The Consultant (2023)

Synopsis

CEO of a company dies in a horrific way after signing over control to “The Consultant.” Mystery consumes to employees to find out who he is.

Review

This show starts crazy and ends weak. The story is interesting and does a great job pulling you in. It’s just off, though.

This show has been labeled a comedy and while there were some funny bits, it wasn’t a comedy. Scooby-doo has better comedy than this. It isn’t that the jokes didn’t land, it’s that they are there. It’s Dark for sure, but not a dark comedy. It’s a thriller.

Christoph Waltz was amazing. Without his acting, this show wouldn’t have gotten past the pilot and I wouldn’t watch the second season, but I 100% will because of his work. Brittany O’Grady does a decent job, but it could have been better. I feel like she is anything different than the final version of her character in White Lotus.

I need to qualify the statement above about O’Grady by saying this is from a post Episodes 6, 7, and 8. In the show, there is a time gap of a couple weeks. Whatever happened in that time, the character development regresses. The two main protagonist seem to switch opinions or there is a missing episode/plot line. The hunt for who the consultant is just seems to stop. Becomes second fiddle for the release of the game.

These episodes, along with the 30 minute length of the show, kill its growth. There is so much more going on that is let out even though the camera takes time to point it out. I.e. Regus Patoff = Registered United States Patent Office (It is in the first episode, not a spoiler). In this spoiler filled article, they make the point that the characters know that his name is fake, but other than a google search there is not any reference to the characters not thinking that is his real name. It is dropped. There are a ton of inconsistencies like this that just give the show a feel that it is an unfinished product. A rush to release. A waste of time.

My Rating

While the story is interesting, it is missing. The amount of simple logic that the protagonist skip, calling the police when 2 people go missing and other plot central decisions, makes it almost unbelievable. Christoph is the only reason to watch the show and his acting is worth watching alone; however, it doesn’t save the show. It’s a 6/10. Interesting story and decent acting don’t cover the lack of depth and glaring rush to print.

Parental Rating

Dad is 100% out. There is a lot of language and sexual references. It is this reason, I also think my mom will be out. Just like the Catholic Church’s Great Castration, my mom also doesn’t want to stare at marbled statue penis.