The first episode of “The Regime” dropped Sunday and was met with horrific reviews from just about everybody, except the ones who get paid to be nice to celebrities.
BBC and Variety seem to be the only outlets willing to say Kate Winslet’s new HBO show is any good. The BBC reviewer called it “spectacular,” but no one seems to be agreeing with this assessment. And Variety thought it was a “thrilling satire.” But I’ve worked within Variety, and it’s my opinion that their reviews would write something positive about Winslet if she slapped an infant for fun.
The series follows a completely mad dictator (Winslet) as she does dictator-y things in the failed state of Europe. In all honesty, I turned the show off after about 15 minutes. I rarely do this, but it just wasn’t fun, relaxing, or interesting. I am definitely going to try and give it another go in the future.
But right now, the last thing the world needs is another television show about politicians destroying the world. We have too many cable news channels as it is.
Most outlets seemed to focus on Winslet’s acting abilities rather than the show itself, which is the greatest subtle “fuck you” a show can receive from reviewers. (RELATED: Just When You Thought Kate Winslet Couldn’t Be More Appealing, She Says The Best Thing Ever About Fame)
Rotten Tomatoes gave the series a devastating 57 percent score within days of its release, and it scored even lower on the audience reception, Screen Rant noted. The Washington Post said it was a good comedy, but fell flat as satire.
Perhaps if the world doesn’t end in 2024, some of us will give “The Regime” another go. But, for now, I’d rather do literally anything else with my time.