Christopher Nolan moderated a Q&A with Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie to discuss “The Curse,” the satirical comedy series starring Fielder and Emma Stone from Showtime and Paramount+, following a screening of the first episode. The “Oppenheimer” director said the show is “unlike anything I’ve ever seen on television before.”
“There are so few shows that come along that genuinely have no precedents,” Nolan said. “I mean, you’re going back to things like ‘Twin Peaks’ or ‘The Prisoner’ or Dennis Potter’s ‘Singing Detective’ — things like that. So you’re in an amazing space, and I can’t wait for audiences to catch up with the climax.”
Nolan also praised Fielder’s HBO series “The Rehearsal” and Safdie’s filmography with his brother Josh.
Fielder and Stone portray a married couple with their own HGTV show called “Fliplanthrophy.” Things take a turn when an alleged curse begins to impact their relationship as they are trying to conceive. Safdie, who created the series with Fielder, also stars in the show as a TV producer who tries to catch the couple’s morally dubious actions on camera.
“’The Curse’ is undeniably effective at creating a mood, which means every compliment to the show also sounds like a criticism. The show is a study of exploitation at all levels that’s often painful to watch. Whether that’s a cue to tune in or stay far away is up to you,” Variety’s TV critic Alison Herman wrote in her review.
All episodes of “The Curse” are now streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime.