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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Rhik Samadder

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed: Tatiana Maslany and Murray Bartlett make this pleasurable TV indeed

Tatiana Maslany stars in Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.
Stick with it … Tatiana Maslany stars in Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. Photograph: Zach Dilgard/Apple

I was drawn to this week’s show for the worst reason. That name is pure critic bait, and I like my fruit low-hanging. Other famously pre-roasted works include the films The Happening and Fantastic Four, and the Oasis album Be Here Now. (No, thanks.) In my schadenfreude-soaked soul, I wondered if Apple’s show might join them. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (Apple TV, from Wed)? Do I need the warranty?

It stars Tatiana Maslany, who also led the brilliantly titled, if widely slated, show She Hulk: Attorney at Law. No one doubts Maslany’s chops. She won an Emmy playing 17 distinct clones in the sci-fi series Orphan Black. Here she plays Paula, a divorced mother going through a custody battle. Paula’s only access to intimacy is with a young online sex worker named Trevor. Despite his name, Trevor is beautiful, like Jeff Buckley. I suppose Jeff isn’t the most exotic name either.

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