Kathleen Robertson, boy, do you have my number! Swimming With Sharks, created by Roberston, is exactly my cup of tea. It stars beautiful people, is about show business, and has lot of sexy bits.
The Roku Channel (yes, they do have original programming, and it’s all the content made for the now defunct Quibi channel) premiered the first two episodes at SXSW, and I loved what I saw. The show is based very loosely on the 1994 George Huang film starring Frank Whaley and Kevin Spacey.
Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, The Blackcoat’s Daughter) stars as Lou, a bright-eyed young woman, just in from Colorado. She’s obsessed with Joyce Holt (Diane Kruger, Inglorious Basterds), the CEO of a film studio. She manages to snag a job as an intern to Holt and is now on a mission to get as close to her as possible. There are a couple of roadblocks in her way; Holt’s two assistants, Alex (Ross Butler, 13 Reasons Why) and Travis (Thomas Dekker, Backstrom). Everyone thinks she’s just some hayseed fresh off the turnip truck and that is exactly what she wants. At first.
The first two episodes involve Lou arriving in town and starting to get herself noticed by Holt. Because of her obsession, Lou knows every single detail about her life, including the things she likes. It doesn’t take her long to get noticed. This, naturally, bothers Alex and Travis, the two people you don’t want to piss off. Lou also garners the attention of Marty, a VP of the studio, who begins to give her advice and takes her to a premiere and afterparty. Every second of Lou’s life is taken up with just how she is going to get to Holt. As the title suggests, you begin the show thinking one person is the predator and it becomes quite clear you are wrong.
The cast of Swimming With Sharks is strong. Along with those already mentioned, the cast includes Donald Sutherland, Finn Jones (yes, Mr. Iron Fist himself), Gerardo Celasco, and the creator/writer herself, Kathleen Robertson.
With only six episodes in the series, the show seems like it will have to go at a good clip to get to its final destination. I’m more than happy to see how Robertson gets us there.
This article appears in March 18 • 2022.