大象传媒

Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.

This week, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan join Adrian Chiles to review The Franchise.

Created by Armando Iannucci and starring Himesh Patel, Jessica Hynes and Richard E Grant, the show takes viewers into a film set on a superhero franchise that’s struggling due to the bloated egos of actors, disruptive directors and unforeseen challenges.

The comedy shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero movie making and indeed film sets.

Alongside Armando Iannucci in the writing room is Sam Mendes and Jon Brown - two writers who’ve worked on award-winning films like James Bond’s Spectre and shows such as Succession respectively.

Hayley: “I liked this one. Many, many lines made me laugh out loud, but I come at this from the perspective of someone who used to work in a comic shop. So the world of superheroes is very familiar to me.

“I've also been on loads of film sets, and I've also interviewed actors who have to try and find something interesting to say about a job they've clearly done for the money. So I wonder if everything I love about this show will be too much of an in-joke, specifically for people like me.

“But on the other hand, superhero films now can be so self-aware and make fun of themselves, which is how you end up with a film like Deadpool & Wolverine. What I liked about this was [that] it's light and miserably pessimistic about the factory that makes superhero movies. I had a fun time with it.

“I really like how it shows how boring and stressful film sets are. It sounds weirdly privileged, but I try and weasel out of going to them all the time because they're just not a fun environment. You're always cold and in the way.

“It has the genre of in-joke that I really liked in the film Galaxy Quest. Jon Brown wrote The Franchise, and he also wrote on Succession, as well as Armando Iannucci's Veep and Avenue 5, which is something that says ‘this show is for me’. The music is by Trent Reznor, which is another thing that makes me think they made this show just for me. I really liked this, but I don't know who I would recommend it to”.

Scott: “Unlike Hayley I’m not from the world of comic books and I’m a bit of an outsider when it comes to superhero series and movie franchises. So there’s many references and in-jokes that went over my head or I felt I couldn’t connect with.

“There are funny moments. There's that opening scene, which is magical, where you see Himesh Patel, essentially as a first assistant director, walking through the whole studio, basically spinning 50 plates at once and trying to solve a myriad of issues from the actor's lunch not turning up to part of a set being potentially on fire.

“There's also a very funny scene at the start of episode two where he's driving to work whilst listening to a meditation tape, which is not recommended when you're driving. And then when the voice says "inhale… exhale", he's breathing in on a vape.

“There are those moments that you can connect with. But when it says and when it comments on superheroes [and] that universe, something feels missing.

“I was surprised at the lack of universality that sitcoms normally have. For example, with Veep and The Thick of It, [I'm not in the world of politics] but I knew that I could relate to the characters or I could connect with the world they operated within. That feels a lot harder here.

“However, Richard E. Grant, just being Richard E. Grant here… is glorious. He essentially plays an exaggerated version of himself”.

Hayley: “A theatre actor who's slumming it in superhero movies for money”.

Scott: “Yes, and a lot of joy is just hearing him swear. It's a bit like hearing Miriam Margolyes swear. There's something just so joyful about it”

Adrian: “Everyone worries themselves to a standstill when they get Miriam on!”

Scott: “But yes, seeing Richard E. Grant playing an exaggerated version of himself is funny. Seeing the stress of the environment and the ego, particularly when actors feel like they are the most self-important thing, is funny too.

“But I think overall as a whole, it felt lacking either in jokes in parts or just a consistent feel throughout it, it felt a little bit disjointed for me”.

Hayley: “I would disagree… It's a good start!”

Scott: “Starting off ourselves well, aren't we?”

Adrian: “Now, the last time I did this, there was a fair amount of fence-sitting I think from you Hayley… ‘is it a Must Watch or isn’t it’ but do we have clarity on this one?”

Hayley: “We do, yeah. I say this one's a Must Watch”.

Scott: “I'm saying this is not a Must Watch for me”.

All episodes of The Franchise are available to watch on Sky Q now and the streaming service NOW.

Episodes are also airing on the channel Sky Comedy.

Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening on 大象传媒 Sounds and all other podcast providers.

This week the team also reviewed Sweet Bobby and Disclaimer.