HBO’s Marvel Spoof The Franchise Is, Like the MCU, Less Than the Sum of Its Parts

As a long-time enthusiast of both cinema and satire, I must confess that “The Franchise” left me feeling rather underwhelmed. With a rich background in media and entertainment, I found myself yearning for more biting commentary on the industry’s inner workings than what was served up in this series.

Robert Downey Jr. Scarlett Johansson. Samuel L. Jackson. Don Cheadle. Kathryn Hahn. Tom Hiddleston. Angela Bassett. Elizabeth Olsen. Mark Ruffalo. Natalie Portman. Zoe Saldaña. Michael B. Jordan. Brie Larson. Stellan Skarsgård. Benedict Cumberbatch. Chadwick Boseman. Florence Pugh. Anthony Hopkins. Tilda Swinton. Cate Blanchett. Michelle Yeoh. This is an extremely incomplete list of great actors—icons, legends, cult heroes, Oscar and Emmy winners—who have inhabited characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Many of their performances in those titles were overseen by an impressive roster of established and emerging directors: Kenneth Branagh, Chloé Zhao, Ryan Coogler, Taika Waititi, Nia DaCosta. Yet, despite the occasional Black Panther-level triumph, the MCU has never come close to equaling the sum of its parts.

The squandering of talent and vast amounts of money on predictable junk films is infuriating to all but die-hard superhero fans. The biting wit of wasted potential is the driving force behind HBO’s upcoming comedy series, “The Franchise,” premiering October 6. This show takes a humorous look at the creation of an incredibly dumb film within a universe similar to Marvel. The executive producers, including Sam Mendes (who directed the pilot) and creator of “Veep” Armando Iannucci, are highly respected industry professionals. The cast, featuring Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Richard E. Grant, Lolly Adefope, Billy Magnussen, and others, includes some of the funniest actors in existence. However, while it’s not as entertaining as “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “The Franchise” sometimes feels like a squandered chance.

In the sprawling, gloomy studios of Maximum Studios, Jon Brown (creator of Succession and Veep) paints a vivid picture of the daily turmoil in the filmmaking of Tecto. Costumed extras, some playing fish people or mossy creatures, shuffle around the soundstage in their unwieldy outfits. A studio representative is on her way to address concerns about the movie’s overly dark lighting. The characters we meet are largely recognizable: Magnussen as the vain and insecure leading man, Adam; Grant as the lascivious, insecure actor, Peter; Brühl as the eccentric European director who idolizes Christopher Nolan, Eric; and Goldstein as the fratty, art-unappreciative executive, Pat. However, a few characters stand out as unique. Adefope brings laughter as Dag, a new hire who is oblivious to the studio’s hierarchy and unafraid to call out compromises, hypocrisies, and other issues in franchise filmmaking that others choose to overlook.

In Brown’s narrative, Patel’s character Daniel, the first assistant director, is skillfully selected as the lead. This role, known for its high stress levels, requires solving a myriad of issues ranging from technical glitches to temperamental director outbursts, all while maintaining harmony among stars and studio executives. To put it in his own words: “I’m the world’s least appreciated superhero, the Everything Man.

Although this setup offers ample opportunity for humor, it didn’t often elicit hearty laughter from me. The performances are solid and the dialogue is well-written. It’s clear that Brown, with his background in some of TV’s most creatively vulgar shows, has infused the series with his unique touch. At one point, Daniel exclaims, “The movie is a scrotum resting on a razor’s edge.” Eric delivers a powerful monologue in the premiere, expressing frustration over the studio’s intrusive management of his unconventional creative vision: “I may look like a hipster man who buys towels at Muji, but I’m not. I’m peculiar. I’m serious. I can’t think like the kind of guy who washes his car, eats a chicken drumstick with his wife, and then takes a bath. If that’s what they want, they should hire Ron Howard.

Although the storyline lacks momentum due to minimal peril, one might wonder if it truly matters if Tecto, a film seemingly of no interest beyond Eric, were to be abruptly halted during production by Maximum’s powerful yet unseen figure, Shane. If The Franchise aims to explore the battle between artistic integrity and financial success, perhaps introducing characters with credible creative drive could have added depth to the narrative. For instance, Mythic Quest, a popular Apple TV+ comedy series, derives its humor from the struggles of socially awkward genius programmer Poppy Li (portrayed by Charlotte Nicdao). In contrast, Anita, the feminist-leaning producer for Maximum’s show The League of Exceptional Jessicas, exudes sarcastic wit (“What else could I do with my master’s in English literature?”), but it appears she has resigned herself to a franchise that exploited her talents to address its “woman problem.

The Franchise appears to be rather tardy in joining the bandwagon of satirizing superheroes, as Marvel Studios, under Feige’s guidance since 2007, has been producing movies like Tecto and Centurios 2 – both heavily funded and rather unoriginal blockbusters – for a significant portion of many of its most dedicated fans’ lives. (It’s worth noting that AT&T, the parent company of HBO, also owns DC Studios, a formidable competitor although less so.) The subjects of Brown’s scorn, ranging from flashy special effects to excessive product placement to the incessant squabbles between diversity advocates and fans who dislike female superheroes, have long been the targets of ridicule. Despite occasional efforts to place itself within a blockbuster industry that is currently struggling post-pandemic (Pat expresses concerns about being consumed by young TikTok users with superhero burnout), a narrative more tailored to this critical phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe would have felt more contemporary.

Cleverly written, humorously portrayed, and convincingly presented, “The Franchise” doesn’t disappoint. It’s always slightly amusing, but rarely much more than that. Several humorous moments, such as Adam’s belief that his rigorous health routine is turning him into a sheep, or an LED volume displaying a crew member’s photo slideshow of them trying on pants, hint at the funnier series it could have been. However, exceptional workplace satires, like “Veep ” and “Mythic Quest“, excel not only in making us laugh but also in creating compelling characters and insightful commentary. Unfortunately, while the best jokes are witty, they lack the depth to elicit many big laughs per episode, leaving a gap (not this one) where the underlying message or purpose should be.

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2024-10-02 06:06