Cinemas may be doing it tough these days, but streaming services are mining Hollywood history to tell new stories, with The Offer (Paramount+), The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes (Netflix) and Ten Per Cent (Amazon Prime).
The trailer for The Offer, a 10 part series about the making of The Godfather, suggested it could be another gangster series like The Sopranos. There is indeed a subplot about the Mafia not wanting the movie being made, but the main thrust of this series is still mostly movie making, and that makes it a lot of fun.
Matthew Goode in The Offer
With references to cinema classics like Planet Of The Apes, Rosemary’s Baby and Love Story, this may not appeal to younger viewers, but movie nuts will love it. Seemingly inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, this is also the latest TV series to have a ball with the music and fashion of the 70s.
The cast is a joy to watch, particularly Miles Teller, Matthew Goode (a revelation as producer Robert Evans) and Juno Temple (who proves that her delightful turn in Ted Lasso is not a one-off). The Offer is my favourite TV series so far in 2022 and best of all, Paramount+ is also streaming The Godfather.
If only Netflix had the same synergy when it comes to the greatest sex symbol of all time. The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes is based on the 1985 biography Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe, and the “unheard tapes” are from author Anthony Summers’ original recordings of the people he interviewed.
The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes
The Unheard Tapes tries really hard to shed new light on the Marilyn Monroe myth, but none of it is new. It’s just clickbait, and Netflix doesn’t even have any Marilyn Monroe movies to watch afterwards. Surely Some Like It Hot, which was voted the best comedy film of all time in 2017, was worthy of a slot.
Ten Per Cent is the UK remake of the French-made Call My Agent (Netflix) and there is something very “je ne said pas pourquoi” about it (translation: I Don’t Know Why). The Brits just cannot capture the casual sophistication of the original, despite real-life cameos from actors like Kelly McDonald, Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West.
Ten Per Cent is the UK remake of Call My Agent
Call My Agent has also been remade for Turkey, and will next be done in South Korea, India, Italy, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Poland and the Middle East. Somehow I can’t see an Aussie version being made, because what local film industry do we have any more to send up, so let’s just wait for the promised movie version of the French original.
Read more Mercado on TV columns here.
Listen to the Mercado & Manning TV podcast – now weekly
On the latest episode, Mediaweek’s Andrew Mercado and James Manning discuss The Offer plus The Staircase and Shining Girls.
Listen online here, on the LiSTNR app or on your favourite podcast platform.