In light of Alexandra’s post immediately before this one, it is time for us to officially acknowledge, as she alluded to, that THE FRANCHISE is not going forward after its premiere season. What derailed it? Was it just Casey Bloys and David Zaslav’s whim or were the numbers not through the roof or just too expensive to keep going? We join a list of sites to ponder just that.
With the plethora of superhero movies always being churned out at the alarming rate that they are it made perfect sense not to just jump on the “they’re not cinema” bandwagon and dish out a satirical look at the genre. It was time to get down to ground level and behind the scenes to see just one way how the sausage could be made.
Thus, came THE FRANCHISE created by Jon Brown, and executive produced by Brown, Armando Iannucci, and Sam Mendes. Via its ensemble cast, we got an egotistical director not fit for a blockbuster; assistant directors left to juggle it all, crew & studio reps dashing this way and that, lead actors who can’t stand each other and the brash studio executive not knowing when to leave well enough alone. It gives us a stressful set on a second-rate superhero flick bumped up to the tentpole movie of the summer whether they are ready for it to be or not. It was all complete with quick, swift humor with an adept cast for eight episodes.
It seemed to click well enough in the areas I’ve already mentioned. Many a critic liked the sharp wit and cutting commentary embedded. Our go-to aggregator Rotten Tomatoes said –
So what made THE FRANCHISE not go on as one? The biggest answer might just be the subject matter itself. First, we could cite superhero fatigue. The genre has been on the wan with mainstream filmgoers and since HBO/MAX hasn’t been known as a huge genre hub, though that has been changing with WBD trying to cash in on the related IP, those not interested in superheroes weren’t interested in this show. Another set of viewers that might not have been interested is those not into the mechanics of movie-making. Even though THE FRANCHISE took a snarky view of the industry, mainstream audiences might just have not cared. After all, even the Hollywood machine itself has been seen as disparaging as of late.
Always a strong indicator of a show’s value is the cost vs. the eyes. A good-sized cast was required for this show and they all got paid. You’d think the show was cheap because they could film on a less used soundstage at Warner Bros. and all the equipment for a film set is ready at hand, but THE FRANCHISE was 
creating a superhero blockbuster set, and all the added costs add up. They needed special costumes, special effects, and all the tricks of the trade to make it a believable set and a believable genre movie. Evaluate all those dollars spent against how many viewers were tuning in weekly and the spreadsheet more than likely indicated that THE FRANCHISE was losing money. Zaslav’s company can’t afford to lose money, but it could afford to let this series go. Such is the business.
So, if you must, get a good pout on and accept the fact that THE FRANCHISE goes down as a one-season wonder for the streamer. Don’t worry though, hopefully, Armando Iannucci and company will be back with something else soon enough.
