Hannah Hall
Staff Writer
Some of the most well known television shows in the pop culture world derive from the Netflix Original series. Netflix premieres new television shows on a regular basis, and more often than not has had great success with them. These ‘original’ television shows produced by the streaming platform include ‘Queer Eye’, ‘13 Reasons Why’, and ‘The Umbrella Academy’, among other highly well known and liked television shows. Netflix’s newest original series, ‘The Politician’, falls right into step with the many other fantastic shows the streaming platform has released in the past.
‘The Politician’ is an eight-episode comedy-drama series that premiered on Netflix on September 27, 2018. The series stars many many renowned Hollywood stars including Ben Platt, Zoey Deutch, Gwyneth Paltrow, and ‘American Horror Story’ star Jessica Lange. Along with a cast list chocked full of incredibly well known names, the shows Executive Producer is Ryan Murphy, a pioneer for creator of many popular television shows such as ‘Glee’, ‘American Horror Story’, and ‘Scream Queens’.
The series follows Payton Hobart (Ben Platt), a High School student running for Student Body President at his Santa Barbarian high school as a part of his plan to attend Harvard University, and to eventually become President of the United States. The eight episodes are centered around Payton’s campaign for class president and the dramatic events that happen surrounding this time in his life. These events include his search for a running mate and Vice President, his efforts to be accepted into his dream college, and grief.
In an emotional and topical aspect, ‘The Politician’ is an incredibly well-rounded series. The show balances just the right amount of both drama and comedy while dealing with varying subjects such as adolescents, romance and death, as well as the many emotions surrounding these them. While having elements of comedy, the humor is not distasteful nor does it take away from the seriousness of the topics addressed throughout the episodes and the overall dramatics of the series.
Not only does ‘The Politician’ do an extraordinary job of ticking all the right boxes in the emotional department, but this series is also a beautifully aesthetical masterpiece in the cinematic department. Every episode of this show is riddled with bright colors and perfectly planned out shots.
Lastly, the intensity of this series is truly the number one reason to watch. Despite being centered around a high school level political campaign, ‘The Politician’ is truly set up in a way that gives it all the intensity of government level political race. There are moments where you will forget Payton is not running for President of the United States, but is simply a teenager running for student body president of his high school. Every moment is full of tension and everything feels like it has such high stakes. The level of intensity progresses with each episode and keeps you wanting more. Every camera angle, editing choice and music choice is strategic to give the viewer the same sense of urgency the characters are feeling. Overall, this is, in my opinion, the best part of the show all together.
There are so many reasons to watch this series. From being funny, to being full of drama, to being simply pleasing to look at. This show will be added to the list of the most talked about shows and the top Netflix Originals, amongst the likes of ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Orange Is The New Black’. Whether you love shows that keep you on the edge of your seat, shows that make you laugh during the tensest moments or shows that make you want to create art just from looking at it – this is a show for you.
In short, ‘The Politician’ is truly a masterpiece for so many reasons. While most television shows only really hit it out of the ball park in one aspect, this show does it in every aspect. The combination of Netflix’s branding and Ryan Murphy’s brilliance has created a one hundred percent binge-worthy television show. A show like this has never been done before. Kudos to Netflix for truly creating a show interesting and beautifully out together. ‘The Politician’ is without a doubt binge worthy series.
Categories: Arts & Entertainment
THE CAROLINIAN 
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