of vital topics like deadlines, job security, and finances make this series marvelously funny, chaotic, and entertaining.
From the very first scene, the use of comedy in a satirical way gives this series a refreshing and funny tone. Jobs are at stake, careers may never recover, but its important if # 1 on the call sheet has their broccolini salad and that someone on set picks the onions out for them before action is yelled and they can deliver an overly dramatic 10 minute monologue that will put audiences to sleep. However, its ok as long as the budget stays in tact, the showrunner is happy, deadlines are met and the administrative big guys think this is what viewers currently want and it will possibly be a big hit. The show must go on!
The series stars:
Main
Himesh Patel as Danie
Aya Cash as Anita
Jessica Hynes as Step
Billy Magnussen as Adam
Lolly Adefope as Dag
Darren Goldstein as Pat
Isaac Cole Powell as Bryson
The Franchise also darkly humorizes how workers on these films that often go unnoticed, unheard, and underpaid are the main ones who are negatively impacted by issues between those with big titles and upper level management. Their conflicting ideals and creative discourse while a show is in production or when a previously successful franchise has their next installment flop often results in grave consequences for those who aren’t involved enough to influence the overall decision making processes.
More and more big movie sets are becoming places where workers begin to feel uninspired, dejected, and no longer passionate about their craft or roles in the industry. The hilarity that the series showcases when cinematic industry workers experience burnout due to constant…unreasonable and inconsiderate changes is authentic and funny.
Join this hopeful crew as they find themselves trapped inside the dysfunctional, nonsensical, joyous hellscape of “Tetco”, the next big franchise superhero movie.
The Franchise premiered on October 6 and will release half hour episodes weekly on Sundays on HBO. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Max.