The perils of a President!

The Politician
Starring: Ben Platt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Lange, Laura Dreyfuss
Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan

When it comes to elections in any country, it’s a huge affair! But in high school, people may not think much of it. But Netflix’s The Politician says otherwise. Going by the name, it would be wrong to say that this series is a serious political drama. The Politician has several shades to it and touches on various emotions and subjects. Set in the fictional Saint Sebastian High School in Santa Barbara, California, this series tells the story of Payton Hobart who is determined to become the President of the United States. But before that, he has to navigate the winding and extremely challenging halls of high school.

Payton is someone you would call eccentric. He is an A-grade student, he is do-gooder, he loves his mommy (adopted) and he dabbles with the arts. Not to mention, he is also running to be the Student Body President against River Barkley (your typical popular athlete). Payton dreams of becoming the president and going to Harvard but unfortunately, he is waitlisted. Like any other typical teenager in high school, Payton too faces a number of hurdles on his quest to become President. Problems for him start when he has to choose a running mate. He chooses Infinity Jackson who is reportedly suffering from cancer. But in reality, she is just a victim of a disease called Munchausen by Proxy disorder. When Payton realises the truth, one thing is for certain — his run to become the student body president is not going to be easy. Through the series, he has a number of opponents that he has to face. From extremely dumb twin brothers to scandals among this campaign team.

Though you may not recognise most of the cast, the ones you will recognise are Dusty Jackson played by Jessica Lange and Georgina Hobart (Payton’s adoptive mother) played by Gwyneth Paltrow. These two actresses add the extra needed to this show. What works for this show is instead of just being a political show, it touches on various other things. You will get to witness emotions, love, heartbreaks, betrayal, comedy and also some tears. The character sketch of Payton is well developed. Though initially, he comes off as a bit recluse and competitive, as the series progress we get to see a whole new side of him. One that isn’t afraid to well-up or show his emotions. The relationship that he shares with his mom is quite endearing to watch. What doesn’t work is that they have tried to copy the story of The Act. Some of the characters that are part of series play no role in taking it forward. The series ends with Payton preparing to run for the State Senate, does he win it? Only the second season can give us answe
rs to this question.