After all the hype around “All’s Fair”, it was only a matter of time before critics and fans weighed in on the legal drama, helmed by Kim Kardashian.
And the feedback is not good. Right now, Ryan Murphy is probably scratching his head, wondering what went wrong. After all, he’s been excelling in the series playground with “American Horror Story”, “Monster” and “American Crime Story”.
I mean, he pulled out all the stops with the casting: Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash-Betts, Teyana Taylor, Sarah Paulson and Glenn Close. But then he went and cast Kardashian as the lead. Talk about playing it a little too close to the bone, here.
We know, from the reality series, that the Skims founder is very passionate about justice and has been working on passing the bar for several years now.
While this might appear to be the perfect role for her, it’s proven to be quite disastrous for her. But more on that in a bit.
Disney+ dropped the first three episodes of the series. It opens with Allura Grant (Kardashian) and Liberty Ronson (Watts) deciding to quit their misogynistic-run law firm with the blessing of their mentor Dina Standish (Close).
Sarah Paulson as Carrington Lane in ‘All’s Fair’.
Understanding their frustration, she allows them to take one other person from the firm. They chose investigator extraordinaire Emerald Greene (Nash-Betts).
However, the move wasn’t without any hiccups. By not approaching Carrington Lane (Paulson) to join them, they created a sworn enemy.
The objective was to create a divorce law firm with women representing women. It’s meant to be the ultimate feminist powerhouse clincher – but it goes pearshaped.
Fast forward several years, and the law firm is flourishing and celebrating a milestone anniversary, as is Allura and her husband, Chase.
Amid fighting the ultimate underdog cases against some of the richest and powerful men, the cracks in Allura’s marriage surface when Chase asks for a divorce and admits to there being someone else.
Of course, her colleagues/ girlfriends rally to her defence in a very “Sex and the City-esque” move. Carrington is brought in to represent Allura in the divorce proceedings, with Chase signing on Carrington.
Meanwhile, Liberty, tainted by the messy divorce scenarios that she’s been privy to, almost walks away from a really good guy.
Let’s get into why this show has bombed. Firstly, it’s got very little gravitas for the genre it sits in. There’s a lot of sexy flex but sans an iota of authoritativeness.
Carrington, the only character with any real bite, delivers biting insults with unadulterated venom and glee.
Teyana Taylor and Kim Kardashian face off in a scene from ‘All’s Fair’.
There is a lot of hate around Kardashian’s performance, and it’s understandable. She’s the hook. But what viewers were looking for was depth, not a superficial girlboss that looks like she’s about to walk the runway.
It’s this kind of incredulity that has worked against the script.
Watts, Close, and Nash-Betts are, in my opinion, nothing more than cheerleaders for Kardashian.
Fans can’t take the show seriously because the script is a joke. One minute, it’s channelling “The Good Wife”, then it’s a dramatic rendition of “Revenge” mixed with “The Real Housewives” theatrics.
What in God’s name is Taylor even doing in this show as a glorified side-piece, who also happens to live in a mansion, but the car she drives screams “the help”.
This show is laden with contradictions. It stands as a stark mockery of the very empowerment it sought to achieve.
Rating: * signals a poorly executed series with minimal redeeming qualities.
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