SHOWTIME's 'The Curse' Elevates Cringe Comedy to High Art

In the new SHOWTIME series 'The Curse', starring Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder, it's not just the comedy that will have you cringing.

One could argue that, beginning with the debut of Ricky Gervais’ paradigm-shifting The Office in 2001, cringe comedy has slowly become the dominant strain of humor in the 21st century. From Will Ferrell’s oblivious man-child roles to the awkward, forced interactions in the American version of The Office, a lot of modern comedy is focused less on slapstick or catchphrases than making you shift uncomfortably in your seat.

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Understandably, not everyone is a fan of this particular subgenre. However, for those who are, the cringe is immaculate in the new SHOWTIME series The Curse, which stars Emma Stone and was co-created by her co-stars Nathan Fielder (The Rehearsal) and Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems).

The show’s premise is boobytrapped for maximum squirm. Stone and Fielder play Whitney and Asher, a newly married couple shooting the pilot for “Fliplanthropy,” an eco-friendly spin on the home improvement genre. Suffice it to say, themes of privilege and gentrification hang heavy from the jump, but it isn't until Asher takes back the $100 bill he gave to a young girl while the cameras were rolling that we get the first pangs of discomfort and embarrassment. The child curses him, and from there, Asher and Whitney begin to experience a series of odd and alarming incidents.

All three stars are excellent. Emma Stone’s natural charm is deployed strategically as Whitney, whose bubbly, platitudinous personality is the perfect mask for her hidden ambitions. Benny Safdie is totally convincing as the show’s producer Dougie, a man whose outward apathy and duplicity obscure a deep well of pain under the surface. But it’s Fielder who is the real revelation. Although his flat, affectless demeanor isn’t too dissimilar from the on-camera persona in his previous shows, Asher has a bro-ish arrogance and sense of entitlement that feels like a major departure from the neurosis at the center of his previous work. He and Stone have surprising chemistry and the unknown locals who fill out to fill the show’s margins give its Española, New Mexico setting a real sense of authenticity.

While there are plenty of jokes that lean into more traditional forms of humor—including a series of gross-out gags in the premiere that suggest a more phallocentric reading of the show’s title—The Curse mostly taps into the pungent awkwardness of its first scene, in which Safdie’s manipulative producer waters the eyes of an elderly cancer patient whose face isn’t sufficiently emotive for the show. That scene also underscores the broader themes that elevate The Curse into the realm of poignant satire.

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Like many others in their 30s or younger, Whitney and Asher are desperate to be seen as good people, not necessarily to live like good people. Over and over, they reaffirm their good intentions to one another, and warmly frame their TV show and personal goals as a “win-win” for everyone. But when confronted with certain cold realities—be it the downstream effects of gentrification, the family trust fund that undergirds their creative endeavors, or the consequences of their interpersonal behavior—they spout a geyser of rationalizations.

In this sense, The Curse feels like an extension of Fielder’s previous shows, Nathan For You on Comedy Central and The Rehearsal on Max. Although both were ostensibly unscripted, they explored – with great depth and sincerity – the artifice and performativity inherent to reality television. By placing these themes in a show-within-a-show and building a narrative around them, The Curse allows Fielder to work at a whole new scale.

To be clear, The Curse is not a straight comedy; between its eerie score, voyeuristic cinematography, and its characters' relentless self-deception/ aggrandizing, the show can be hard to watch, even when you’re not peeking through your fingers due to the cringe. But depending on where the show winds up (this review is based on its first three episodes), The Curse feels like it could say something meaningful or even profound about the narcissism inherent to our modern age of media saturation. Yes, the comedy will make you squirm, but the truths it unearths are even more uncomfortable.

Episode 1 of The Curse premieres Friday, November 10. New Sling subscribers can get a free month of SHOWTIME with our "Premium Pass" deal. Use the link below to subscribe today!

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