Neil: Basking in a new level of engagement from their audience with a pandemic to thank, Netflix released season 2 of Ryan Murphy’s (Glee) The Politician on June 19th. The show stars Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect) as a cunning and ambitious young man running for State Senate in New York against longtime incumbent DeDe Standish and her loyal campaign manager Hadassah Gold, played by series newcomers Judith Light (Who’s the Boss?) and Bette Midler (Hocus Pocus). Season 2 picks up several years after the first, which covers Payton’s first quest for elected office in the form of his high school presidency. While its first season initially seemed like it would be next in a long and almost exhausting line of Netflix teen dramas, it quickly takes a left turn at every intersection and establishes a reputation for pitching curveball after curveball. The second season is no exception, and just as the storyline begins to feel stagnant, writers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk flip the show on its head to make that ‘Next Episode’ button look as enticing as ever.
This tendency to twist is the first of several factors that separate The Politician from its peers on Netflix’s “New This Month” page. Paired with eccentric cinematography and a screenplay bursting at the seams with witticisms and irony that round out wiry, snappy dialogue, the show radiates a Wes Anderson-esque feel that captures the eye and ear in a way unseen by streaming’s mainstream today. It’s a mature approach to the Teen Netflix series complimented by a sophisticated soundtrack of jazz and lo-fi courtesy of composer Mac Quayle (American Horror Story). The plot of the series mirrors this same sophistication, not to mention the progressive themes it dips its feet in along the way for an audience all too ready to hear it.
Platt’s Payton Hobart is a beautifully complex character, uniquely in touch with his feminine side who is ambitious as he is cut throat as he is whip-smart as he is a deeply flawed individual deciding who exactly he will become. This complexity is entirely apt for the feminine quality of the show itself as well as its liberal plot line which discusses ideas such as polygamy. fluid sexuality, suicide and ethics versus morals in politics. Haunted by recently deceased friend/lover River, he navigates adulthood and his own romantic, sexual and platonic relationships while attempting to lead the people of a city some would call the center of the country if not the world.
While some characters are somewhat underdeveloped with plenty of potential, namely Payton’s love interest and socialite-in-waiting Alice Charles, the flock of them work to push 21st century ideals into society both fictionally through their campaign as well as onto the audience via the show itself. This one-way glass, of which the audience has the privilege of seeing both sides, becomes a lens to observe themes of love, sex, power and the ruthless quest for it, and the deep dive into the latter will make any teen on the cusp of voting age wary of politicians. The diverse cast of characters, some at each-others' throats, some in each other's arms, some simultaneously both, coupled with the modern ideas they explore represent a new generation entering politics whose arrival we should brace for right now. If the wave of uproar following current events around the world has not made their political might and priorities clear, The Politician will do just that.
Photo: Refinery29
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