THE POLITICIAN

Series 2 Netflix Original

In series 1, ambitious high-schooler Ben Platt did his best to outwit tigress Jessica Lange and scheming Gwyneth Paltrow. Knowing Ryan Murphy was bringing in Bette Midler and Judith Light made season 2 sound even better. And yet… series 2 spends too much time floundering around with silly threesome storylines (Light’s MFM, Platt’s MFM and FMF) that are boring and heavy-handed.

In the first season, Platt ran for student president, now he’s aiming for the New York State Senate. Season 3 has been announced and he’ll be running for the biggest office in the land. Judith Light’s character will also aim for the White House.

But we won’t see this for a few years, Murphy says, so Platt can age a bit. This will also give Murphy time to go back to the drawing board. The end of season 2 does mark a return to form, if you can wade through to that point.

The big question about Platt’s character remains: what do voters see in this privileged white boy? He offers nothing of value, he cheats, he lies, he’s shallow, self-serving and conniving… oh, we get it. (7 episodes)