Swimming With Sharks is about a young female assistant who is at the center of a studio filled with manipulators, schemers and intrigue. Little do they know she is poised to outwit them all. (IMDB Description)
At SXSW I was able to check one of Roku's new original series called Swimming With Sharks, that stars Kiernan Shipka and Diane Kruger. A show that I knew very little about going into it and was pleasantly surprised by. The film industry is a very interesting environment to be around. There seems to always be two sides of the coin in perspectives of it as a place to work. There is the side that the film industry is super pleasant place and everyone is having a great time being a star and making great movies. The other side, is that it is a very much a dog eat dog world. Everyone in Hollywood would eat you up if you are seen as week or vulnerable. With this specific title, you can guess pretty well which side of the coin this tv show falls on. In perspective the show does a really good job at living up to its title.
The strongest part of the show for me, is the acting capabilities of Kiernan. Coming to know her from her main role in Sabrina for Netflix, she brings that same charismatic yet mysterious vibe that just grabs your attention. She is a phenomenal actor that really hooks you into the plot of her story and what she is trying to accomplish. Symbolism is also used a lot throughout the first two episodes. The show does a great job at delivering a message of who these individuals are. They accomplished in at making everyone likable and also unlikeable. Hollywood is a weird place and the industry they are in can indeed be brutal. The First episode does drag a lot and it does take awhile for things to move along. By the end it, I wasn't really sold on the series. It is not until the second episode that I started to really get into the series and it feels like it will continue to get better as well. There's a lasting feeling that stays with you long after the episode is done of predator vs prey. I like those type of themes in a series. It is something they can explore and have some twist and turns.
The main plot isn't super interesting, but I am hopeful they go a certain direction of uncharted waters. I mean if they are gonna be swimming with sharks, as the title says, I hope they raise the stakes even more. The second episode is the one that gave me joy that they might go towards that direction I want. I do think so far the cast is very under used. Diane Kruger is fantastic and I want her to be more of a threat within the series. From the looks of it, this might happen in later episodes. This could be one of those great shows that has twist after twist. This type of show also competes with other shows like it. I liked both episodes enough and would be down to watch the entire series. I think the audiences that like mysteries and dramas will really dig this one. There is so much that the show offers that I think people can have some fun with it, but others might pass on it as well. I had fun checking it out and will keep my eye out when it fully gets released.
72/100
Release Date: April 15th 2022 (Roku)