Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Mature humor, language in witty behind-the-scenes satire.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Franchise
What's the Story?
Billions of dollars and art itself are the stakes as THE FRANCHISE gets going—a series about the making of great big ponderous superhero movies by the fallible and nervous. Former indie director Eric (Daniel Brühl) is hard at work making his first big superhero tentpole; Adam (Billy Magnussen) is the lead actor who dreams this will be his last non-serious role; Daniel (Himesh Patel) is Eric's first assistant director, clinging to the hope that this will be his last AD job before he gets his own movie. Everyone working on Tecto: Eye of the Storm has plans and big dreams that have absolutely nothing to do with the movie. But if they can help this stupid thing succeed, they may just be able to keep their dreams alive another day.
Is It Any Good?
The movie being filmed in this wry and energetic series looks just awful, but the show about making it is both diverting and educational, especially for comic book movie fans. Something's always going wrong on the set of the latest Marvel, whoops, we mean Maximum Studios superhero movie, Tecto: Eye of the Storm. If it's not one of the studio execs popping in to change the entire thrust of the script or two actors battling over which one has more audience cred, it's the intense auteur-director trying to figure out how to impart messages about fracking in a movie about a hero who uses an invisible jackhammer to harness the power of sound waves.
Viewers who know a thing or two about superhero movies will delight in insider-y plotlines: Eric is a stand-in for the indie filmmakers who left defeated by Marvel's movie machine; producer Anita (Aya Cash) is brought on to flesh out the role of Tecto's only female character, The Lilac Ghost and solve Maximum's "woman problem"; actors Adam and Peter (Richard E. Grant) are injured by the bright lights producers insist are brought onto the set due to the visuals being "too dark." But even if you don't see the Marvel parallels, The Franchise is still a witty delight, with lots of smart characters toiling mightily to make something pretty dumb. "Every time I find a hill to die on, I die on it," as Eric says, "and then I'm just dead on a hill." It's an apt metaphor for the artistic process on display here, to be sure, but the foibles sure are fun.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about superhero movies. What movies is this show making fun of? Are they a ripe topic for humor? Why or why not?
Do you need to be a fan of Marvel or Marvel movies to appreciate this show? Why or why not?
The Franchise purports to show us backstage life. What other movies or TV shows can you name that do the same? How is The Franchise like or different from them?
TV Details
- Premiere date : October 6, 2024
- Cast : Billy Magnussen , Aya Cash , Himesh Patel
- Network : HBO
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2024
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