HBO can't ever be discounted from the conversation about the best streaming service. It's been a hit factory for at least a couple of decades, now, consistently putting out top-quality new series, even if finding those series streaming outside the US can sometimes be a fiddle.
While you might hear plenty of shouting about huge successes like The Last of Us or Succession, there are often great HBO series sneaking under the radar a little, and one of those is ongoing right now. The Franchise just got a mid-season trailer showing off the second half of its first season, to underline the point.
The show takes a really amusing premise and runs with it – it simply showcases the theoretical behind-the-scenes chaos that might come with the making of a huge sci-fi superhero movie in the current culture dominated by those films. That means an auteur director frustrated by studio limitations, flouncing stars demanding special treatment, and a harried production staff constantly trying to keep the whole show on the road.
It's really funny stuff, and is currently ongoing on HBO Max in the US and on Sky Comedy in the UK, so is actually easier to access than you might think. With names like Daniel Brühl, Himesh Patel and Billy Magnussen all in big roles, it has some decent star power, too.
More importantly, like the underrated dark comedy sci-fi show Avenue 5 before it, this is from the mind of executive producer and comedy legend Armando Iannucci, which is always a good sign. Still, The Franchise has met with a pretty mixed reception thus far.
Critics liked it, offering a 75% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences have been harsher so far, lumping it with a 58% score. Of course, we always think that a season of TV is best judged once it's actually over, so there should still be plenty of fight left in the show.
So, now might be the time to get on board and catch up – or to pick up a subscription to let you watch HBO's stuff. With The Penguin ongoing and Dune: Prophecy right around the corner, there's no time like the present.
