Nathan Fielder is again together with his latest mission after creating and starring in one of many greatest new TV reveals of 2022 with The Rehearsal. This time he has teamed up with Uncut Gems co-director Benny Safdie for a satirical have a look at the world of dwelling renovation in The Curse. The upcoming Showtime sequence starring Emma Stone is garnering some sturdy opinions from critics who had been in a position to watch it forward of its launch. The suggestions appears to be largely optimistic, however Fielder and Safdie’s creation is being described as an “unsettling,” “cringe comedy” that may “break your brains.” Sounds about proper.
Emma Stone stars as Whitney Siegel, who has an HGTV house-flipping present with husband Asher (Nathan Fielder) that’s produced by Benny Safdie’s Dougie Schecter. The Curse makes an attempt to discover the newlywed couple’s relationship as they attempt to broaden their household and flip homes on TV, whereas making a scathing assertion on a variety of deeper points within the course of. Let’s see what the critics are saying, beginning with CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg, who calls the sequence one in every of his favorites this 12 months:
The brand new Showtime sequence The Curse is a must-watch. Nathan Fielder, Emma Stone & Benny Safdie make for an interesting triumvirate with complexity that makes you each love and hate them, and the shifting story yields wild surprises. One in every of my favourite reveals of the 12 months.
Paolo Ragusa of Consequence says the starring trio is firing on all cylinders, because the “magnificent” sequence unfolds much less like a drama or darkish comedy and extra like a straight-up horror. The critic writes:
The Curse, although often painful and brooding, is a surprising tv present. The concepts put forth are extremely tough to depict, particularly on this meta-TV format — however the methods during which they physicalize these themes of sophistication, gentrification, and the ethics surrounding them are daring and rewarding. There’s a confrontational nature to The Curse that feels deeply impressed; its interrogation of our systemic oppression of Native People and Hispanic of us is one factor, however the present goes on to show how white guilt can manifest in additional hurt to these communities than good.
Daniel Fienberg of THR calls The Curse “viscerally disagreeable and regularly fascinating” with its evisceration of performative compassion. Fienberg guesses this sequence will likely be extra enjoyable to combat about after it’s over than to observe, and that’s most likely precisely what Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie meant. He continues:
The Curse is the 12 months’s squirmiest new present, predictably, a piece of tension and awkwardness. With 10 episodes, most nearing the hour-long mark, The Curse most likely exceeds the FDA’s really helpful annual allowance of cringe. It’s a present with loads to say about the way in which we’re residing now, however a whole lot of its bristling commentary — most pointedly needling its possible audience — and a whole lot of its laughs are certain to get misplaced as viewers look away in mortification.
Belen Edwards of Mashable calls the Showtime sequence one of many funniest of the 12 months, boasting an at-times insufferable awkwardness. Viewers are certain to really feel embarrassment or disgust towards Emma Stone and Benny Safdie’s characters whereas horrifyingly recognizing themselves within the anti-heros as effectively. In Edwards’ phrases:
It is the right storm of wince-worthy comedy, HGTV spoof, and surreal (and presumably supernatural?) drama, with loads of commentary on the whole lot from race to social media thrown in for good measure. As robust as it may be to observe at occasions — I dare you to go 5 minutes with out cringing — there is not any doubt that The Curse is without doubt one of the funniest, strangest, and most unsettling reveals of the 12 months.
Kristen Baldwin of EW grades the sequence a B+, noting how the sequence blends cringe comedy with an intense character research to create the undertones of horror. It might not be excellent, however this sequence is difficult to neglect, and Emma Stone is “mesmerizing.” The critic writes:
Stone is mesmerizing as Whitney, a personality so egocentric and but determined for approval she is sort of utterly unbearable. Fielder and Safdie, who co-wrote each episode, weave fraught pauses into most scenes, and Stone conveys an avalanche of emotion and psychological machinations in every of Whitney’s silences. Subverting her trademark doe-eyed sweetness, the actress makes Whitney each pathetic and unflinchingly unlikable, a girl who insists on turning each spark of human connection into one other second of public picture curation.
The Curse sounds on model for Nathan Fielder, and the critics all appear to have been strongly affected in a technique or one other by the sequence. It definitely takes one thing particular to encourage such discomfort in an viewers and nonetheless have viewers stroll away praising the mission. If you wish to verify the sequence out, The Curse may be streamed on Paramount+ with Showtime on November 10 earlier than it premieres at 10 p.m ET Sunday, November 12 on Showtime. Take a look at our 2023 TV schedule to see what different premieres are coming quickly.
