Hollywood (Netflix) S01: C+

Yes, you read that right. I might be one of the few people that didn't like this new drama by Ryan Murphy, who signed a pretty good deal with Netlifx to create original content for them.

Yes, it's beautifully shot, the photography, costume design, it has good performances, some more than others, the production design is superb. But the problem for me is at its core, the script.

I hated the first three episodes, and the las two were bad, that's five out of seven episodes in total that I didn't agree on. So a C+ it's actually a pretty high score for it.

Hollywood gives us the premise on its poster "What if you could rewrite history". I'm going to be honest it wasn't until the third episode that the phrase clicked on my mind. But still I was having a hard time understanding what the story was about, and where it would take us, during those first two episodes. The journey of an up and coming director in the 40's, to get a film done by a studio, with creative liberty to make it just the way he pictures it. Breaking a few industry rules along the way. Like making a story created by a gay black writer, and making a few changes to the script so that a black actress can lead it.

That director is played by Darren Criss, who gives us a nice performance, but maybe less stellar than in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

A black actress played by Laura Harrier, looking to get more significant roles in the industry, that only gives to African American the roles of the help. She's bold enough to try and get a screen test at her boyfriends new movie. No one had a problem that the director's girlfriend got the lead role? really?

Is also the story of an aspiring actor played by David Corenswet, who ver quickly finds out that you have to hustle your way up the industry. And here lies my first problem with the series. Yes he's a very attractive man, and yes of course I would have wanted to see him naked. But the first two episodes have a lot of sex scenes that feel gratuitous to the story. Between David and Jake Picking, who plays Rock Hudson, sex scenes I thought that this series was used as an excuse by the producers and director to strip out of their clothes this two actors.

Yes, actresses have faced this for many years, and probably will do for more to come. But again, I don't think that this was a way of Murphy of gender bending the problem as a way of protest. And I'm all up for inclusion and visibility of the gay community, but in those two episodes it didn't gave me the impression that they were doing us any good.

After that I believe that they tone down the sex or at least I stopped noticing. And the problem with the story arcs for some characters begin. It felt that some of them were turning from "bad" to "good" after a few lines, not even an in-between scene were the villain learns the lesson and changes its ways. The story feel like it was chopped, missing scenes or even episodes that would have helped to this characters story arcs.

I'm talking about Ace Amberg (played by Rob Reiner), Ernie West (played by Dylan McDermott), Claire Wood (played by Samara Weaving). And probably the worst Henry Willson (played by Jim Parsons). Those characters have a significant evolution that we don't really get to see, but suddenly they change their attitudes and ways and somewhat are sort of heroes in the end.

I don't really see where a could second season can takes us, other that the obvious second movie from Raymond (Darren Criss). For me this is a one and done series. The Politician also from Murphy for Netflix was another series that didn't really do it for me, the difference is that their season finale did invite to stick around and watch the second season. But overall I think that Murphy hasn't find the right path on Netflix so far.

#Hollywood