With a title like The Curse, you’d think this show would be supernatural or even terrifying. The premise itself lends itself towards this assumption: every synopsis of the show references a couple trying to have a baby while making an HGTV show before a curse disrupts their everyday lives. And sure, there are some mystical elements to this show. However, the true horror of this series — the true “curse”, if you will — is an unhealthy marriage.

Yeah, it sounds cheesy when I put it like that. But this show is fantastic, I promise!

In The Curse, we follow Asher (Nathan Fielder) and Whitney (Emma Stone) Siegel as they struggle through their… unconventional relationship and unequal power dynamics. But while most couples only have to worry about what a few friends and family think of them, Asher and especially Whitney obsess over how they come across to potentially millions of viewers. They are hypersensitive to some underlying questions in their marriage (namely, how on earth someone like Asher wound up with someone like Whitney) and their attempts to overcompensate for them range from somewhat endearing to deeply horrifying. The Curse, save for one instant fresh in my mind, isn’t a particularly scary show in an on the edge of your seat or a watching behind your eyes kind of way. It’s terrifying because of how authentic and plausible each awful interaction seems, because of how truly ugly humans can be, and because of how weirdly relatable the façades each character puts on are. And really, that’s what the show is selling.

From the mirrored houses Whitney and Asher sell that produce distorted reflections to the lies our main characters sell as their personas, The Curse is decidedly a show dealing with deception and truths. Yes, Whitney and Asher are bringing in new businesses to Española, thus giving the community more jobs. But how long will these companies stay there after filming? And how many new jobs are being provided in the first place if they’re deliberately casting more presentable actors to perform said jobs on camera? There is riveting social commentary galore to be found in this whip smart show, but I’ll leave the rest of the thought-provoking questions for you to discover when you watch the show yourself.

While I often found myself impressed by the show’s satirical way of tackling race, liberal hypocrisy, gentrification, and art consumption, The Curse is at its most interesting when it dissects our three main characters, their relationships with one another, and the façades they put on to make life more bearable.

Asher’s façade of an agreeable enough guy is a poorly constructed one. He reveals his true, ugly self fairly quickly. He gets angry, acts selfish, and knows a lot less about what’s “appropriate” than Whitney. Yet you can’t quite hate him: despite his best efforts, his emotions are so obvious that it’s easy to sympathize with him somewhat. He behaves somewhat like a kicked dog; he is submissive and desperate to those who emotionally wound him but has learned to bite those who he perceives are below him after any sort of threat. Nathan Fielder surprised me in this role; while I was thoroughly impressed by his work in The Rehearsal, I never expected him to have the dramatic and comedic chops to be on par with (and occasionally outshine) tried and true actors Emma Stone and Benny Safdie. It helps that he, like Benny Safdie, wrote the role he is portraying, but his work in this show so perfectly matches the tone while breaking my heart bit by bit. He and Emma Stone, who I’ll get to soon, give two of my favorite performances of the year.

Unlike her unsociable husband, Whitney is a pro at pretending. She’s even likable initially as the sweet, bubbly, sociable, politically correct wife. She has mastered her façade, and even when she’s disturbed she puts on a smile. But beneath it all, there’s a coldness to her. It’s difficult to put into words, but if you focus on her eyes, you can see how calculated and detached Whitney is even when she’s lighting up a room. This aspect of her is written well, but I attribute the authenticity of this artificial woman largely to Emma Stone, whose physicality really carries Whitney. She captures a perfect balance of earnest and disingenuous that keeps you guessing at Whitney’s true intentions constantly. The few moments where we see the closest approximation of who she truly is come as a catharsis of sorts: she may be a lot worse of a human being than we may have initially thought, but there’s a secret joy in seeing her almost be herself for once. There is one scene of hers that plays over and over in my head not because it’s her best acting, but because it was the happiest I felt watching her.

Our final main character, Dougie (Benny Safdie), is a producer on Whitney and Asher’s HGTV show and serves as an excellent foil to both because of how unapologetically douchey he is while having a bit of a heart underneath it all. While Whitney and Asher’s masks are to conceal their uglier natures, Dougie’s mask seems to be a shield. You can tell that despite how despicable he can be at times, he does care about Asher and Whitney in his own way and gets hurt when they mistreat him. Safdie gives a very entertaining performance in this show and delivers the biggest laughs, but I do think Fielder and Stone stand out more by virtue of getting better material.

These characters on their own are all fascinating people who I could read endless dissections of once this show has fully aired. But when they interact with each other, this show gains an incredible, irreplaceable energy. It’s a delight seeing Whitney and Dougie scheme despite their different approaches or watching Dougie tease or borderline bully Asher. Yet this show is undeniably at its peak whenever it examines the fractured relationship between Asher and Whitney. I won’t give too much away, but if you’ve seen Succession, think of Tom and Shiv. Now imagine if they were more delusional and also constantly being filmed. Are you sold? It’s an oversimplification, but I steadfastly believe that the beauty in this toxic couple must be seen to be believed.

While I’ve heaped praise on Fielder, Stone, and Safdie’s performances, I was impressed by this show’s entire ensemble! The Oscar-nominated Barkhad Abdi excels as the wary father of Nala and Hani, who in turn are played by fantastic newcomers in Hikmah Warsame and Dahabo Ahmed. Meanwhile, my standout from the supporting cast was Nizhonniya Austin, who was cast partially due to her background as a painter and has an innate charisma to her that made her endlessly watchable as the deeply conflicted Native American artist Cara Durand. No matter the backgrounds these actors had, each one managed to capture the feeling of real people being filmed superbly. 

Though I’ve covered everything else I wanted to say, no discussion of The Curse is complete without waxing lyrical about its direction. Nathan Fielder, David Zellner, and Nathan Zellner’s visions heighten the show’s themes of authenticity and duplicity by explicitly framing shots in places you wouldn’t expect. We often see our characters through dirty windows or gaps between shelves, and these choices remind us that we’re observing these characters somewhat against their will. We’re seeing them as they are from the comfort of our own homes. There’s an irony in that: these characters that are devoting their lives to creating a show are unknowingly a part of a show they have no control over. This sensation is uncomfortable, and it’s further enhanced by Maceo Bishop’s occasionally bizarre cinematography and John Medeski’s eerie yet beautiful score. 

When you combine satirical writing, all-too-real characters, haunting technical aspects, and the distinct styles of Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie, you could get a total mess. But thankfully, we were instead blessed with The Curse. It does drag a bit for the first half, and not every satirical aspect lands, but there really is nothing like this out there. It’s a one of a kind show that I had an absolute blast with, and while I’m thoroughly puzzled as to what a second season would entail, I sincerely hope we get one. So please, check this show out. If not for your own benefit, for mine! I desperately need to know where this show goes from here. 

8.5/10