The Franchise

A struggling film crew tries to keep a hated superhero franchise afloat while dealing with ego, budget cuts, and fan outrage. Daniel Kumar, a midlevel executive, and a ragtag group of writers, actors, and producers scramble to patch scripts, soothe stars, and sell sequels to executives who only care about numbers. The show follows their daily chaos on set, in writers rooms, and at corporate meetings, showing how a single scene can require ten rewrites and how small mistakes explode into public scandals. Humor comes from the contrast between glossy marketing and the grubby, exhausting work behind it.

Released in 2024, the series was created by Jon Brown and stars Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, and Lolly Adefope. Production details include contemporary studio settings and intentional pastiche of blockbuster machinery, though no specific source material was adapted.

The series hasn't been a major awards contender, and it received limited attention from the big ceremonies. That said, individual performances have been praised in reviews and viewer lists, and it remains a likely candidate for smaller festival mentions or ensemble appreciation in industry writeups.

Even without blockbuster buzz, the show sparked talk about how franchises are made, and it fed conversations about creative labor in Hollywood. Industry writers and social media users picked up on its backstage satire, noticing how it captures the absurdity of test screenings, reshoots, and PR damage control without glamorizing the process.

Critics and viewers gave it mixed to positive marks, averaging 6.5 out of 10 from early ratings. Reviewers tend to like the cast chemistry and sharp jokes about corporate filmmaking, while noting uneven pacing and occasional tonal swings. Major themes include the clash between artistic ambition and franchise economics, the toll of fame on creatives, and how obsessed fans and executives shape the stories that get made.