I have watched both episodes thus far. There’s some witty dialogue towards the start of the first one (and some great casting, bar Hank Azria’s v odd accent) but plenty of very grim bits - namely the gratuitous nudity/ gusset shots of LRD, who to be clear, has said she has never felt more respected, or that a set has been more collaborative, and that may be true but that doesn’t mean an audience feels respected, nor that a gusset shot adds anything to the plot! I do think we need to be careful about hearsay - in a recent Vanity Fair profile, Tesfaye says that he got on very well with Steimetz, and we haven’t yet heard from *her mouth* the truth. But the fact remains that while Euphoria was ground breaking, this isn’t.
Another HOWEVER: nepo baby or otherwise, LRD is vgood in the first half of the 2nd episode. If you really don’t like watching Tesfaye, you can watch the first half of this ep quite comfortably as he doesn’t appear in it at all - and LRD’s turn as a pop star breaking down while making a music video and trying to hold it together (the Britney inspo is very clear) is, I think, really good. But I’m not sure any reviews will get so far to say that, as the rest of it all feels so gross and eye-rolly!
Last note (of this long comment, lol) is that Sam Levinson thinking that all this ‘heat’ means they’ve made the show of the summer, is plain wrong. I think 5 years ago people would have loved the kind of car crash vibe around it all/ been drawn to it - now people know too much, are too jaded, CBA. I don’t know the ratings (do you?) but I suspect they aren’t anything like they thought’d they would be.
I think LRD is talented. She must have worked really hard to learn all the choreography and sing the songs (if she did indeed sing the songs), not to mention playing such an emotionally burdened character. She also may have signed up for a very different sort of show, then had no choice but to see it through and, now that it's getting dragged, stand by it and say it was just all so #fun and #nice! Like, I can only imagine the conversations she had with her agents and comms team about how she has to come off in any statements about the show so that other people in Hollywood want to work with her in the future.
I watched the third episode last night and decided I can't continue even for the comedic value of The Weeknd's acting. Like, I don't need to see the Weeknd brand LRD with a hairbrush he's put in the fire. There's a difference between gratuity and making the audience uncomfortable for character development or whatever (see: Tar; my god, this show is not Tar).
I'm already preparing to white knuckle it through And Just Like That, I don't have the stomach for torture porn about characters I don't have an invested para social relationship with!
The show is indeed absolutely ridiculous, but there's a kind of "can't look away" quality to it that will keep me until the end. The most upsetting thing of all, though, is the fact that Seimetz had to leave the project. I think she is brilliant and this could have been a completely different thing if she had stayed on. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend The Girlfriend Experience, a series she did starring Riley Keough. Similar elements—the dark side of human nature, sex, money—but focusing on the sex worker industry.
Haha I know, I hate to say it but I will probably watch at least one more episode. And yes, Seimetz would have been great. At least Max still has The Other Two!
Ugh... just the description of this show makes me want to vomit, then mail the vomit to The Weeknd along with a pre-emptive restraining order against all women....
Maybe because I just finished Succession I really had no interest in anything about it. Shock value entertainment can be great.. this is just so bad it’s hard to find any humor in it.
I1/2 hour of my time was the most I could muster... but there is always something right around the corner that is going to be great TV.. I’m optimistic.
I have watched both episodes thus far. There’s some witty dialogue towards the start of the first one (and some great casting, bar Hank Azria’s v odd accent) but plenty of very grim bits - namely the gratuitous nudity/ gusset shots of LRD, who to be clear, has said she has never felt more respected, or that a set has been more collaborative, and that may be true but that doesn’t mean an audience feels respected, nor that a gusset shot adds anything to the plot! I do think we need to be careful about hearsay - in a recent Vanity Fair profile, Tesfaye says that he got on very well with Steimetz, and we haven’t yet heard from *her mouth* the truth. But the fact remains that while Euphoria was ground breaking, this isn’t.
Another HOWEVER: nepo baby or otherwise, LRD is vgood in the first half of the 2nd episode. If you really don’t like watching Tesfaye, you can watch the first half of this ep quite comfortably as he doesn’t appear in it at all - and LRD’s turn as a pop star breaking down while making a music video and trying to hold it together (the Britney inspo is very clear) is, I think, really good. But I’m not sure any reviews will get so far to say that, as the rest of it all feels so gross and eye-rolly!
Last note (of this long comment, lol) is that Sam Levinson thinking that all this ‘heat’ means they’ve made the show of the summer, is plain wrong. I think 5 years ago people would have loved the kind of car crash vibe around it all/ been drawn to it - now people know too much, are too jaded, CBA. I don’t know the ratings (do you?) but I suspect they aren’t anything like they thought’d they would be.
I think LRD is talented. She must have worked really hard to learn all the choreography and sing the songs (if she did indeed sing the songs), not to mention playing such an emotionally burdened character. She also may have signed up for a very different sort of show, then had no choice but to see it through and, now that it's getting dragged, stand by it and say it was just all so #fun and #nice! Like, I can only imagine the conversations she had with her agents and comms team about how she has to come off in any statements about the show so that other people in Hollywood want to work with her in the future.
I watched the third episode last night and decided I can't continue even for the comedic value of The Weeknd's acting. Like, I don't need to see the Weeknd brand LRD with a hairbrush he's put in the fire. There's a difference between gratuity and making the audience uncomfortable for character development or whatever (see: Tar; my god, this show is not Tar).
Thank you for watching so I don't have to.
I'm already preparing to white knuckle it through And Just Like That, I don't have the stomach for torture porn about characters I don't have an invested para social relationship with!
Oh And Just Like That is going to feel like a nice hot shower after watching this disaster!
The show is indeed absolutely ridiculous, but there's a kind of "can't look away" quality to it that will keep me until the end. The most upsetting thing of all, though, is the fact that Seimetz had to leave the project. I think she is brilliant and this could have been a completely different thing if she had stayed on. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend The Girlfriend Experience, a series she did starring Riley Keough. Similar elements—the dark side of human nature, sex, money—but focusing on the sex worker industry.
Haha I know, I hate to say it but I will probably watch at least one more episode. And yes, Seimetz would have been great. At least Max still has The Other Two!
Ugh... just the description of this show makes me want to vomit, then mail the vomit to The Weeknd along with a pre-emptive restraining order against all women....
Maybe because I just finished Succession I really had no interest in anything about it. Shock value entertainment can be great.. this is just so bad it’s hard to find any humor in it.
I1/2 hour of my time was the most I could muster... but there is always something right around the corner that is going to be great TV.. I’m optimistic.