Cover art by @patsphere on Instagram
by Frankie Fanelli
The nonlinear storyline of Netflix’s newest original series The Politician follows the relentless Payton Hobart, played by Ben Platt, who has known since the age of 7 that he is going to be the next president of the United States. After he decides that in order to get there he must become student body president of his high school, he realizes that he must first learn to traverse through possibly even more treacherous waters: the social and political landscape of Saint Sebastian High School.
The show grapples with plenty of dark themes: terminal illnesses, suicide, and severe mental illness, just to name a few. The versatile performance of Ben Platt offers a character that we can both laugh and cry with despite his extremely intense personality and what Ben Platt himself referred to in an interview as displaying “sociopathic tendencies.” Zoey Deutch, who plays cancer patient Infinity Jackson, gives her character a charming and aloof initial impression while also hinting at perhaps some more sinister motives lurking beneath the surface. And I think it suffices to say that legendary actress Jessica Lange does not disappoint in her role as Infinity’s grandmother, who in the first episode is most notably seen as using Infinity’s illness to her own benefit to score things like free concert tickets, free meals in restaurants, and all the pity she wants from onlookers.
The show’s creators are Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, who you may know as being the creators of both American Horror Story and Glee. Despite the staggering differences between these two shows in genre alone, it seems as though the pair may have found a perfect middle ground in the dark comedy genre that The Politician resides within. It hits all the right notes of tragic, disturbing, and at one point in the pilot episode even a bit gory, while also allowing room for lots of comedic and at times heartwarming moments.
Visually, The Politician is very pleasing. Set in present-day Santa Barbara, California at a wealthy private high school, the show puts the region’s famous Spanish-style architecture and extravagant way of living that is found among the wealthiest of its residents on display. Early on a very noticeable aesthetic is established within the school itself: preppy fashion prevails in the halls of Saint Sebastian, and the school itself is lots of mahogany wood, stained glass, and lavishly furnished and decorated buildings. This gives the show a look almost reminiscent of a modern-day, west coast Gossip Girl meets Gilmore Girls hybrid. Obviously, it’s not quite realistic for every student in any high school to be wearing brand-name-everything or button-down shirts under cashmere sweaters paired with khaki slacks and loafers to school every day (especially in Southern California), but then again Murphy and Falchuk definitely have a signature heavily stylized and exaggerated way of going about writing and directing their projects.
So despite the very stylized, theatrical writing and a seemingly deliberately unrealistic portrayal of modern teenage life, Netflix’s newest original series The Politician is an entertaining dark-comedy that offers both a look into high school politics and social life and a thoughtful commentary on what it’s like to grow up in the pressures of a society riddled by social media and constant competition.
TV Wasteland 