Critic Reviews

Armando Iannucci, Jon Brown, and Sam Mendes have crafted an unforgettable and endlessly entertaining series that is filled to the brim with wry, dark humor, unfortunate truths, and an exceptional cast that knows exactly how to deliver what this show aims to be.

Caustically funny and breathlessly so, “The Franchise” would have had a bit more bite if it didn’t confirm suspicions we probably already have about what lies behind all those cookie-cutter, sci-fi-fantasy-superhero Marvel-DC movies.

There’s lived experience on the screen here, is the point. But really, even those who have never stepped foot on a movie set can relate to the vibes involved.

Casting superhero movies not as cinema but as wildly expensive content, it’s a show that’ll be music to Martin Scorsese’s ears.

A consistently funny skewering of the trials and tribulations of making a superhero movie. Phase One of the Franchise Television Universe (FTU) is off to a strong start.

The first season’s eight episodes feel neither defensive nor score-settling, the rare satire that can be enjoyed by fans and haters alike.

The Franchise isn’t damning enough to cause some sort of reckoning upon Hollywood’s franchise factory. But it is cutting enough to lift the curtain on what it’s really like to pander to an industry that constantly changes its mind and has no room for originality. The truth may not be pretty – but it certainly is laughable.

This is comedy from a recognisable school. Mainly this is a good thing – I’m not sure that I will ever tire of the rabid phrasemaking and effervescent swearing that has long been an Iannucci trademark, nor the habit of contorting language and corporate speak to the point where words lose all meaning.

This hilariously vicious showbiz satire, from producers of Veep and Succession, spares no one in front or behind the camera in its skewing of a big-budget workplace. [28 Oct - 17 Nov 2024, p.4]

If the characters aren't as finely drawn as they should be, and if their development often gets lost in the effort of pushing Tecto's production along, the very talented actors add enough magic to keep the show highly watchable and frequently laugh-out-loud funny.