Himesh Patel stars in a comedy series created by the "Veep" alumnus Jon Brown.
It's fitting that the title of the new HBO comedy "The Franchise" makes no direct reference to the superhero movie around which it revolves. That would be "Tecto: Eye of the Storm," a hundred-and-fifty-million dollar work in progress that has already been deemed an also-ran by its Marvellike studio. The executives view it as a money grab an opportunity to dangle before fans a three-minute cameo by a character from one of the studio's more popular tentpoles in the hope that they bite. Accordingly, no one actually working on "Tecto" is thrilled about being there, regarding it, instead, as a means to an end. The film's lead actor, Adam (Billy Magnussen), is betting that it'll be the vehicle that catapults him onto the A-list. The producer, Anita (Aya Cash), wants its success to open doors for her to make "actual movies," with the likes of Sofia Coppola. The very German director, Eric (Daniel Brühl), nurses fantasies that the film, which is set on a distant planet populated by fish-human hybrids, will offer meaningful commentary on fracking, or feminism-he hasn't really decided, but perhaps he'll have done so by the time he figures out the ending, a feat he attempts, sporadically, between takes. Most of the people ostensibly in charge are just there to pay their dues, meaning that no one sees it as his or her responsibility to ensure that "Tecto" is any good.
Denne historien er fra December 02, 2024-utgaven av The New Yorker.
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Denne historien er fra December 02, 2024-utgaven av The New Yorker.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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THE ST. ALWYNN GIRLS AT SEA SHEILA HETI
There was a general sadness that day on the ship. Dani was walking listlessly from cabin to cabin, delivering little paper flyers announcing the talent show at the end of the month. She had made them the previous week; then had come news that the boys' ship would not be attending. It almost wasn't worth handing out flyers at all—almost as if the show had been cancelled. The boys' ship had changed course; it was now going to be near Gibraltar on the night of the performance—nowhere near where their ship would be, in the middle of the North Atlantic sea. Every girl in school had already heard Dani sing and knew that her voice was strong and good. The important thing was for Sebastien to know. Now Sebastien would never know, and it might be months before she would see him again—if she ever would see him again. All she had to look forward to now were his letters, and they were only delivered once a week, and no matter how closely Dani examined them, she could never have perfect confidence that he loved her, because of all his mentions of a girlfriend back home.
WHEELS UP
Can the U.K.’s Foreign Secretary negotiate a course between the E.U. and President Trump?
CHARLOTTE'S PLACE
Living with the ghost of a cinéma-vérité pioneer.
MILLENNIALS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Fame is fickle, and no one knows this better than millennials. Once, they were everywhere—in television laugh tracks for “The Big Bang Theory,” in breathless think pieces about social-media narcissism, and acting the fool in 360p YouTube comedy videos. Then—poof! Gone like yesterday’s avocado toast.
ANNALS OF INQUIRY: CHASING A DREAM
What insomniacs know.
THE MASTER BUILDER
Norman Foster's empire of image control.
INTIMATE PROJECTS DEPT. THE GOLDFISH BOWL
There are roughly eight hundred galleries that hold the permanent collection of the Met, and as of a recent Tuesday morning the married writers Dan and Becky Okrent had examined every piece in all but two.
ON AND OFF THE AVENUE - Top of the Class
Whenever I consider “taking a class,” as a grown woman living in New York City, my mind immediately turns to “The Ladies Who Lunch,” the show-stopping number from Stephen Sondheim’s 1970 musical, “Company.”
LAUGH DEPT.PRECOCIOUS
In \"The Great Depresh,\" Gary Gulman's documentary-style comedy special about his lifelong struggle with depression, a camera crew follows him to his childhood home in Peabody, Massachusetts.
L.A. POSTCARD - GHOST TOWN
On most weekday afternoons, U.S. Route 101, which slices through the city of Los Angeles, thrums with traffic, brake lights blinking like those on a Christmas tree. Several days ago, as wildfires ravaged the city and the surrounding county, a haze of smoke filtered the sun like a silk scarf over a lamp. It was eerily smooth sailing from Silver Lake to Exit 9B, Hollywood and Highland, near Runyon Canyon Park.
