'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed' season 1 review: Tatiana Maslany faces facts in Apple TV drama thriller
- S.J.
- May 25
- 4 min read
Very brave to have a promise included in the title. Let's see how it turned out. Tatiana Maslany stars in Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed as Paula who's a divorced mom and fact checker whose online life leads to unpredictable outcomes. She regularly chats and pays for private shows with "Trevor" (Brandon Flynn), a camboy who gets attacked during one of those private shows. He later calls her asking for money, saying that he'll be killed unless he pays his debts to the attacker. Paula reports this to the police and detectives Sofia Gonzalez (Dolly De Leon) and Baxter (Jon Michael Hill) are assigned to the case. Together, they suspect that this might be an elaborate scam. Once Paula actually finds Trevor's dead body, she goes down a rabbit hole, hoping to find out what really happened as she naturally becomes the main suspect for his death.
Oh, but there's more. Not only does Paula become a football coach, she is also about to face a custody battle with her ex-husband Karl (Jake Johnson) who plans to move to Idaho with their daughter Hazel (Nola Wallace) along with his new wife Mallory (Jessy Hodges). For her own investigation, Paula finds some allies in her colleagues Geri (Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg) and Rudy (Charlie Hall). A mysterious man (Murray Bartlett) isn't very pleased about their probing.
Congrats, first of all, because you're about to watch the first truly great new TV series of 2026. However, "MPG" will definitely be an acquired taste sometimes thanks to its stylised nature and in-your-face attitude. Comfort watch would absolutely be a misleading descriptor. Another important thing to keep in mind in terms of expectations is the genre. If you click play expecting a dark comedy, like it's being labelled in some places, you'll probably be very disappointed. Sure, there's wackiness baked into the plot mechanics pizza, but whimsy and sidesplitting jokes are not part of the recipe. This is a dark drama thriller first and foremost, and one where propulsion is the name of the game.
Said propulsion emerges from the excellent writing, which feels like a real breath of fresh air in the television landscape right now due to its originality and audacity. Showrunner and creator David J. Rosen along with his writers' room (including Andrew Gottlieb) have constructed a tight 35-minute drama that the industry desperately lacks even after one sweeps at award shows (although in the comedy category, but let's stay on track here). The scripts thrive on entertainment level before anything as the crime and mystery elements keep you on your toes, but it also finds surprising ways to tap into the joys and difficulties of motherhood, womanhood, sexism, sexuality and performative feminism. You never quite know where you will find yourself whilst watching this show and you most likely won't see the twists and turns coming, which is super exciting. Exciting could also be the name of the game here.
Of course, tasked with tackling those themes as well as transforming the aforementioned twists and turns into something dynamic is the wonderful cast (assembled by casting directors Russell Scott, Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas). Maslany leads the pack with her terrific performance, balancing Paula's motherly love and willingness to want more in life with a sort of rambunctious, anxious spirit that causes some unnecessary entanglements that she needs to solve. Bartlett is having fun hiding behind his character's mystery, although less said about him the better for now. Johnson's portrayal of Karl is very curious as he often thinks he's saying something truthful or caring in an honest way without realising that he comes off as an insensitive dork more than anything. (Johnson's tangents and line deliveries could also bankrupt a small production company even when there's noticeable cuts so hopefully they weren't shooting on film.)
De Leon and Hill have an enjoyable buddy cop routine while Hall and Hamagami Goldberg are just as delightful of a duo, especially when they're sharing scenes with Maslany. Other character actors pop up during the 10-episode season to expand the tapestry and even Wallace's Hazel will send new parents shivers down their spine since her yaps are eerily realistic when it comes to only children growing up right now. Acting and characterisation are never a problem here, quite the opposite in fact.
The craft behind the series is stellar as well. The direction (Alethea Jones, David Gordon Green) matches the energy of the writing and it's all stylishly photographed (Joe Anderson). What really makes the show stand out, though, is the sharp editing (Skip Macdonald) that trusts the performances, combined with composer Wynne Bennett's adventurous score, possibly with some additional help from EDM needle drops as it was tough to tell sometimes. The rapport between the pacing, cuts, interesting angles and the music is rather intoxicating, but it's just not for fashion points because it reflects Paula's mindset and suffocation under all this pressure. This is some hectic and electrifying TV.
"Maximum pleasure" might be a bit too much, but all in all, there's a really good chance that MPG could also be your most pleasurable and favourite viewing experience of the year so far as far as the small screen stuff goes. Just don't expect a laugh-out-loud comedy and you'll be fine.
Smileys: Editing, writing, acting, score, originality
Frowneys: None
He could be a scamboy, the "s" could be silent.
5.0/5
Where to watch:
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