Hopefully Not THE LAST TYCOON

Article first published as TV Review: THE LAST TYCOON on Seat42F.

Last year, Amazon released the pilot for THE LAST TYCOON as one of the shows under consideration for series. Based on the unfinished F. Scott Fitzgerald book of the same name (published posthumously), the story is centered on a Hollywood producer battling his boss as 1936 Germany tries to exert control over the American motion picture industry. Thankfully, this terrific series, based loosely on real people and real events (though with fictional names swapped in) was picked up, and tomorrow, eight more episodes will be available, in addition to the already-streaming pilot.

Matt Bomer (White Collar) is great as Monroe Stahr, the Jewish producer who works for Brady-American studios. He has a complex role to play, having not-too-long ago lost his beloved wife, Minna (Jessica De Gouw, Underground), and not able to get past her ghost. The professional conflict Monroe is dealing with comes mainly from that relationship he can’t let go of, though there are some romantic angles worked, too.

Equally central and equally terrific is Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) as Pat Brady, Monroe’s boss. Pat values Monroe, who helped him build the studio into the success it is, but is also a slave to keeping the gears turning. He justifies his rolling over for the Nazis by claiming it’s about keeping everyone employed, and there’s a moment in the first episode where he looks pretty altruistic. He sees himself as the hero, even as Monroe accuses him of being a coward, which seems to hit Brady a little hard. Their relationship is very interesting, close but strained.

To complicate matters even more, there’s a third lead, Celia Brady (Lily Collins, Mirror Mirror), Pat’s daughter. Celia is infatuated with Monroe and is determined to wed him, despite his lingering grief and health issues. This infuriates Pat, of course, even though Monroe is only interested in her talent, which, it turns out, she actually seems to have quite a bit of. This makes her invaluable to him, and turns the whole triangle into a mess. Thus, THE LAST TYCOON has plenty of drama.

While there are elements of the pilot that I found hokey and unrealistic, in general, this is a compelling show. It is a bit emotionally manipulative with the Nazi stuff, but in a good vs evil classic form, made more relevant by the current rise of a would-be totalitarian in the White House currently who seeks to discredit the media and control his coverage, an event that couldn’t have been foreseen as this series was ordered. There is a love story, Monroe’s to his deceased wife, that makes the conflict personal, even as the audience will root for the overall bend towards freedom and civil rights. But while the Germans are two-dimensionally evil, the other Hollywood types aren’t. Flawed, yes, but not flat. And even our heroic lead has some shameful things in his life to make him a little less noble.

Oh, and I hadn’t gotten to this yet, but the county’s economic depression also plays into the plot, and not just as it pertains to studio finances. Which adds more depth to the situation, and helps ground it.

We’re seen other old-Hollywood pictures before, more in films than in an ongoing series, but this one still feels fresh. Perhaps that’s because it’s about more than making movies, and has some truly engaging characters in it. Yes, it comes a little close to the fantastic Feud FX anthology series, but the material is different enough that THE LAST TYCOON should stand quite comfortably on its own.

Buoyed by a supporting cast that includes Dominique McElligott (House of Cards), Rosemarie DeWitt (Mad Men), Enzo Cilenti (The Martian), Bailey Noble (True Blood), and Koen De Bouw (Professor T.), I am very hopeful about the continued quality of THE LAST TYCOON, and looking forward to watching more episodes.

THE LAST TYCOON’s first season drops tomorrow on Amazon.

TRUE BLOOD Goes "Radioactive"

Article first published as TRUE BLOOD Goes Radioactive on TheTVKing.

HBO's True Blood has had a banner year, surely an improvement over the past couple just in terms of sheer excitement. Major characters died, the rules of the universe began to change, and the tale was much more focused on the central players, rather than guest stars or big bads brought in for a single year. And some of the newbies that joined the cast not only fit as if they've always been there, but definitely have already made a place for themselves in future seasons. It may have only been ten episodes, but it used every minute of those hours well.

Forgive me if part of this review inadvertently refers to bits of the penultimate episode, "Life Matters," as I watched the two hours back to back, and they were quite excellent taken together, especially the Terry (Todd Lowe) scenes in the first half. Additionally, True Blood features a very large cast, so if I skip the subplot you love most, I apologize, but I'm just not going to get to everything.

The end of the vampire concentration camp arc in this year's finale, "Radioactive," is a shocking one. Eric (Alexander Skarsgard), with Bill (Stephen Moyer) on his heels, breaks into the facility and slaughters all who work there. It's poetic justice, and certain notable guest characters get ends befitting them, including Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian), whom has been very enjoyable these past years, but is not disappointing to see die now.

Sarah Newlin (Anna Camp) escapes, which is appreciated because everyone can't die at once. Steve has his time without her in earlier seasons, and she deserves the same in the future.

Eric's brutality reminds us that he is not the kind and cuddly vampire that Bill introduced us to early in True Blood's run. Eric is much older, and has a different moral compass. It's easy to forget that when we see him interact with Sookie (Anna Paquin). But when his sister, Nora (Lucy Griffiths), is murdered and his other loved ones endangered, he can go back to that steely-toothed beast fans love to fear. "Radioactive" shows us Eric as scary as he's ever been.

Those who worry about Eric's fate in his final scene of "Radioactive" need not fret. We don't actually see him fully die, and the producers have confirmed Skarsgard remains a full-time cast member next season. He's just too important to True Blood to lose.

By contrast to Eric's evilness, Bill, who has been stand-offish while existing as the god-like Billith, fulfills his messianic destiny and goes soft again. He gets to save everyone with his super blood, temporarily allowing them to frolic in sunlight, and then goes back to secretly caring for Sookie. Sookie isn't ready to forgive him yet, not even close (in the first half hour), but fans of the show likely will quite quickly, now that we know old Bill is back.

Sookie is with Warlow (Rob Kazinsky), the one arc this season that never quite made sense. It almost feels right when Warlow turns on her, and then Bill, Jason (Ryan Kwanten), Andy (Chris Bauer), and Adilyn (Bailey Noble) must rescue her. It's all very contrived, though, and ends way too easily, which I'd complain about, except I'm glad no more time was spent on this story.

Mid-episode, the action suddenly jumps six months, a very interesting choice, made much earlier in the episode than most shows would have chosen to. It's such a jarring break that the last twenty-some minutes of "Radioactive" feel like a different season entirely. Which is kind of good because it whets our appetite for next summer, and gets to set up some very fascinating plots.

Most importantly, Sam (Sam Trammell), Bill, and the local preachers have banded together to protect their friends and neighbors from hepatitis-V-infected vamps. This alliance doesn't completely add up, but since there is a lot of time missing, that can be overlooked, as we don't know what happened to convince everyone to work together, and desperate times call for desperate measures.

Even Arlene (Carrie Preston) is on board with playing friendly towards the fangers, which shows you just how dire the situation must be.

This is excellent because it gets back to part of the original premise. When True Blood began, vampires were just coming out into the open. We barely got time to see how humans and vamps mix before the plot picked up with Sookie's romantic life, and eventually, a great many interesting supporting characters. Now, we're actually going to see what working together and relying on one another means for the two species, and that will be satisfying. It also neatly fixes the humans-against-vampires war of this season.

It does not appear, however, that the rest of the supernatural creatures have come out of the closet. What will happen when Sam, the beloved mayor the people trust, is exposed as a shifter? This is a recipe to have the alliance fall apart at a crucial moment, leaving the future ripe with dramatic promise.

There are other things of note in "Radioactive," such as the satisfaction many will feel at finally seeing Sookie and Alcide (Joe Manganiello) as a couple, the ultimate betrayal Lettie Mae (Adina Porter) may finally have made against her daughter, Tara (Rutina Wesley), the amazing scene where a tearful Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) vows to protect an almost-not-furious Andy and Adilyn, Jason being more than tamed in his one-sided romance with Violet (Karolina Wydra, House), and the juicy premise that Arlene now owns Merlotte's. But we'll save all of that for next season's reviews.