With the Oscars just around the corner, there is a sentiment within the cultural zeitgeist that Hollywood is a place where dreams are made. As actors, directors, and composers make their way onto the stage to accept a statue for their achievements —the latter of which will controversially be pre-recorded— there is a sense that with just some hard work and a bit of ingenuity, any Average-Joe can find themselves on that stage being greeted by uproarious applause. However, the trailer forKathleen Robertson’s(The Expanse,Bates Motel)new cut-throat seriesSwimming with Sharksshows and warns us, “Proximity to greatness is intoxicating” and could be hazardous to our health.
Just mere hours before the series premiere screening event at Austin’sSXSW Festival, for which the series is an official selection, the highly anticipated drama series dropped their first official full-length trailer. The series is led byDiane Kruger(The Bridge,National Treasure) andKiernan Shipka(The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as it explores the insidious side of the Hollywood studio system. Shipka plays a newly hired intern/assistant, Lou, who will turn the tables on an abusive studio-head boss played by Kruger.
The trailer highlights the ambition that every starry-eyed dreamer has when they enter Tinseltown. Lou is first seen as meek, doing her best to take a verbal lashing from Kruger’s Joyce as they discuss the color of the sole on a high-heel. The utmost importance and sheer ridiculousness of the subject are true to the life of an intern/assistant. This only gives credence when the trailer takes upon aDavid Fincerh-esque energy highlighting how far some will go to get what they want. While a familiar theme, to see it through the eyes of an assistant gives a fresh and intriguing look at a situation that defies us to look away.
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Swimming with Sharksis rounded out by a stellar support cast includingDonald Sutherland, Thomas Dekker, Finn Jones, Erika Alexander, Ross Butler,andGerardo Celasco.
The series will be directed byTucker Gates(The Morning Show, The Stand).Chris Cowles, Liz Destro, Stephen Israel, Jay Cohen,andDana Brunettiserved as executive producers. The series was created in partnership withLionsgate Television.
Viewers can watch all six 30-minute episodes for free when the series launches onThe Roku Channelon April 15. Until then, catch the trailer and poster for the series below.
Here is the official synopsis forSwimming with Sharks:
“When Lou Simms (Shipka) starts her internship at Fountain Pictures she seems like a naïve Hollywood newcomer, awestruck by the studio’s notorious CEO, Joyce Holt (Kruger). In truth, Lou has done extensive research on Joyce, and landing this internship was no happy accident. As Lou’s obsession grows, she will do anything to get close to her idol.”
