June 1, 2018

FX's 'Pose' turns '80s gay and trans culture into a heartfelt celebration of found families

TV super-producer Ryan Murphy finds a new definition of “family values” in this warm drama.

Source: Vox, by Todd VanDerWerff


Pose is a family drama that imagines the underprivileged and underloved of a whole city as its family.

Its tenderness makes up for any flaws, to the degree that I know I should tell you about the flaws, but I almost want to lie and say they aren’t there, because it carries itself with the confidence of a show that knows it’s good, and if you can’t recognize that, well, that’s your problem.

The new FX series, the last produced for FX by super-producer Ryan Murphy as part of his deal with 20th Century Fox (he’ll soon move to Netflix), never tightens when it can sprawl. That expansion sits close to the heart of everything good and bad about the series. Why tell one story when you can tell seven, especially when they’re all about the sorts of characters we almost never see depicted in fiction? Conversely, why tell a story in 45 minutes when you could in 75?

So no, Pose isn’t perfect. It occasionally becomes too enamored of its freedom to explore all of this territory television has so rarely opened itself up to. But it’s true, in that way that helps you ignore its less successful pieces in favor of celebrating its best qualities.

*****

Read it all at: https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/6/1/17415634/pose-review-fx-ryan-murphy-paris-is-burning