The jury has not been kind to Kim Kardashian’s new legal drama, All’s Fair, but according to the show’s director and executive producer, fans should give it a chance before making up their minds.
Anthony Hemingway, who directed four episodes of the Hulu series and serves as an executive producer alongside Ryan Murphy, Kardashian and Kris Jenner, was the first member of the All’s Fair cast or creative team to react to the show’s overwhelmingly negative reviews in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, November 5.
The Guardian, for example, gave the show — which premiered its first three episodes on Tuesday, November 4 — zero stars, describing it as “fascinatingly, existentially terrible,” while the Times of London said All’s Fair “may be the worst TV drama ever.”
“You’re not going to please everybody,” Hemingway told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday after reviews came rolling in. “You may have certain criticisms, while there are a million others who love it. I think the show holds a mirror up to each person who watches it. It’s just about: Can you connect to it or relate to it, and see yourself? It may be out of your league, it may not be anything you can connect to, and I think that goes for anything that gets presented on screen.”
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Hemingway added, “It’s entertainment, it’s a comedy, and it’s a matter of finding ways to tap into real conversations and real human dynamics in a different way. Every time you meet any sort of difference, it takes a minute to either develop a taste for it or not.”
“It may not be for you, and that’s OK, but I personally enjoy the show,” Hemingway continued. “I had a lot of fun relating to it in my own way. Not everything is for everybody, and you can’t also expect one person to define something and for that be the totality of what it is — I don’t agree with that.”
With that in mind, Hemingway urged viewers to give the show some time to find its feet. Following Tuesday’s premiere, six more episodes are set to roll out weekly on Hulu through December, with the two-part finale premiering December 9.
“I also think sometimes things may take time,” he said. “I did The Wire. No one liked the show when it was out. They hated it. They didn’t watch it. Two people watched it every week. But it got to a point where it found a moment. I’m not comparing the show to The Wire — let’s get that straight — but it’s an example of how people can react to something in one moment, and it becomes something totally different in another time.”
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Hemingway concluded, “The show takes a minute to get into gear, but I do feel like it is absolutely striking something that is refreshing and creatively fulfilling.”
All’s Fair centers around an all-women law firm led by Kardashian’s high-powered divorce attorney, Allura Grant, who finds herself navigating her own divorce. The ensemble cast includes Glenn Close, Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash-Betts and Teyana Taylor.
Despite the starry cast and huge buzz, All’s Fair has failed to impress TV critics. It’s rated just 6% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes as of Thursday, November 6.
In her review, The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han described Kardashian’s acting as “stiff and affectless without a single authentic note,” while USA Today’s Kelly Lawler described it as “excruciatingly awful in so many ways.”
