Critical Condition: The Politician

The Politician | Netflix, from Friday

☆☆☆☆ “Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan return to high school for a Netflix comedy starring Ben Platt, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Lange that fails to deliver any real satirical spark … Messy though it is, The Politician isn’t a hard show to watch.” — The Hollywood Reporter.

☆☆☆☆ “The Politician becomes far more nuanced and complex than its initial few episodes suggest … When it does click into place, The Politician proves a perversely fascinating portrait of what it means to not only have ambition, but stop at nothing to serve it.” — Variety.

☆☆☆☆ “There’s something distinctly Wes Anderson-esque about The Politician, a semi-satirical take on student government that may be the most hyped new Netflix show of 2019. It features lush production design, stylised performances and teens talking like they’re in an Oscar Wilde play.” — Time.

☆☆☆☆ “A thoughtful examination of our political climate, a zany comedy that lampoons our culture, a soap opera, a musical, or a dark high school drama? Yes! Yes it is. Trying to define The Politician seems useless because, like so many Murphy shows, it shuns convention and delights in a singular type of organised chaos. What matters most is this: Will you like it if you watch it? Yes. Yes you will.” — TV Guide.

☆☆☆☆ “The Politician suffers from a combination of Netflix bloat and Murphy’s own tendency to overreach for the hell of it. The first few episodes are focused, offering an arch and amusing satire of our corrupt political system and the predictability of liberal guilt … But scattered subplots abound.” — Entertainment Weekly.