A glossy, sharply styled satire with strong performances and a lot of Ryan Murphy excess. It’s most rewarding if you enjoy heightened, campy political and social comedy; if you want a tighter or more emotionally grounded series, it can feel uneven and overstuffed.
The Politician
Where to watch: Buy
TV Show · Comedy
Fri
Created by: Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk
Starring: Ben Platt, Judith Light, Lucy Boynton
Overview
Payton has known since childhood that he's going to be president. First he'll have to navigate the most treacherous political landscape: high school.
Created by
Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk
Cast
Ben Platt, Judith Light, Lucy Boynton, Zoey Deutch, Julia Schlaepfer, Laura Dreyfuss, Theo Germaine, Rahne Jones
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, sharply styled satire with strong performances and a lot of Ryan Murphy excess. It’s most rewarding if you enjoy heightened, campy political and social comedy; if you want a tighter or more emotionally grounded series, it can feel uneven and overstuffed.
Best for
Viewers who like campy prestige satire
Fans of fast, stylized, high-concept dramedies
People interested in ambition, privilege, and power games
Audiences who enjoy bold production design and sharp ensemble performances
Skip if
You want a consistently grounded political story
You dislike tonal whiplash or self-conscious satire
You prefer subtle humor over glossy excess
You need a show that stays focused and disciplined throughout
Overview
The Politician is a very Ryan Murphy kind of series: immaculate surfaces, big performances, and a willingness to swing from biting satire to melodrama in the same scene. Ben Platt gives the show its obsessive center, and the supporting cast helps sell the absurdity of a teen political machine built out of privilege, image management, and emotional damage.
Worth noting
The first season is the stronger, more coherent half, using the high school election premise as a neat engine for social satire. It’s funny, sharp in bursts, and visually confident, though it can also feel overdesigned and emotionally schematic. The second season broadens into a more overt political farce and is less satisfying overall, with the concept stretched thinner.
Bottom line
If you like your comedy glossy, theatrical, and a little ruthless, it’s an easy binge. If you want satire with more bite than sheen, or character work that lands more consistently, it may leave you admiring the packaging more than the payoff.