Social Justice Sex Tape
Episode 1 of The Premise Season 1 begins with a lawyer called Eve arriving at work and finding an important email on her laptop. This happens to be in relation to Darren Williams, a man who was arrested for aggravated assault. With a defendant sporting a record but a wildcard sex tape looking to change the game, Eve wants to take this case on herself. Only, it’s not going to be easy given they’re going up against the police. Darren confirms that it’s definitely him in the video, which helps to build a case for Eve. Specifically, this video helps to exonerate Darren given the police officer tripped and fell in the background – he wasn’t assaulted after all. In the foreground however, Ethan (the man involved in the act) happens to be making love to his girlfriend, Veronica. Ethan though is getting cold feet. He’s not sure the video will make a difference and he’s worried that Veronica will not agree to this being shown in court. Thanks to Rayna and Eve’s rousing speech, he eventually agrees to allow it played in court. Unfortunately the prosecution claim that it’s a deepfake. With the case resting on Ethan’s shoulders, Eve and Rayna decide they need to start rooting through Ethan’s history. They’re going to find everything inside his “Unreal” folder. Things grow ever more bizarre when doctors and ex girlfriends are brought in to court, completely changing the case to put Ethan in the spotlight. He’s called out for lying about having black friends too. Ethan snaps and decides he’s had enough. As he shouts and bemoans his luck, being made the central point of this investigation, Darren is found not guilty by a jury. Darren thanks everyone… except Ethan. As he speaks to the press, Ethan walks away.
The Episode Review
The Premise is certainly different and this anthology is pretty bold in merging political ideas with comedy. Does it work though? Based on this showing, not really. The absurdist comedy feels at odds with the message, which is completely muddied by the end of the episode. What begins as a serious topic eventually becomes a mockery of social justice, and Darren comes off pretty badly here given it’s Ethan’s tape that saves him in the first place. With a run-time of a little over 30 minutes, the chapters thankfully don’t outstay their welcome but it’s undoubtedly going to be a show that’s an acquired taste. With another episode available to watch already, thankfully we don’t have to wait too long to see if this one actually hits a decent stride.
