HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is no stranger to building doomed cinematic universes, but the network seems game to poke fun at the messy business of it all with Armando Iannucci, Sam Mendes, and Jon Brown’s new series, The Franchise.
Set in a world where the fictional superhero movie Tecto: Eye of the Storm is deep into production, The Franchise follows as the film’s crew tries to survive the experience of working on a project that seems destined to fail. Between dealing with temperamental actors and fire scares, things are difficult enough for production workers Daniel (Himesh Patel) and Dag (Lolly Adefope).
But as studio executives drop in to give notes with clash with the director’s vision, the vibe on set becomes even more dysfunctional, and the trailer makes Tecto seem like the sort of film that winds up being eclipsed by its behind-the-scenes drama. The Franchise also stars Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Darren Goldstein, Isaac Powell, Richard E. Grant, and Daniel Brühl. The show hits HBO on October 6th.