Last night I was able to watch the pilot episode of "The Curse". This is Nathan Fielder's new show. He is also working with Benny Safdie, he is a co creator, and A24 is producing. Let’s discuss.

This is right up my alley. I adore Fielder's work. "Nathan For You" is one of the best, most original shows ever. He followed that up with a genius show, "Rehearsal". Fielder is in an incredible groove as of late, and Showtime giving him his own show was a genius move. Benny Safdie was in "Good Time" and he directed it with his brother. He and his brother also did "Uncut Gems" which is one of the better movies to have been released in the last couple of years. The Safdie brothers have a great eye for directing and they are on fire right now. Safdie was also excellent in his role in "Good Time". A24 is the best production company in the game. They are doing the best work in movies and tv right now. They also paid people and gave them what they asked for during the actors and writers strike. Whoever is running A24 is one of the smarter people in the game. A24 totally rules and they have a lifelong fan in me. So putting all three of these together, it is a recipe for a wild and entertaining tv show.

Now, this show is not really a comedy. There were comedic moments in the pilot, but they were few and far between and they were buttoned by something creepy or cringey. And I think that is the point of this show. Putting Fielder in charge may lead one to believe that this is going to be a straight forward comedy. But this show is a lot more like "The Rehearsal", or "Finding Frances". Fielder is doing something different and I'm here for it. There were moments in the pilot that were disturbing, creepy, cringey, uncomfortable and I was all in from start to finish. I wanted to see something different and weird from Fielder, and that is exactly what "The Curse" gives the viewer.

There was one scene in particular that really shook me seeing Fielder acting it out. He and his wife, Emma Stone, who is perfect here, are being interviewed by a local newscaster. The newscaster starts in on Stone's family and you can see it pisses Fielder off. He starts to go off on her, and at one point he snaps and tells her to "talk to me, not to my wife". My wife saw this and said she hates his character. I told her me too, but I think that is what Fielder is going for. He has other moments that really creeped me out, and he nails it, like the most squirm inducing sex scene I have seen in quite some time. Stone, as previously mentioned, totally nails it here. She is trying to do something good for her community, but she is also the poster child for gentrification, and she has no idea. She is tough and formidable, but she is also causing harm to her community. Benny Safdie is the creep of all creeps here. He is the director of their show, and from the moment he steps on screen he is despicable. He makes it look like a mom is crying when she is actually dying. He hits on Stone far too much. He gets footage without people's consent. He tries to make people uncomfortable when there is no reason for it. He shows his old content which is vile. He is so gross yet I cannot take my eyes off him when he is on screen. This show is very different and very creepy. They let you live in silence and they linger on shots longer than seems necessary. But it works. Fielder has an eye for this. Safdie knows what he is doing. And Stone is such a pro. This works.

“The Curse” may not be for everyone, but I'm in. I say check it out if you like any of the three main people, but go in knowing it is not a typical tv show. It takes chances and those chances worked for me in the pilot episode. I can't wait for more. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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