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One of the directors of the critically maligned legal drama All’s Fair has responded to negative reviews, saying that “not everything is for everybody”.
Anthony Hemingway, who has directed four episodes of the show and is an executive producer on it, was asked about his thoughts on the overwhelmingly bad reviews in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.
The show from Ryan Murphy stars Oscar nominees Glenn Close and Naomi Watts but is led by Kim Kardashian, who has received the brunt of the criticism. In a zero-star review, the Guardian’s Lucy Mangan said it was “fascinatingly, incomprehensibly, existentially terrible”, while writing for the Times, Ben Dowell called it “tacky and revolting”.
The series, about a female-led law firm specialising in divorce, now has a 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with just one positive review.
“You’re not going to please everybody,” Hemingway said. “You may have certain criticisms, while there are a million others who love it … It may not be for you, and that’s okay, but I personally enjoy the show. I had a lot of fun relating to it in my own way. Not everything is for everybody, and you can’t also expect one person to define something and for that be the totality of what it is – I don’t agree with that.”
Hemingway’s previous credits include acclaimed hits such as True Blood, Shameless, ER and The Wire, a show he brought up as an example in the interview.
“I also think sometimes things may take time,” he said. “I did The Wire. No one liked the show when it was out. They hated it. They didn’t watch it. Two people watched it every week. But it got to a point where it found a moment. I’m not comparing the show to The Wire – let’s get that straight – but it’s an example of how people can react to something in one moment and it becomes something totally different in another time. The show takes a minute to get into gear, but I do feel like it is absolutely striking something that is refreshing and creatively fulfilling.”
He also defended the show as “wish fulfillment” that shouldn’t be taken as seriously as other legal dramas. Hemingway believes that in a world that is “dark and heavy and decisive”, the show is “a way to connect to the human condition and certain aspects of humanity”.
He added: “Hopefully opinions will change. But if they don’t, then they don’t. What we are all doing excites us, and we stand by it … Don’t come at it with such a critical or literal frame of mind. It strikes a different tone, and it will evolve over time; it will get more human.”
Kardashian, who has previously acted in a series of American Horror Story, has been heavily criticised in the show with the Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han describing her performance as “stiff and affectless without a single authentic note”.
Hemingway also defended her saying she was “very open, willing, ready and capable to deliver what was asked of her”.
