Swimming With Sharks - General Discussion

[AnimeMania]

All six 30-minute episodes will air on April 15 streaming for free on The Roku Channel.

 

Swimming with Sharks is an erotic psychological thriller airing April 15 on The Roku Channel. This 6 half-hour episode series offers a look at the dark side of the Hollywood studio system, and follows a Hollywood assistant, Lou Simms, who turns the tables on her abusive boss, Joyce Holt. 

This Swimming with Sharks TV Series is a contemporary update of the 1994 movie of the same name, where Kevin Spacey is an insufferable studio exec and Frank Whaley is his put-upon assistant. This TV Series version was originally commissioned to air on Quibi. Roku's acqusition of all of Quibi properties landed this erotic psychological drama on The Roku Channel. The series aims to celebrate and skewer the Hollywood studio system as the series follows a naive young female assistant, Lou Simms, who gets an internship for Joyce Holt, the lone female studio head of Fountain Pictures, waiting for her opportunity to run the studio outright. The Movie Studio is filled with manipulators, schemers and intrigue. Little do they realize that Lou Simms is poised to outwit them all.

Donald Sutherland plays Redmond, a Harvey Weinstein archetype, an ailing movie mogul flaunting his power over Joyce Holt by demanding that she perform a sexual acts for his entertainment. 

Diane Kruger plays Joyce Holt, a Movie Mogul who battles against industry misogyny, infertility, and the desire to throw a shoe at your head.

Gerardo Celasco plays Miles, a moderately talented artist and the husband of Joyce Holt (the big moneymaker in the household). Miles and Joyce have a complicated relationship based on love, money and power.

Kiernan Shipka plays Lou Simms, a newcomer intern fresh from Colorado, making her mark on Hollywood.   

Ruby June Arnold plays Young Lou Simms.

Erika Alexander plays Meredith, a best-selling author who threatens to take her contract to another studio. She uses her sought-after status to leverage a surprising amount of power, proving she can play hardball with the big Hollywood players.

Ross Butler plays Alex, a burnt-out, Harvard educated personal assistant supporting Joyce. Alex is friendly to the new intern, Lou, and fills her in on the perils of working for Joyce.

Thomas Dekker plays Travis the other personal assistant to Joyce.

[AnimeMania]

How Roku’s Long-Delayed ‘Swimming With Sharks’ Reboot Takes Aim at Monstrous Hollywood Bosses

[AnimeMania]

 

Diane Kruger Hesitated to Film ‘Swimming with Sharks’ Sex Scenes: ‘I Don’t Agree with Just Getting Naked’

 

Diane Kruger says she was 'guarded' about doing nude scenes in her new show, 'Swimming with Sharks'

[AnimeMania]

Roku’s ‘Swimming With Sharks’: TV Review

The Hollywood Reporter

[AnimeMania]

Swimming with Sharks      April 15       The Roku Channel

Episodes 1-6      Titles and Descriptions

Spoiler

S01.E01: Chapter One
Motivated by a dark obsession, Lou proves herself capable.

Fresh-faced Lou Simms seems like a naïve Hollywood newbie when she starts interning for studio CEO Joyce Holt; motivated by a dark obsession with Holt, Lou quickly proves herself capable of holding her own.

S01.E02: Chapter Two
As Lou's star rises, things go badly for her co-workers.

Lou is on the outs, until her after-hours overachieving yields fruitful results; an anticipated power transfer doesn't go as planned; as Lou's star rises, things don't go as well for her co-workers.

S01.E03: Chapter Three
Lou is promoted in the wake of tragedy, prompting suspicion.

Lou gets promoted in the wake of tragedy, and Travis grows suspicious of her; the Fountain Pictures executives exchange barbs, and Joyce's dreams of motherhood hang in the balance.

S01.E04: Chapter Four
Lou's schemes make her even more indispensable.

Facing personal losses, a vulnerable Joyce relies on Lou's care; they escape to Malibu, and Lou incites Joyce's sexual explorations; back at the office, Lou's schemes make her even more indispensable.

S01.E05: Chapter Five
Joyce struggles for control, personally and professionally.

Joyce struggles for control, both personally and professionally; Lou masterminds an unbreakable bond between Joyce and herself; Travis digs into Lou's past, uncovering dark secrets, and darker deeds.

S01.E06: Chapter Six
The revelation of her deception sends Lou spiraling.

The revelation of her deception and obsession sends Lou into a tailspin; Lou recalls her tragic upbringing, while Joyce distances herself and focuses on her career.

 

[AnimeMania]

The visuals are stunning and I enjoyed the story, but it didn't go very deep. Months of time flew by with little, to no recognition. The erotic touches could have been more erotic. The biggest problem was the episodes were too short to really give you the feeling that Lou was a master manipulator. I am not sure way Lou left her murder/manipulation board out in the open all of time, if Travis needed intel on who Lou was and what she wanted, breaking into her apartment while she was at work might have netted him all of the information he would have needed.

P.S. How did Travis know that Lou bought the drugs the day before, do drug dealers give out receipts?

Edited April 15, 2022 by AnimeMania

[AnimeMania]

Kiernan Shipka & Diane Kruger on 'Swimming with Sharks,' Working Together, and Fun Moments From Set

Collider Interview with Video

[Zaffy]

Well made, nice directed, good production, good cast and acting,  but.... weak writing.
At the end I was confused about what this show was about plus the whole thing felt so rushed.

 

SPOILERS

I started watching it believing we will take a deep dive into Hollywoods "dark web".
But instead we got "The devil wears Prada with an psycho assistant".
Kruger's character said she warned the assistant that Hollywood won't be good for her.
But it wasn't the entertainment industry that shaped her, she was already nuts long before she got that job.
She was a psycho stalker that just happened to be obsessed with a Hollywood executive.
The writer screwed the assistant character with lazy writing by giving her a childhood trauma, canceling this way whatever influence a job in a big studio could have on her. 

And I really didn't get the "I see you" line at the end. The executive saw what in the assistant? herself?
Had the executive also murdered someone? I mean apart from her dignity....
Yep, confused...