The new Ryan Murphy-produced legal drama “All’s Fair,” starring Kim Kardashian, has landed with a deafening thud, receiving an avalanche of brutally negative reviews. The critical consensus is that the show, which follows an all-female, high-powered divorce law firm, is astonishingly, almost existentially, bad.
The initial reviews for this series have been unsparing, with one prominent critique labeling the show “fascinatingly, incomprehensibly, existentially terrible.” The core problem, it appears, lies not just in the concept, but in the execution, leading many to question how television of this quality could still be produced. This critical frustration begins immediately with a script that is consistently derided as an embarrassment. Critics have seized upon the painful, artificial dialogue, mocking lines like, “Let’s put the ‘team’ in ‘teamwork’,” and the bizarrely dramatic, “My flight was turbulent and so is my mood,” suggesting that the writing is so inept it feels almost contemptuous of the viewer.
While Ryan Murphy’s name often promises a certain level of high-camp melodrama, critics argue that All’s Fair fails to deliver even that, leaving it in an awkward, boring middle ground. This failure is compounded by a confusingly long list of executive producers, including Kardashian, Kris Jenner, and even the luminous Glenn Close, leading to speculation that a “bystander effect” might be to blame for the lack of quality control.
The performances across the board are receiving heavy criticism, though not without nuance. Kim Kardashian, as the lead divorce lawyer Allura Grant, is described as “expressionless” and “inoffensively useless,” failing to deliver any kind of emotional depth even as her character’s own marriage collapses. The show also manages to waste immense talent; Naomi Watts’s turn as the lawyer Liberty is slammed for being arch and contrived, reminding reviewers of the very worst moments of Ally McBeal. Even the formidable Niecy Nash-Betts, who generally fares better, is penalized for being restricted to a tired, “Loud! And Sassy!” stereotype, an offensive trope many hoped had finally disappeared from television.
Beyond the acting, the narrative structure itself is baffling. The plots are described as “dismal,” failing to function as a convincing legal drama. The lawyers wrap up multi-million-dollar settlements in mere minutes, often through underhanded methods like acquiring video evidence of “extensive perversions,” giving the whole affair a rushed, low-stakes feel. The show is also criticized for its jarring and unfashionable obsession with high-end brands and conspicuous consumption, with mentions of “Goyard travel cases” and “$40m worth of jewellery” making the whole series feel like a glossy, chaotic infomercial. Ultimately, the series is accused of not only delivering poor entertainment but also pushing a concept of female empowerment that is so archaic it “would have shamed the Spice Girls 30 years ago.”
The overwhelming critical verdict is that this show is “So bad it’s not good. Nowhere near,” committing the greatest sin for a trashy drama: it’s simply not worth watching.
What do you think? Are critics being too harsh on Kim K’s first lead drama, or is this a cinematic disaster you won’t be tuning in for?
