At first glance, Marco Mejia, the lead of Netflix’s Glamorous, feels like the biggest star of 2018. Played by US singer Miss Benny, Marco is a fabulous make-up artist with a huge YouTube following – a platform that already feels passé for influencers. We’re introduced to him as he applies his daily “beat” and reels off Drag Race catchphrases. “We are going to snatch that crown together!” he cries, beaming from behind his ring light.
But Marco isn’t just a person – he’s a brand. Recently, I’ve spoken to a lot of other people in their twenties who feel insufficient because they don’t have clearly defined brands to progress their careers. It’s an extremely Gen Z existential problem that social media has encouraged us to fret over. Yet no such concerns are present in Glamorous because it’s Marco’s point of view as an influencer that ultimately kick-starts the series. Less than five minutes into episode one he winds up as the second assistant to beauty mogul Madolyn Addison (an understated Kim Cattrall) after impressing her with his make-up precision. It’s the precise Venn diagram overlap of The Devil Wears Prada, Emily in Paris and Ugly Betty, with a powdering of Succession’s boardroom politics.
