Is 'The Politician' a 'House of Cards' for teenagers or a bold and ambitious project from Ryan Murphy? You can find the answer in our review of the second season of the Netflix show.

Without much fanfare, the second season of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's 'The Politician' was released on Netflix in mid-June. Unlike the controversial and largely unsuccessful project 'Hollywood,' this show from the star tandem of showrunners only got better with the new season, even though it was already arguably the most ambitious and promising among last year's premieres.

From this review, you will learn what makes lead actor Ben Platt so compelling, what mistakes from the debut season Murphy and the team corrected, and why you should start watching this series if you happened to miss it.

Mistakes of the Past

In the first season, 'The Politician' aimed to please everyone at once while remaining a unique and inimitable series. This boldness and, to some extent, audacity both benefited the work and noticeably harmed it. Over 8 episodes, the show veered from outright satire of modern politics into the thickets of a coming-of-age story, descriptions of political campaign mechanisms were interspersed with teenage dramas, and all of this was diluted by inserts in the style of musicals (not forgetting that Murphy and Falchuk are behind the cult 'Glee').

With such a set of ingredients, it's difficult to please the viewer, since the audience is often segmented, and those who want to watch a musical are unlikely to be interested in political rhetoric.

In the second season, the creators toned down their fervor a bit and put the narrative on the rails of coherence. The ambition hasn't diminished, because this time Payton (Ben Platt) is running for the New York Senate, but watching it all has become easier and more enjoyable. Forays into drama territory have noticeably decreased and become more confident and comprehensible; there was only one song in all 7 episodes, but even that was appropriately woven into the fabric of the story; political issues were also simplified for greater dynamism and spectacle.

New Characters

If the first season was about school elections, the level of backroom games was appropriate. With the shift to a fundamentally different scale, the stakes also rose. The new episodes showcase 'low' tactics like digging up dirt on candidates, surveillance, using moles, hacking smartphones, and so on. Since Murphy, Falchuk, and Ian Brennan (the show's producer, writer, and director) chose the path of positivity, even the dirtiest methods are presented in a romanticized light, and the consequences of each transgression are not punished as they would be in the real world. Nevertheless, the transition to more serious maneuvers cannot be ignored.

Along with the transition to 'real' elections, new characters appeared in the story in the form of the incumbent longtime senator Dede Standish (Judith Light) and her loyal associate Hadassa (Bette Midler). These characters not only became an organic part of the 'The Politician' ensemble but also added diversity and a different perspective, since previously adults were merely a backdrop for showcasing youthful ambitions, but now they have become full-fledged rivals to the younger generation. The central storyline of the second season is devoted precisely to the theme of rivalry between the past and the future.

At the same time, the pairing of Midler and Light turned out to be incredibly comedic! The actresses embodied their roles as if they had truly worked side by side for years. Almost every dialogue of theirs sparkles with wit, and the situations they find themselves in can't help but amuse.

The Main Star

Despite the appearance of new faces in the cast and a rather amusingly conceived role for the main character's mother played by Gwyneth Paltrow, the key asset of the 'The Politician' project remains Ben Platt.

Looking at the inspired and heartfelt performance of this guy, it's hard to understand why he isn't yet starring in top Hollywood movies and hasn't received major awards (to be fair, the actor was already nominated for a Golden Globe for this show). Platt clearly has a big and bright future ahead, because you can feel that he acts with soul, and the palette of emotions within him is incredible, making him look great in both comedic and dramatic scenes. And in this season, he became even more convincing. Plus, Platt sings amazingly!

Is Everything So Good?

The creators of 'The Politician' did a huge amount of work on the mistakes, steered the narrative in the right direction, and added great characters. Of course, they couldn't avoid a few missteps. Here you have hastily started storylines that went nowhere (for example, about the toxic relationships of Payton's friends or the demands of Zoey Deutch's character, which the characters forgot about by the next episode), excessive sentimentality, and a few 'deus ex machina' moments. But these are trifles compared to the vivid emotions the series evokes when watching. If for some reason you missed this project or are hearing about it for the first time, feel free to start watching, you won't regret it.

Trailer for Season 2: