Stephen King isn’t the only one into this Apple TV comedy. Contending contributor Joshua Axelrod looks at why he hopes Emmy voters don’t forget Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.
Apple TV is currently running the prestige TV landscape. At this point, that’s not even a bold claim.
The streamer is all over this year’s Emmys races. Slow Horses has become an annual contender, and Pluribus is likely to make a splash in a few Drama categories. The same dynamic is in play for Comedy hopefuls Shrinking and Margo’s Got Money Troubles, with late breakout hit Widow’s Bay poised to possibly crash that party as well.
The Studio and Severance were two of last year’s most-celebrated Emmys darlings. Beyond awards, Apple TV has generated plenty of excitement around the likes of Presumed Innocent, Your Friends & Neighbors, The Morning Show and its still-airing Cape Fear reimagining. Ted Lasso, the streamer’s first major hit, is returning for a fourth season later this summer.
Apple knows how to crank out one prestige (or at least prestige-coded) show after another. That’s why it would be a shame if Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed—and Tatiana Maslany’s bravura lead performance—got lost in the Apple TV shuffle.
What is Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed About?
If you haven’t check out this wonderfully kooky show, fair enough. Apple released Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed right as Widow’s Bay was reaching phenomenon status. It also happened to follow Euphoria season 3 and Margo’s Got Money Troubles, making creator David J. Rosen’s quirky crime thriller the third show this year with plotlines centered around webcam sex work.
Maslany stars as Paula, a divorced mom whose regular dates with a webcam boy take a horrific turn when she witnesses him being attacked. She soon begins receiving threatening messages demanding money in exchange for his safety. Unsure whether she’s being scammed, Paula inadvertently becomes the central figure in an increasingly dangerous cat-and-mouse game.
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed uses its OnlyFans-adjacent premise as a jumping-off point for Paula’s newfound dual identities as responsible soccer mom and desperate crime-solver. Her constant anxiety is oddly refreshing for a protagonist in this genre. Paula wasn’t searching for a thrill beyond occasional webcam dates. This situation is bad, and no one pretends otherwise.
For viewers, Paula’s plight produces delicious entertainment. Paula is smart but headstrong, and her self-preservation instincts tend to backfire spectacularly. This dogged pursuit of answers inevitably bleeds into her personal life and may give ex-husband Karl (Jake Johnson) an excuse to move across the country with their daughter, Hazel (Nola Wallace).
Emmy Winner Tatiana Maslany Crushes It in This Complex Role
The show confidently balances wacky criminal adventures with more grounded family drama. In addition to her investigation, Paula must keep a low profile at work; stay involved in Hazel’s life; contend with Karl and his new wife, Mallory (Jessy Hodges), actively trying to leave her behind; and evade suspicious detectives. If that sounds stressful, imagine how Paula feels.
Notably, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed serves as another sterling example of why shooting on location is always the right move when possible. There’s never a second when this New York City-set show looks like Vancouver or London. That’s how you put Apple money to good use!
Working with Apple also afforded Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed an Emmy winner like Maslany, who crushes arguably her most complex post-Orphan Black role.
Even before Paula’s life goes haywire, Maslany presents her as someone who hasn’t found her people. She clearly loves being Hazel’s mom, but everyone else in her orbit? Paula could take or leave them—especially nosy co-workers Rudy (Charlie Hall) and Geri (Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg).
Paula’s Superpower…and Biggest Weakness
Maslany deftly handles Paula’s growing exasperation and sporadic bursts of pulse-pounding action. What makes Paula such a special creation, though, is how quintessentially herself she is at all times.
Paula seems incapable of turning off her natural edge, even around Hazel. She can’t play nice with Mallory, or make normal small talk with Karl’s work friends, or pretend to enjoy the company of fellow soccer moms. The true brilliance of Maslany’s performance is conveying Paula’s crippling inability to fake anything, which is both her superpower and biggest weakness.
The supporting cast boasts standouts such as Johnson, going full smarm and charm; Hodges, hiding prickliness behind a sweet veneer as a sort of reverse Paula; Hall and Goldberg as a Greek chorus having way too much fun at Paula’s expense; Dolly de Leon and Jon Michael Hill as two sharp and sarcastic detectives; and Murray Bartlett, playing against type in a role too fun to spoil.
Rosen and his talented collaborators have constructed a compelling narrative with a gritty-yet-fantastical visual style that fits this show’s heightened reality. He clearly loves a twist, and a recent episode ended with a potentially show-altering bang.
Don’t sleep on Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. It somehow manages to be both pulpy summer fun and an impeccably made showcase for one of this century’s most versatile TV stars.
Emmys: You’re officially on notice.
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed streams on Apple TV.
