‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ Season One Review – Maslany Leads This Brilliant Dark Comedy

Apple TV looks to continue their streak of smash-hit TV shows by joining forces with David Rosen to create the dark comedy Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. Rosen balances a multitude of genres spanning ten episodes with Emmy-winning actress Tatiana Maslany starring in the lead role. Rosen also enlists veteran director David Gordon Green (Halloween and Scarpetta) to direct. Apple hits another home run with audiences thrust into the middle of a murder mystery. 

What is Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed about?

Paula, a newly divorced mom, finds herself fallen down the rabbit hole of blackmail, murder, and youth soccer. Very convinced she witnessed a crime, she struggles to balance her custody battle and identity crisis while doing her own investigation of the murder. Starring alongside Maslany are Dolly de Leon and Jake Johnson.

‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ Series Review

When we meet Paula (Maslany), she is on a video chat with a man she pays to have dinner with, chat with, and, of course, have online sex with. Although online, the relationship seems consistent. However, one night while online together, she witnesses the man she is chatting with being beaten down. Paula goes to the cops, who believe she may end up getting scammed. Ultimately, it is revealed that she is getting scammed (or is she?) and finds herself in a game of cat and mouse with the man. 

A comedy whodunnit mystery thriller is a tall task for anyone to tackle. There is so much that goes into making it work. First, you have to find that right comedic tone that isn’t over the top or in your face. Second, the stakes for the whodunnit have to be meaningful. Last, you have to tie both of those pieces together to keep everyone invested. Creator David Rosen takes quite a risk balancing all three, but it pays off handsomely. 

Rosen reels audiences in with falling for the charming nature of Paula, rips the bandaid off with an outlandish murder, and starts to make you understand how they will all come together over the next ten episodes. Although Rosen never takes his foot off the pedal, I do believe this could’ve been a much tighter series had it only been eight episodes. That said, I don’t believe that pacing hinders the overall show that much. 

Obviously, none of Rosen’s story works if they don’t nail the casting of Paula. They wisely decided on the uber-talented and Emmy-winning actress Tatiana Maslany. There are many great things you can say about Maslany’s performance here, but what I loved the most were the early aspects of showing Paula, the mother. Paula is far from a perfect person, but she wants to be a good mom. And she doesn’t always succeed in this, but those softer moments where we see Paula and her daughter together are where Maslany shows audiences why we should be rooting for her. 

Who knew Jake Johnson could play such an asshole? Johnson, by no stretch, has been playing charming guys his whole career, but his portrayal as Karl, the ex-husband who constantly gives Paula a headache over literally EVERYTHING, was so damn unlikable. Every single time this man came into the picture, you wanted to throw something at your screen. Johnson is pretty great here. 

Is Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed worth watching?

Apple TV delivers yet another fantastic series as Tatiana Maslany leads Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed to the promised land. Maslany is what got me to watch the show, but David Rosen’s writing is what got me to stay. Outside of the slight pacing issues, Rosen’s strong understanding of balancing genres allows audiences to fully invest in the ride. Trust me, you don’t want to miss watching this show.

The first two episodes of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed will release on May 20 on Apple TV.