Netflix’s much-hyped show, Ryan Murphy’s The Politician, matches the political landscape of 2019 and what is to come in 2020, and I recommend it highly. The streaming service’s summary puts it well:
“Payton Hobart (Ben Platt), a wealthy student from Santa Barbara, has known since age seven that he’s going to be president of the United States. But first, he’ll have to navigate the most treacherous political landscape of all: St. Sebastian High School. To get elected student body president, secure a spot at Harvard, and stay on his singular path to success, Payton will have to outsmart his ruthless classmates without sacrificing his own morality and carefully crafted image. Full of comedy and sly satire, The Politician offers a rare glimpse into just what it takes to make a politician.”
Last fall, I got to interview two of its stars: Laura Dreyfuss (one of Payton’s campaign managers) and Rahne Jones (Payton’s opponent’s running mate), whose characters start out on opposite sides but are soon revealed as a same-sex couple. I had a chance to sit down and chat with Dreyfuss and Jones while they were on a publicity tour in Seattle.
