The Playboy Club

While I do believe that there's a lot of stuff in this series to unpack regarding the social and political issues that its narrative touches on, I found it to be quite entertaining and impressively well-done overall. As such, it seems to me that most of the criticisms leveled against it are unjustified with many of them being openly biased. Having watched all the publicly available episodes of the series to date, the things that positively stood out to me the most were: 1. The magnificent and dazzling 1960s set design and the costumes; 2. The performances, especially by Laura Benanti (as Carol-Lynn Cunningham), Amber Heard (as Maureen), Leah Renee (as Alice), and Eddie Cibrian (as Nick Dalton); 3. The musical numbers and; 4. The crime narrative arc.

Regarding the set design and costumes, they are as convincing as they are immersive. They truly make you feel like you're a fly on the wall of an actual 60s Playboy Club in Chicago, even if you've never been in one. And the main actor's performances - coupled with good direction - only reinforce this immersive experience by how authentically they're able to channel the actions, feelings, and ambitions that one would expect of the characters they're playing in such a setting. For instance, Laura Benanti excellently portrays the tension between Carol-Lynn's ambitions as a "Queen Bee" of The Club and the patriarchal and sexist culture, reminiscent of the setting, that she must contend with in order to have these ambitions met. A similar tension - but one based on her queer identity in addition to her gender - is evident in the also well-performed role of Alice by Leah Renee. On the other hand, Eddie Cibrian's embodiment of White male privileges and challenges in the character of Nick as he navigates the criminal and political worlds of 60s Chicago is noteworthy for its allure as it is for its discomfort and air of mystery concerning the question of whether or not Nick is actually the "nice guy" that he seems to want people to believe he is.

But among all the great performances in the series, Amber Heard's stands out in not only reinforcing its immersive experience, but in giving viewers that one character whose life and experiences they'd want to see to the end. Indeed, Heard succeeds in balancing naiveté and vulnerability with agency and strength in Maureen - a new Bunny recruit for The Club - in a manner that is both entertaining and, quite frankly, impressive. For instance, over the course of the three episodes of the series, one notices this balance in Heard's authentically showing that while Maureen is still learning the ropes of her new job and allows herself to be helped by those around her that are willing to help her, she is also the kind of "Bunny" that stands her ground and takes active steps towards solving her problems in the best ways she knows how. By way of example, one would not miss the contrast between the fear and dependence that Heard imparts on Maureen during several scenes in the Pilot episode involving the death of a mob boss with the courage and control that she imparts on her in scenes in which she confronts the mob boss John Bianchi (Troy Garity). Not only does Heard manage to captivate the viewer and keep them guessing as to what Maureen would do next in the series this way, she also manages to do the same by giving Maureen an air of mystery and unpredictability that is not present in the other characters. This brilliant performance by Heard no doubt partly derives from her experiences playing such complex characters as Mandy Lane in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006) and Christine in The Ward (2010) because these roles demanded such balance and mysteriousness that the Maureen character required in this series. It is no wonder then that the producers and director of the series made Heard's character so central to it that they even titled the second episode with a name she's referred to in the episode. All that said, fans of Heard would also be interested to know that this was her first leading role (albeit in an ensemble) in a crime drama series in her career and that she did not disappoint at all to the extent that she's one of the major reasons to lament that the series was prematurely cancelled.

Besides the performances and the set design, a lot can be said about the musical numbers in all three of the series' episodes released to date. They were all very professionally done and one never really gets used to how glamorous, catchy, and fun they are.

In addition, while the writing is not outstanding for shows of its kind, the crime arc in the narrative is one of the aspects of the series that I'm sure made a lot of people disappointed that it was cancelled the way it was. I also got so personally invested in the burgeoning relationship between Alice (Leah Renee) and Frances Dunhill (Cassidy Freeman) that it felt quite painful to know that I'd likely never get to see how it progressed.

Besides its positives, several negative things about the series are worth mentioning. Firstly, I agree with feminist critiques about it being an inappropriate sugar-coating and excusing of the misogyny, abuse, and assault on women that the Playboy enterprise has always been an embodiment of - despite the few women that it has somehow benefited over the years. The series errs in trying to give a feminist twist to the practices of a company that's notorious for its violation of women's rights, especially in the time period of the series' setting. Secondly, not even the token black woman casting in the form of Naturi Naughton (as Brenda) is enough to rescue the series from what is undeniably a dire racial under-representation. Thirdly, I think that comparisons of the series to Mad Men (2007) by some were blatantly off-mark, which is a good thing. However, it seems to have had the potential to be as great a series as The Deuce (2017) but it failed in that it focused too much on painting a fantasy of what should have been (of Playboy) than in showing what actually was and why it was bad, which is what The Deuce succeeded in doing.

In conclusion, balancing its positives and negatives, I'd have given the series a 6/10 but its inclusion of Amber Heard and her magnificent performance made me settle on a 7/10. I recommend it to all fans of crime dramas and to all those looking for a fun three-episode series that's worthwhile experiencing rather than finishing, with which to kill some weekend time. I also recommend it to fans of Heard as a must-watch testament to how much she'd grown as actress at this point of her career and for the plenty of magical scenes of her that are scattered throughout the three episodes. Those intellectually interested in contemporary representations of the American mid-20th century sex scene in movie and TV would also find plenty of value in this series as well those that love music from that era.