Succession and Veep writer Jon Brown and executive producer Armando Iannucci take aim at the modern film industry, which certainly strikes us as a target-rich environment.
When is The Franchise being released in Australia?
The Franchise is streaming in Australia on Binge from October 7, with new episodes dropping weekly.
What is The Franchise about?
Marvel!
Which is pretty funny, considering this is a Warner/HBO production.
But in greater detail (albeit not much) this comedy series follows the fraught production of a big franchise film—you know, one of those movies that’s part of a larger cinematic universe. While details are a bit thin on the ground, it’s safe to say we can expect the series to take a fairly dim and jaundiced view of the entire enterprise, with its juvenile source material, fidelity to arcane lore and continuity, not to mention naked corporate capitalism. It’s worth noting that arch satirist (in every sense) Armando Ianucci and James Bond director Sam Mendes are co-creators, the latter certainly knowing a thing or two about working in a tightly controlled film franchise.
The cast of The Franchise
Himesh Patel (Tenet) and Lolly Adefope (Ghosts) star as Daniel and Dag, two put-upon production workers and presumably our POV characters, with Billy Magnussen (Game Night), Aya Cash (The Boys), Darren Goldstein, Jessica Hynes (Spaced), and Isaac Cole Powell filling out the main cast, plus Marvel veterans Richard E. Grant and Daniel Brühl in supporting roles.
The Franchise trailer
Why we’re excited about The Franchise
We love to see artists biting the corporate hand that feeds them, and let’s face it—cape flicks have had it coming for a while now, and deserve a sharper kicking than the mild working over delivered by Deadpool and Wolverine. There’s always a risk that this sort of thing is a little too inside baseball, though. Speaking of Richard E. Grant, The Player only really works if you’re already au fait with Hollywood machinations. But given that we (and presumably you) are, this should be a banger.
