History YMMV / Hollywood2020

** Creator/LauraHarrier may have seemed like a decent choice for Camille based on her previously well received work, but once the series released, her work was widely panned. The biggest criticism being that Camille is supposed to be an unbelievably sensational actress whose not just excellent, but so excellent she as a black woman is able to win an Academy Award for lead actress ''in the 40s''. Unfortunately, not only was the consensus that Harrier's InUniverse acting isn't that good, it was deemed by many to be actively horrible, making all of Camille's praise utterly laughable. Even worse is that Claire is her main rival and intended to be less talented but Samara Weaving was regarded much more positively by viewers and seen as far more charismatic and believable as a famous actress.

** The creators of the show admitted that, besides Creator/AnnaMayWong (who actually has a small role in the series), another, more direct inspiration for Camille was Creator/DorothyDandridge, with Camille being basically Dandridge if she received her Oscar nomination a decade before.[[note]]Dandridge was nominated for an Oscar for ''Film/CarmenJones'' in TheFifties but didn't win, whereas Camille is nominated for an Oscar for ''Meg'' in TheForties and actually wins.[[/note]] If anything, this only made people wonder why they didn't just set the show in the 1950s, if not outright making an AlternateHistory story about Dandridge actually winning for ''Carmen Jones'', given that in the 1950s the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement was starting to gain traction, which would've made the series' premise of a Black woman winning an Oscar and the film she stars in winning Best Picture ''at least a little'' more plausible than what the show actually went for (a movie in the 1940s being just ''so good'' that it somehow managed to overcome racism).

** The series just mentions that Anna May Wong was passed over for ''Literature/TheGoodEarth'' due to the MinorityShowGhetto, but it misses two crucial parts of why the role went to Creator/LuiseRainer. First is that the Hays Code meant she couldn't be cast as a white man's wife even if he was in {{Yellowface}}. Second is the fact that the film was made with the support of the Chinese government - who pressured the studio into not casting Anna because she was hated in China at the time for playing stereotypical roles. The second point in particular could have made for an incredibly meaty storyline about how movie studios' racism forcing non-white actors into stereotypical roles resulted in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation (Creator/HattieMcDaniel had to face similar criticisms for always playing maids).

** The series just mentions that Anna May Wong was passed over for ''Literature/TheGoodEarth'' due to the MinorityShowGhetto, but it misses two crucial parts of why the role went to Luise Rainer. First is that the Hays Code meant she couldn't be cast as a white man's wife even if he was in {{Yellowface}}. Second is the fact that the film was made with the support of the Chinese government - who pressured the studio into not casting Anna because she was hated in China at the time for playing stereotypical roles. The second point in particular could have made for an incredibly meaty storyline about how movie studios' racism forcing non-white actors into stereotypical roles resulted in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation (Creator/HattieMcDaniel had to face similar criticisms for always playing maids).

* WTHCastingAgency:
** Creator/LauraHarrier may have seemed like a decent choice for Camille based on her previously well received work, but once the series released, her work was widely panned. The biggest criticism being that Camille is supposed to be an unbelievably sensational actress whose not just excellent, but so excellent she as a black woman is able to win an Academy Award for lead actress ''in the 40s''. Unfortunately, not only was the consensus that Harrier's InUniverse acting isn't that good, it was deemed by many to be actively horrible, making all of Camille's praise utterly laughable. Even worse is that Claire is her main rival and intended to be less talented but Samara Weaving was regarded much more positively by viewers and seen as far more charismatic and believable as a famous actress.
** Creator/DavidCorenswet is a similar, but more downplayed example. Jack is also supposed to be an excellent actor to the point of an Oscar nomination, but many viewers either said Corenswet's in character performances weren't anything special, or were downright bad.

** Even the reviews that weren't particularly positive about the show admit that Creator/JimParsons, Creator/JoeMantello, Creator/DylanMcDermott, Creator/HollandTaylor, and Creator/PattiLuPone gave stellar performances here.

** Creator/LauraHarrier may have seemed like a decent choice for Camille based on her previously well received work, but once the series released, her work was widely panned. The biggest criticism being that Camille is supposed to be an unbelievably sensational actress whose not just excellent, but so excellent she as a black woman is able to win an Academy Award for lead actress ''in the 40s''. Unfortunately, not only was the consensus that Harrier's InUniverse acting isn't that good, it was deemed by many to be actively horrible, making all of Camille's praise utterly laughable.

* TrueArtIsAngsty:
** The idealistic tone of the show has been attacked by many critics for being "toothless", as choosing to show an AlternateHistory where Hollywood becomes a more progressive haven in the 50s is seen as the show ''avoiding'' the real life difficulties people faced. Notably, the show ''does'' explore these, but is just choosing to show a 'what if' scenario. Some critics have gone so far as to call the show an insult to the real life pioneers who, in this universe, are swept under the rug in favour of the fictional trailblazers Archie, Camille, Dick, Avis, and Raymond.
** In some FridgeBrilliance, the lighter tone and AlternateHistory approach of the show is mirrored in-universe with ''Meg''. In RealLife and in the show, ''[[AdaptationalNameChange Peg Entwistle]]'' tragically jumped to her death, which was the inspiration for Archie's script; after deciding to make their story the tale of a ''black'' woman however, they decide to go for an uplifting ending where despite the real life hardships Meg would face, she decides against ending it all and the film ends on a light-hearted note. This pretty much mirrors ''Hollywood''; despite the fact such a film would face ''great'' opposition, which it ''does'', they make it anyway, and against all odds, it becomes a ''hit'' that nets multiple Oscars. Yes, the show and the in-universe film take liberties with real life to tell an optimistic story, but its doing so to ''reject'' the idea of TrueArtIsAngsty and avoid [[TooBleakStoppedCaring getting too bleak]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Despite being very underutilized, Creator/AnnaMayWong is regarded as one of the series' best characters and Creator/MichelleKruseic is likewise seen as one of the standout performances.

** The creators of the show admitted that, besides Anna May Wong (who actually has a small role in the series), another, more direct inspiration for Camille was Creator/DorothyDandridge, with Camille being basically Dandridge if she received her Oscar nomination a decade before.[[note]]Dandridge was nominated for an Oscar for ''Film/CarmenJones'' in TheFifties but didn't win, whereas Camille is nominated for an Oscar for ''Meg'' in TheForties and actually wins.[[/note]] If anything, this only made people wonder why they didn't just set the show in the 1950s, if not outright making an AlternateHistory story about Dandridge actually winning for ''Carmen Jones'', given that in the 1950s the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement was starting to gain traction, which would've made the series' premise of a Black woman winning an Oscar and the film she stars in winning Best Picture ''at least a little'' more plausible than what the show actually went for (a movie in the 1940s being just ''so good'' that it somehow managed to overcome racism).
** The series just mentions that Creator/AnnaMayWong was passed over for ''Literature/TheGoodEarth'' due to the MinorityShowGhetto, but it misses two crucial parts of why the role went to Creator/LuiseRainer. First is that the Hays Code meant she couldn't be cast as a white man's wife even if he was in {{Yellowface}}. Second is the fact that the film was made with the support of the Chinese government - who pressured the studio into not casting Anna because she was hated in China at the time for playing stereotypical roles. The second point in particular could have made for an incredibly meaty storyline about how movie studios' racism forcing non-white actors into stereotypical roles resulted in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation (Creator/HattieMcDaniel had to face similar criticisms for always playing maids).

** Creator/MichelleKruseic has little to work with as Creator/AnnaMayWong, but still manages to give one of the series's strongest turns despite her short screentime.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Despite being very underutilized, Creator/AnnaMayWong is regarded as one of the series' best characters and Michelle Kruseic is likewise seen as one of the standout performances.

** The series just mentions that Anna May Wong was passed over for ''Literature/TheGoodEarth'' due to the MinorityShowGhetto, but it misses two crucial parts of why the role went to Creator/LuiseRainer. First is that the Hays Code meant she couldn't be cast as a white man's wife even if he was in {{Yellowface}}. Second is the fact that the film was made with the support of the Chinese government - who pressured the studio into not casting Anna because she was hated in China at the time for playing stereotypical roles. The second point in particular could have made for an incredibly meaty storyline about how movie studios' racism forcing non-white actors into stereotypical roles resulted in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation (Hattie [=McDaniel=] had to face similar criticisms for always playing maids).

** Even the reviews that weren't particularly positive about the show admit that Creator/JimParsons, Joe Mantello, Creator/DylanMcDermott, Creator/HollandTaylor, and Creator/PattiLuPone gave stellar performances here.
** Jeremy Pope and Jake Picking deliver performances that come across as very sincere and touching.
** Michelle Kruseic has little to work with as Anna May Wong, but still manages to give one of the series's strongest turns despite her short screentime.

** Laura Harrier may have seemed like a decent choice for Camille based on her previously well received work, but once the series released, her work was widely panned. The biggest criticism being that Camille is supposed to be an unbelievably sensational actress whose not just excellent, but so excellent she as a black woman is able to win an Academy Award for lead actress ''in the 40s''. Unfortunately, not only was the consensus that Harrier's InUniverse acting isn't that good, it was deemed by many to be actively horrible, making all of Camille's praise utterly laughable.
** David Corenswet is a similar, but more downplayed example. Jack is also supposed to be an excellent actor to the point of an Oscar nomination, but many viewers either said Corenswet's in character performances weren't anything special, or were downright bad.

* AwardSnub: Joe Mantello and Patti [=LuPone=]'s acclaimed work went unnoticed at the Emmys.

* {{Glurge}}: One of the biggest criticisms of the series. It tries to be a hard hitting drama that shows of the darker elements and bigotry of Hollywood. But it also tries to be a light hearted crowd pleaser where all of this real life prejudice is ''very'' unrealistically overcome by our heroes. This then ruins the former element, and the latter element has actually been deemed a slap in the face to the real life people who couldn't overcome these prejudices.

** The series just mentions that Anna May Wong was passed over for ''Literature/TheGoodEarth'' due to the MinorityShowGhetto, but it misses two crucial parts of why the role went to Luise Rainer. First is that the Hays Code meant she couldn't be cast as a white man's wife even if he was in {{Yellowface}}. Second is the fact that the film was made with the support of the Chinese government - who pressured the studio into not casting Anna because she was hated in China at the time for playing stereotypical roles. The second point in particular could have made for an incredibly meaty storyline about how movie studios' racism forcing non-white actors into stereotypical roles resulted in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation (Hattie [=McDaniel=] had to face similar criticisms for always playing maids).

* UnfortunateImplications: [[https://nypost.com/2020/05/07/netflixs-hollywood-is-a-reality-altering-potentially-dangerous-tv-series/ Quite]] [[https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/5/21248043/netflix-miniseries-hollywood-ryan-murphy-review a few]] [[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/michaelblackmon/ryan-murphy-hollywood-netflix-review reviews]] [[https://www.delcotimes.com/arts_and_entertainment/television-on-second-look-netflixs-hollywood-is-just-as-bad/article_2cf9d260-92c8-11ea-aefd-b3d39d80f9ff.html accuse]] the series of being an insult to the actual marginalized people of Hollywood who had to fight and claw against prejudice every day to get at most a sliver of acclaim, [[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming saying they just weren't trying hard enough]] and could have magically solved racism, sexism, and homophobia if they just tried a little bit more. It gets worse for anyone who remembers ''Film/GentlemansAgreement'', a hard-hitting exploration of anti-Semitism: [[spoiler:It was the real life Best Picture winner in 1947, which is replaced by ''Meg'' in the show]].

* LoveToHate: Henry Wilson is an utter SlimeBall who constantly treats those around him like crap, especially his clients who he sexually extorts. But Creator/JimParsons' humorously vile performance makes him rather entertaining, and he continues to be an engaging bad guy [[TokenEvilTeammate even when working with the heroes]], occasionally even proving useful. Not to mention, in a show widely criticized for {{Glurge}}, Willson's {{Jerkass}} nature can be a fun change of pace compared to the other main characters.

** Henry Wilson's HeelFaceTurn is done near the end of last episode entirely offscreen. After spending the whole show as a total SlimeBall, it could've been interesting to see him take steps to better himself, but all we see is the aftermath where he's rid himself of all his vices, robbing us of what could've been several powerful scenes.