The last time we saw Hollywood trying to spoof itself, it was in Judd Apatow's Netflix movie The Bubble. But now HBO has officially ordered The Franchise, a new series that hails from Avenue 5 and Succession writer Jon Brown, will star Himesh Patel and Aya Cash and promises to take a hard, comical look at the superhero movie factory.
With Sam Mendes aboard (he already directed the pilot) and Avenue 5 boss Armando Iannucci among the executive producers, the show promises to chronicle "the crew of an unloved franchise movie, [who must] fight for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe." And it also “shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking, to ask the question — how exactly does the cinematic sausage get made? Because every fuck-up has an origin story."
In addition to the newly announced pair, this already boasts quite the cast: Jessica Hynes, Billy Magnussen, Lolly Adefope, Darren Goldstein, Isaac Powell, Richard E. Grant and Daniel Brühl.
And it's not like Cash doesn't have prior experience with superhero satire given her role as Stormfront on The Boys.
"With a deft touch only he can bring, Sam has brilliantly captured the romance and the reality of filmmaking today. Jon is superb at sending up worlds we think we already know. Together, with Armando, they have delivered a truly hilarious comedy ensemble. I can’t wait to see more,” says Amy Gravitt, executive vice president of HBO programming, and head of HBO and Max comedy series.
While the pilot was completed before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the show itself will have to wait for them to be resolved before it can shoot. Wonder if that'll eventually factor into the story?