# Blunt Talk (2015)

> A pompous British newscaster relocates to Los Angeles with his alcoholic manservant to host a sanctimonious talk show.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/55390

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Jonathan Ames
- Network: STARZ
- Cast: Patrick Stewart, Adrian Scarborough, Timm Sharp, Dolly Wells, Jacki Weaver, Mary Holland, Karan Soni, Sharon Lawrence
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4197508/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: sardonic, irreverent, deadpan, cringe-prone

## What critics say

Critics generally praise the show's sharp satire of television news and Patrick Stewart's self-absorbed lead performance, though it remained a modest cult-sized hit.

## Synopsis

Blunt Talk (2015-2016) is a British-flavored American satirical comedy series created by Jonathan Ames for STARZ. Patrick Stewart stars as Walter Blunt, a British newscaster who moves to Los Angeles carrying the baggage of several failed marriages to host a sanctimonious cable talk show. Adrian Scarborough plays Harry Chandler, his alcoholic manservant, whose loyalty and drinking form the steady, chaotic counterweight to Walter's vanity. Timm Sharp, Dolly Wells, Jacki Weaver and Mary Holland fill out the studio staff, producers and assistants who must keep the broadcast alive despite their boss's self-regard. The engine is simple and funny: Walter wants prestige and an audience for his moral lectures, while his private life and his crew's needs keep tripping him up, so each half-hour episode builds around a studio crisis, a romantic misstep or a public embarrassment. Across two seasons of ten episodes each, the show plays as a brisk, cringe-prone workplace sitcom with a deadpan, irreverent register and a sharp eye for media vanity. Fans of The Larry Sanders Show and Episodes will find resonance in its satire of celebrity broadcasting and its uneasy mix of humiliation and warmth. The series was canceled after its second season, leaving its story unfinished.

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