The series premiere was last night. I thought it was OK. A good cast (Brian Cox is good just about anything). Lots of wealthy-NYC lifestyle porn (luxury apartments! helicopter rides! limousines zipping through Manhattan streets!). Decent music. The plot didn’t really grip me, though, perhaps because just about everyone we see is an over-privileged jerk.
I’ll keep watching for now.
I watched it as well. I was making a game of spotting the real-life inspirations for the characters and backstories shown. For example, the Roy family at the heart of the show is obviously based, in part, on Rupert Murdoch and his family. But they also mentioned that the patriarch started with a billboard business started by his uncle. I think that’s how Ted Turner got started. And of course the Florida theme park make me think of Disney, although that’s not now a family business.
BTW, cousin Greg, the grandson of the patriarch’s brother, was hilariously out of place.
Not the most auspicious introduction, either: barfing inside a mascot costume.
I enjoyed it. I think it has potential to get good…or to just plod along until I lose interest. Was somewhat disappointed that the grandfather appears to be about to die. I like that role…
I think that he’s not going to die anytime soon, because a lot of the drama comes from the fact that he’s refusing to cede control.
What was Greg smoking in the parking lot of the amusement park, by the way? A joint combined with…?
Watched the second episode. Still not thrilled with the show, but it’s oddly compelling. Loved the slapping/wrestling match between the sister and younger brother. And $3 billion in debt? Whew! The preview for next week shows Daddy up and about again, but apparently not quite in his right mind.
You think something other than weed cuz he got sick?
Roman was my favorite until he pulled that shit with the maid’s little boy at the softball game. What a dick move!
It looked like he was dipping or grinding the tip of the joint into a small box of something else.
The characters seem more like caricatures. Each has their particular quirks but they seem one dimensional and over the top. Just my .02.
Yeah, I think that’s fair to say. Watchable show but most mostly unlikeable people.
Wasn’t it a one-hitter?
I’m catching up after being away for three weeks. Still love (to hate) every one of those spoiled kids.
What I find interesting is that all of these kids, who have grown up with all kinds of money and privilege, are so fucked up. The eldest, Connor, displayed his insecurities in the episode in which he ran the charity dinner. The youngest, Roman, has no clue what he’s doing and is just bullshitting his way through. And of course the middle son, Kendall, has many addictions. And cousin Greg is still amusing to watch. In one episode, he was looking forward to getting paid after a long period of being broke, and mentioned to another character that he was looking forward to celebrating by going to California Pizza Kitchen. (Never mind that in NYC there are better pizzerias on any block.) Instead he was forced to endure two dinners the same night, both at fancy fine dining restaurants.
Well, S1 is complete. I watched it all, and liked but didn’t love it.
Open Spoilers!
Ken’s first attempted takeover of the company was incredibly botched - of course he wasn’t in the room when it got underway, but I couldn’t believe he didn’t even arrange for anyone to talk about his dad the patriarch peeing in his office, or unconcernedly overfilling a coffee cup, or striking his grandson, or making demonstrably bad business decisions after his stroke. It looked like it was all about Ken’s seething with thwarted ambition when his dad decided to stay on, and of course a majority of the board wasn’t going to buck the tycoon just for that.
Eric Bogosian was great as the Bernie-esque U.S. senator. Loved seeing Roman’s stunned reaction to the blowup of the Japanese rocket; likewise Connor’s impulsive, and ridiculous, decision to run for President.
Ken’s yielding to addiction again, and having his own personal Chappaquiddick, were striking. Likewise Shiv’s confession - to her groom, Tom, on their wedding night! - to having had an affair, and not being totally cool with the concept of monogamy (although I wonder why they never returned to the question of their prenup).
There are some good setups for the next season (esp. how badly the second attempted coup will fall apart with Ken broken, weeping and apparently reconciled with dear ol’ manipulative and tyrannical Dad). But just about everyone in sight on this show is a jerk of one kind or another, which is still a problem for me. Not sure I’ll tune in for S2… we’ll see.
I agree with this, too. I watched because I noticed Matthew MacFadyen was in it (plays Tom, Shiv’s new husband), and I’ve always loved his acting.
The dialogue in this show is so busy trying to be “authentic” that I find it irritating to the point of distraction.
I disliked all the characters to one degree or another but don’t love to hate them enough to tune in next season.
spoiler:
One thing about the wreck in the pond - how would they know Kendall was driving? It was the kid’s car. And you assume the kid was not sitting in the passenger seat when he died , he was struggling to get out. But his father said “you killed a boy”
[QUOTE=C thing about the wreck in the pond - how would they know Kendall was driving? It was the kid’s car. And you assume the kid was not sitting in the passenger seat when he died , he was struggling to get out. But his father said “you killed a boy”[/QUOTE]
Wasn’t the kid pretty incapacitated? Would he have been able to struggle to get out?
I love to hate these characters- I enjoyed every nasty moment of it (though I would rather Matthew McFayden kept his accent). I even liked Cousin Greg’s lame attempt to blackmail Ken …
I assumed the young waiter was conked out in the crash and died still buckled into the passenger’s seat. And they said Kendall’s keycard was found near the crash site.
Kendall really is a piece of work. When he tries to be hip in meetings, he sounds lame. When he tries to sound tough, he comes across weak. When he tries to hold it all together, he thinks with his nose and just digs himself in deeper. When he tries to be a bigshot tycoon, he bungles everything. I can almost understand his dad’s disappointment in him.
Connor is the best character. Everything he does is completely transparent. He has no guile or enmity. He’s just a fuckin idiot.
Connor is from wife #1 the rest are from British wife #2 who was at the wedding. And now Logan is on wife #3.