TV review: The Franchise is the cure for those 'can't-say-anything-anymore' bores
"The Franchise is the answer you give to anyone who says it’s impossible to make comedy any more because you can’t say anything."
(Sky Comedy and NOW) is very funny. That’s unusual for a comedy these days.
The 27 minute first episode felt like 10 minutes of my life, which is always a good sign.
Particularly because I wasn’t expecting to enjoy a comedy about life inside the production of a super-hero movie.
The small things that had me giggling. The blink and you miss them moments like a movie poster that read – .
The pace is relentless, following First Assistant Director Daniel (Himesh Patel) around the set as he tries to put fires such as the two lead actors ending up with sunburned eyes.
It helps that one of those actors is played by Richard E. Grant, who gives it the full Richard E. Grant here.
And it has Jessica Hynes playing Steph, who will put a big grin on the face of anyone who remembers her in W1A.
It helps that the movie is a second-tier show in the overall franchise, so we get to root for the underdog as well.
But it’s the writing that sets this apart. Which is no surprise given that it comes from Armando Iannucci, the man who co-created Alan Partridge and gave the world .
Add in director Sam Mendes along with must-read-writer Marina Hyde and I should have known I’d like it.
The best thing is the pace. A lot of the dialogue happens on the move, which can be annoying if it’s not written properly, but the characters come across as real and funny.
The cornerstone is the relationship between Daniel and his cheerful assistant Dag, played with relish by Lolly Adefope.
She’s basically us, parachuted into the strange world of superhero franchise movies, where the Fish People can be written out of the movie at a whim.
(This actually happens, but it’s ok, the Fish People all get paid their per diem.)
Daniel is too busy to be nice to Dag, and dismissive of her when she takes the initiative.
But we see enough of him to like him, which matters, because it’s hard to laugh when all the characters are horrible, unless you’re watching Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Daniel is a decent boss compared to his own boss, studio exec Pat Shannon, who is more funny-terrifying than anything in the movie they’re making. (He calls a female employee sugar-tits in a genuinely hilarious scene.)
The Franchise is the answer you give to anyone who says it’s impossible to make comedy any more because you can’t say anything.
It’s funny, has a heart and I want to see what happens next. Give it a watch.
