The fictional film disaster at the heart of the superhero satire franchise actually has real scripts and extensive treatment

The new TV show The Franchise focuses on the fictional film Tecto: Eye of the Storm, the latest installment in a huge superhero series. A satire of franchise filmmaking, we follow the filmmakers as everything goes wrong in their attempts to bring Tecto to life – which is, of course, hilarious.

But what makes “The Franchise” even more fun is the fact that a full treatment plan and scripts were actually written for the fictional Tecto film. As actor Isaac Powell, who plays overwhelmed personal assistant Bryson, tells GamesRadar+, these real scripts were used as props during the show’s filming: “This is what we have in our hands, the actual scripts!”

This benefited the actors in their performances, with lead actor Himesh Patel, who plays struggling assistant director Daniel, emphasizing that it helped make the experience even more immersive: “It was really fun to experience those real sides.” [pages of the script] which we normally get as actors, but I as Daniel had my own. It gave a real sense of immersion in this world and this reality. Maybe one day we can do it or at least do a table reading.” Fingers crossed for that, Himesh!

Showrunner Jon Brown adds that creating the Tecto scripts in the writers’ room was the best part of the job – and it also helped them overcome problems when writing the actual franchise episodes.

(Image credit: HBO)

He adds, “That was probably the most fun we had in the writers’ room. If we hit a wall or an episode didn’t work, we’d go back to the Tecto script. We had a full treatment draft of about 20 to 30 pages, hitting all the key beats of a franchise film, but in our Tecto world – and of course over the top. It was a fun experiment to take these familiar shapes and make our own version of them.

In the writers’ room – and even on set – the team also made sure they were reacting to what was happening in the real world of franchise filmmaking and offering ideas as things unfolded in real life. A good example is the second episode, where a senior producer tells the Tecto team that the studio head wants to make fewer films and shows within the fictional Centurion series.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it was directly influenced by Disney CEO Bob Iger’s statement last summer that they would be scaling back Marvel and Star Wars content.

As Brown tells us, this was then brought into his show: “One change we made to a scene quite late in the second episode was when Pat says there’s a new form of instruction upstairs, we’re doing less stuff. That’s because that’s what happened in the real world, said Bob Iger. This show isn’t just about Marvel, it’s about franchises as a whole, but we wanted to reflect that.

The franchise premieres today with its first three episodes on Sky and NOW in the UK. You can watch it weekly in the US on HBO and Max.

For more information, check out our guide to the new TV shows coming your way.

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