In some way, this was inevitable: a satirical program on a premium network targeting Hollywood’s recent (relatively speaking) trend of chasing franchises instead of good stories. A show literally named THE FRANCHISE will premiere on HBO early next month and run weekly on both the cable channel and Max.
Currently, the problem of “the franchise” may be resolving itself as declining ticket sales mean a superhero movie is no longer a guarantee of instant profits. When you have to hit a moving target, you may be slow on the draw, especially when it moves as fast as this business. But that doesn’t mean a show like The Franchise won’t be cathartic to some extent after years of Superhero Fatigue has worn everyone down.
Himesh Patel stars as the director of a small cog in a corporate machine, tasked with glorifying an “unloved” superhero IP the studio wants to be more valuable. His overworked and needlessly sarcastic co-workers include Billy Magnussen, Aya Cash (The Boys), Jessica Hynes (Shaun Of The Dead), Lolly Adefope (Shrill), Darren Goldstein (The Gilded Age), and Isaac Powell (Cat Person), with recurring guest stars Richard E. Grant and Daniel Brühl. Says HBO, “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***-up has an origin story.”
The Franchise comes from Armando Iaunucci, award-winning creator of Veep and Avenue 5, along with writer Jon Brown (also from Veep, but also Succession). Brown is the showrunner; Ianucci is executive producer alongside Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty), who is also the main director.
We should warn you this is an HBO trailer with uncensored HBO-style language, so it’s not safe to play at work with the sound on. We hope the show doesn’t lean on swearing as a joke instead of, y’know, actual jokes, but it’s too early to tell if this is the tone of the whole thing.
The Franchise begins October 8 at 10 PM on HBO; new episodes will appear on Max at the same time.
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