# The Politician (2019)

> A high school student with a lifelong dream of the presidency schemes his way through student council and campus politics.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/70947

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 15
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, drama
- Created by: Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Ben Platt, Judith Light, Lucy Boynton, Zoey Deutch, Bob Balaban, Julia Schlaepfer, Laura Dreyfuss, Theo Germaine
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7971476/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: camp, satirical, glossy, heightened, witty, irreverent

## What critics say

Audiences broadly rate the series positively for its satirical bite, stylish high school politics and strong cast.

## Synopsis

The Politician (2019-2020) is a Netflix satirical comedy-drama series created by Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Payton Hobart (Ben Platt) has known since childhood that he is destined to become president, and his first obstacle is the most treacherous political landscape of all: his high school in Santa Barbara, California. Ben Platt plays Payton with relentless ambition, while Judith Light as Dede Standish and Bette Midler as Hadassah Gold bring veteran gravitas to the adult power plays that ripple through the teen campaigns. Lucy Boynton as Astrid Sloan and Zoey Deutch as Infinity Jackson round out the rival and ally orbit around him. Across two seasons and fifteen episodes, the engine is simple and propulsive: Payton maneuvers through student council races, romance, and family secrets, each episode building a new scheme that spills into the larger campaign. The show is a glossy, heightened, camp-tinged satire with musical flourishes and sharp dialogue about image, identity, and ambition. Fans of Glee, Election and Veep will find resonance in its blend of teen melodrama and political cynicism.

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