The following contains spoilers for The Franchise season 1 episode 3, “Scene 54: The Lilac Ghost,” now streaming on MaxThe Franchisejust had its most cutting piece of commentary yet, directed straight at the top of the Hollywood system.The Franchiseis centered around the troubled production of a superhero blockbuster, lampooning the current state of the industry.The Franchisejuggles its entire cast of charactersin “Scene 54: The Lilac Ghost” butthe episode also serves as a showcase for Katherine Waterston’s Quinn. The only female actor of note in the in-universe filmTecto, an exhausted Quinn is ready to be done with the project only to discover that due to studio mandated rewrites, she’s been given an extended scene.
The motivation behind this is to address a “girl problem” that the franchise has, something the executives want to be celebrated for taking care of with the least amount of effort or forethought.The result is one ofThe Franchise’s most cutting pieces of satire, as the storyline highlights the casual dismissal of the danger posed to real people because of their blockbuster decisions. It’s a harsh plot that reflects the real world dangers posed to actors who are treated as simple pieces within the industry’s ever-changing plans.
How The Franchise Approaches Gender Politics In Blockbusters
The FranchiseUses The “The Lilac Ghost” To Make A Point About Hollywood
The Franchisedoesn’t shy away from the darker implications of the “women problem” in blockbuster filmmaking, and draws attention tohow surface-level allies in the industry do little to actually help the filmmakers and actors who are impacted personally by these trends. Quinn is a tragic portrayal of how Hollywood treats actors, who confesses to Anita that she’s been on the receiving end of fan abuse before. It’s clearly been mentally traumatic for the actor. Despite her trepidation about becoming a target of a volatile fan-base again, Anita and studio liaison Bryson can only offer surface-level support to the actor.
When she finally wraps for a second time,Quinn discovers the fanbase is already attacking her over the changesto lore that the film made. Those changes weren’t even anything substantial to the narrative of the film or about adding new depth to the character Quinn plays. It was a simple attempt to “badass-ify” the female character in a bid to make the franchise look more feminist. It’s a hollow move directed by the studio execs, and it has a tangible effect on the real actor being attacked online and sent death threats.
The Franchise’s Saddest Character Reflects A Very Big Real World Problem
Plenty Of Real World Franchises Have Been The Target Of Hate Campaigns
Quinn admits to Daniel and Dag that she spends most days crying in her trailer but in such a way that it doesn’t ruin her makeup, and it’s distressingly easy to see why. While her co-stars are unsympathetic andher director Ericis lost in his own head,Quinn has been made the target of ire from the “militant” branch of the franchise’s fanbase. While studio reps offer empty platitudes, Quinn finds out her daughter’s pediatrician has been posting horrible things about her, her agent has been forced to take over her social media accounts, and she’s enduring credible bomb threats.
The Franchiseseems to be mining the real world experiences of actresses, particularly those of color, in the current Hollywood system.Stars ofThe Acolytehave called out Disneyfor their failure to protect their stars from racist attacks, even after the intense online abuse Kelly Marie Tran faced followingStar Wars: The Last Jedi. The stars of Marvel Cinematic Universe, Prime Video’sThe Rings of Power, andplenty of other franchises have faced backlashfor their fictional characters, but especially actresses in fantasy franchises.It’s a disheartening reality thatThe Franchiseplays for black comedy and genuine character drama.
The Franchise’s Harshest Sexism Critique Is About The Executives, Not The Filmmakers
Executive Attempts To Ignore Criticism Only MakesThe Franchise’s Problems Worse
One of the things that makesThe Franchise’s approach to this so cutting is how it moves the blame directly to the top of the chain. While Daniel the director has a self-admitted blind=spot when it comes to female roles and her male co-stars are too self-centered to care about her situation,Quinn’s life is actively complicated by the executives behind the Centurios cinematic universe. They’re the ones who demand her character be improved, with little concern about how to actually make it a more interesting role.
At best, they’re surface-level “allies” like Bryson, quick to dismiss any real world danger or trauma with a smile. At worst, they’re like studio rep Pat, who is overtly misogynistic but excuses his demeaning insults as “jokes” with impunity.
They do little to help, instead demanding surface-level changes whilecelebrating their contributions to the lives of “little girls everywhere.“At best, they’re surface-level “allies” like Bryson, quick to dismiss any real world danger or trauma with a smile. At worst, they’re like studio rep Pat, who is overtly misogynistic but excuses his demeaning insults as “jokes” with impunity. The executives running the studio have been dismissive of the real-life cost of their decisions throughoutThe Franchise, but the show’s approach to the “woman problem” ends up being one of the most cutting pieces of satire in the show.
The Franchise
Cast
The Franchise is a Max original comedy television series that follows a film crew as they document their increasingly chaotic and hectic work on a Superhero film franchise. Acting as a satire on the industry, the show looks to lampoon the process and the sometimes unreasonable expectations of keeping a long-standing franchise alive and kicking.
