I like the strategy behind Starz’s . At a moment when shows are increasingly going two or even three years between seasons, a reasonably cost-effective way to maintain brand awareness is to send a beloved cast member on the road with a camera crew seeking the version of the fictionalized series. Struggling to get that next season to the screen? Why not get Anjana Vasan to spotlight the lives of real 20-something Muslim women, including one or two aspiring musicians, in London? Post-production delays on ? Who wouldn’t watch Emma D’Arcy learning the truth about inbred contemporary royalty while looking for the perfect Negroni! As is evident with , a six-episode docuseries “inspired by ,” it’s a formula that could use some refinement.
In maybe half of its half-hour episodes, is an effective complementary text to ‘s examination of sex work, faith and economic adversity in the Deep South — a chance to dig deeper into unexplored cultural facets and to expose how spectacularly Hall has captured the varied voices of the region. In the other half, it’s an unfocused commercial for a too-long-absent series, full of shoehorned references and awkward attempts to graft fictionalized narratives onto the lives of real people. The primary thing that has going for it is host and general impresario , who probably should have a pair of Emmy nominations for his work as Uncle Clifford on .
Even if you haven’t watched — and, if that’s the case, stop reading this review and g.
