Ryan Murphy's first Netflix TV series, 'The Politician,' is one of the worst-reviewed shows of his career and critics call it 'shallow' and 'nonsensical'
- Ryan Murphy's first Netflix series, "The Politician," has a 59% Rotten Tomatoes critic score and is his worst-reviewed show since "The New Normal."
- Last year, Netflix struck a massive five-year deal with Murphy that's worth up to $300 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Ryan Murphy's first Netflix TV show under his massive deal with the streamer, "The Politician," is being trashed by critics.
The series - which stars Ben Platt, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jessica Lange - premiered on Netflix on Friday and has received a 59% Rotten Tomatoes critic score. It's Murphy's worst-reviewed show since 2012's "The New Normal," which has a 55% critic score and was canceled after one season. The two shows are the only ones of Murphy's to be designated "rotten" on the review aggregator.
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"The Politician" centers on wealthy high schooler Payton (played by Platt), who is determined to become President of the United States one day.
"'The Politician' isn't actually interested in politics," Indiewire's Ben Travers wrote. "It's interested in scheming and melodrama, which would be fine if it wasn't so ostensibly obsessed with using the broken system of government referred to in its title to prop up its plot. What results is a shallow character study supported by equally flimsy ties to important-sounding ideas."
Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall called the show "mean, nonsensical, and utterly hollow."
"Moments when anyone onscreen emotionally resembles a person are rare," he added.
Murphy - who is known for hit shows like FX's "Pose" and "American Horror Story," and Fox's "Glee" - struck a five-year deal with Netflix last year worth up to $300 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
While "The Politician" has received poor reviews from critics, his past work showcases why Netflix signed him to such an extravagant contract. Most recently, "Pose" was nominated for six Emmy awards and won the trophy for best actor in a drama series (Billy Porter). Murphy himself has won six Emmys.
