Line #73 Series/Hollywood2020


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hollywood_2020.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''"I want to go to Dreamland."'']]
3
4	->''"In two weeks, we'll either be looked at as the smartest people in Hollywood, or we'll never work again."''
5	-->-- '''Avis Amberg'''
6
7	''Hollywood'' is a period drama original series from Creator/{{Netflix}}, and headed by Creator/RyanMurphy and Ian Brennan.
8
9	In [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood Post-War Hollywood]], a group of filmmakers and producers aim to change racial prejudice and homophobia through the release of a single motion picture. They face backlash and boycotts to produce the film, and most theatres are threatening to pull the film. The film they aim to make, a romantic drama called ''Meg'', features a woman of colour in the leading role, and is produced and written by a diverse crowd of people. Only time will tell if the gambit pulled off...
10
11	The cast of characters includes:
12	* '''Jack Castello''' (Creator/DavidCorenswet): A World War II veteran who has moved to Hollywood with his wife in hopes of landing a major film role.
13	* '''Raymond Ainsley''' (Creator/DarrenCriss): An aspiring director who hopes to change the face of Hollywood.
14	* '''Camille Washington''' (Creator/LauraHarrier): Raymond's girlfriend, an African-American actress who stars in minuscule roles, before landing the leading part in ''Meg''.
15	* '''Archie Coleman''' (Creator/JeremyPope): A black (and gay) screenwriter who wrote ''Meg''.
16	* '''Roy Fitzgerald[=/=]Creator/RockHudson''' (Creator/JakePicking): A fictionalized version of the real life actor, who strikes up a relationship with Archie Coleman.
17	* '''Claire Wood''' (Creator/SamaraWeaving): The daughter of the head of Ace Studios. She campaigns for the lead role in ''Meg'' and is at first a rival to Camille.
18	* '''Richard "Dick" Samuels''' (Creator/JoeMantello): An Ace studio executive who, along with Avis, tries to get ''Meg'' released. He's also a closeted gay man.
19	* '''Ernest "Ernie" West''' (Creator/DylanMcDermott): The boss at a gas station that doubles as prostitution ring. He’s struggling with health problems thanks to his excessive smoking.
20	* '''Avis Amberg''' (Creator/PattiLuPone): Wife of Ace Studios' head Ace Amberg, a former actress who was cast aside thanks to her Jewish background. After her husband falls ill, she's placed in charge of Ace Studios and greenlights ''Meg''.
21	* '''Henry Wilson''' (Creator/JimParsons): A gay Hollywood talent agent who has a shady way of dealing with things. His clients include Rock Hudson.
22	* '''Ellen Kincaid''' (Creator/HollandTaylor): A studio executive who trains young actors and acts as a mentor. She has feelings for Dick.
23
24	For the 1980 British documentary series about the silent film era, see ''Series/Hollywood1980''.
25
26	----
27	!! ''Hollywood'' provides examples of:
28	* AdaptationDeviation: InUniverse, people note that the original ending of ''Meg'' becomes a bit uncomfortable when Meg is cast as a black woman fighting against systematic oppression. This leads to the ending being changed from her killing herself to her choosing to keep living.
29	* AlternateHistory:
30	** Hollywood makes several big steps forward toward inclusivity and diversity in the 1940s which in real life didn't get much mainstream attention until TheNewTens. Also Rock Hudson [[spoiler:comes out of the closet in the 50s, something that he would never do in real life, instead dying of AIDS decades later before his sexuality was disclosed to the public.]]
31	** Even aside from characters' actions, it appears that the show is set in a world where the various legal objections towards what they're doing just don't exist, and that systemic racism and bigotry is purely a social construct and not just a legal one. Indeed, the show seems to exist in a world where the ''many'' laws banning interracial relationships or women having legal power either do not exist or are simply ignored. The Hays Code is referenced but is seemingly not able to prevent the production of ''Meg'', where in real life it would have shut the film down because of the code's strict rules against depicting mixed-race romances. Likewise, the series ends with a major Hollywood studio making a film about a homosexual romance; this ignores that in 1949, sodomy was still illegal in all then-48 states, including California (and it wasn't fully ended in that state until ''2003''), which means any gay man might well have been arrested for their public romance. In the series, though homosexual conduct is so socially repressed that gay men have to hide, this isn't legally enforced and [[spoiler:Rock, Archie, Dick, and Ernie]] come out of the closet by the end without any legal consequences.
32	* AmbiguouslyBi: Ernie eventually settles down with [[spoiler:Ellen]], but also turns tricks with men, runs a brothel that caters to all genders and sexualities, and says he'd be interested in [[spoiler:Henry]] "in another life." The latter comment was likely a joke, leaving it unclear if Ernie is personally into men himself, or if it's just practical business. He’s also shown grabbing Raymond’s butt while congratulating him on his Oscar win.
33	* AndTheAdventureContinues: The series details the crew's struggle to get through the era-typical prejudice just to get ''Meg'', a story written by a gay black man and starring a black woman in the leading role, produced. They succeed, and the film gets critical acclaim and lands them several Oscars, including Best Actress and Best Picture. One year later, Ace Studios greenlights the first film about a genuine homosexual romance. Though everyone is aware of the severe backlash it will get them, they are just as determined to see this film through, and the series ends on the first day of production of ''Dreamland.''
34	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Hattie [=McDaniel=] appears, to tell the story of her Oscar win, informing Camille that she was barred from the ceremony and snuck in right before her name was announced because the winners had been leaked in advance. In actuality, while the Coconut Grove nightclub was a whites-only venue, David O Selznick arranged for Hattie to sit at the ceremony for the whole night (albeit at a small, separate table from her white co-stars). It's also unlikely she knew she was the winner in advance; Olivia de Havilland clarified that Selznick knew because the winners were leaked in a phone call with some others present, but Hattie was not there.
35	* TheAtoner:
36	** Part of the reason Dick fights so hard for ''Meg'' to be produced is because he ''didn't'' fight to cast Anna May Wong in a leading role many years ago, despite knowing she was the best actress for the part. Instead, he took the easy way out and cast a "safe," white actress, and ''really'' regrets it, leading him to vow not to make the same mistake again. [[spoiler:Given that ''Meg'' not only gets made, but has Anna May Wong in a role that nets her an Oscar win, it's safe to say he made it up to her.]]
37	** Henry does some really shitty things over the course of the series, but a year after ''Meg'' is released in theatres, he does try to clean up his act. [[spoiler:This includes apologising to Rock, who he’d emotionally and sexually abused, and proposing a motion picture that features a same sex male romance, after he’d gone through careful steps to keep actor’s homosexuality hidden.]]
38	* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:In the season finale, the cast and crew attend a funeral of a friend. At first it appears to be Ernie as his failing health and diagnosis with lung cancer had been mentioned prior. Then we pan down to see it’s Dick Samuels, who lost his life to cancer.]]
39	* BigBad: While the show doesn’t have a single antagonist, several studio executives and racist protesters attempt to get production on ''Meg'' shut down.
40	* {{Bookends}}: The series begins with Jack, then a down-on-his-luck newcomer to Hollywood, watching a movie in a theater. [[spoiler:The series' final shot has Jack, now an Academy Award nominated actor, filming his second movie.]]
41	* BrokenBird: Vivien Leigh is suffering from untreated mental conditions that she is tormented by. Her marriage is also dissolving because Laurence Olivier can no longer bear her "moodiness".
42	* CastFullOfGay: Archie, Rock, Dick, and Henry all identify as gay, while Ernie is at the very least AmbiguouslyBi.
43	* CastTheRunnerUp: InUniverse example. Both Claire and Camille audition for the role of Meg. There is much debate over who gets the role, since Claire is white (and is Avis's daughter) while Camille is black (which would lock them out of several markets who don't want a black leading lady). Eventually, it's settled for Camille to get the part, while Claire gets cast as Meg's best friend.
44	* CharacterShilling:
45	** Camille is very guilty of this, with everyone talking about what an incredibly talented actress she is.
46	** To a lesser extent, this also applies to Jack as an actor, Raymond as a director, and Archie as a writer, given they're also supposed to be excellent at what they do and that their work on ''Meg'' is something special.
47	* ChekhovsGunman: The editor who had been fired after taking exception to Henry messing up with ''Meg'' returns in the last episode [[spoiler:to reveal he had secretly kept an extra print of the movie with Raymond's original cut, which comes in handy after the studio lawyer had the police seize and burn all the other prints.]]
48	* CreatorCouple: InUniverse, we have Camille (an up-and-coming actress) and Raymond (an up-and-coming director who is directing the film she's starring in).
49	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Besides the casual sexism, racism, and homophobia, which characters of varying sympathy have varying levels of tolerance of, the show's treatment of sexual exploitation in Hollywood is viewed this way. When Rock tells Archie about being abused by Henry, Archie doesn't even register it as a ''problem'' since that's just what happens in Hollywood and he himself is turning tricks to make ends meet, while Ernie, despite being a pimp who takes advantage of Jack's financial desperation to pressure him into becoming a gigolo, something that ''clearly'' traumatizes him, is depicted as almost a father figure to the young men, though part of it is helped by him undergoing a HeelFaceTurn.
50	* DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale:
51	** Defied though explored. Sexual exploitation is treated as something that is tragically par-the-course for Hollywood, and despite exploiting many young men, Ernie and Henry are never penalised for it. Ernie outright becomes something of a father figure to his gigolos and has a HeelFaceTurn (though, he himself never physically abuses any of them, he ''does'' financially blackmail Jack and tries to pressure him into having sex with a man), while Henry tries to become TheAtoner, but he is ''still'' considered an utter scumbag. However, its ''effect'' is still seen seriously, as Jack and Rock are clearly traumatised by their experiences, with Jack becoming riddled with self-loathing and Rock later telling Henry he has nightmares about him.
52	** Notably, the show shies ''away'' from exploring the sexual exploitation of ''women'' outside of Ace exploiting Jeanne for sex, who outright says that he lead her to believe her career would be over if she didn't consent. Though he suffers a somewhat near-KarmicDeath, as having sex with her nearly kills him ([[spoiler:and later, making genuine love with his wife ''does'' kill him]]), he's also written as just as complex a character as Henry and Ernie, and is even ''less'' of a scumbag than Henry. Ultimately, the show treats victims of exploitation as ''victims'' regardless of their gender, even if the focus is more on male victims, but in both situations it also treats the abusers as rounded characters themselves.
53	* EarnYourHappyEnding: A reassuring one. [[spoiler:After ''Meg'' is released, it breaks several records and nets Camille, Archie, Anna May and the picture an Oscar win, with a slew of nominations. The movie sets off a ripple that changes Hollywood -- and the world -- for the better, and the series ends with the team coming together to work on another movie: a gay love story starring Jack and Rock.]]
54	* EndearinglyDorky: Rock's a very earnest guy, which makes him utterly endearing. Part of what makes Archie fall for him is how sweet natured and awkward he is. Unfortunately, this exact trait makes Henry take advantage of him.
55	* {{Fanservice}}: Being a product of Creator/RyanMurphy, the show is not at all shy with its depictions of sex and nudity. Perhaps the most gratuitous example would be when Jack has an impromptu nude photoshoot, something that has no bearing on the rest of the plot, and was seemingly just an excuse to show David Corenswet in the buff. Not that anyone's complaining
56	* GoodIsDumb: Jack, Rock, and Claire all get called and treated by others as unintelligent; Jack explicitly says that all his life people have passive-aggressively told him he's "lucky he's handsome", Rock is repeatedly abused by Henry for his 'Hayseed' intelligence, and Claire is lambasted by both parents for being unintelligent. They're also, though imperfect, some of the nicest characters in the show, and their naivete makes them come off as endearing. It's also worth nothing that Jack and Claire aren't actually all that dumb, and Rock wises up as time goes on.
57	* HardWorkMontage: A truly hilarious one of Ernie turning tricks to help raise money for the movie.
58	* HateSink:
59	** Henry Willson is an arrogant talent agent who [[spoiler:abuses Rock Hudson and tries to alter the final cut of ''Meg'' behind Raymond’s back. Thankfully, he does shape up by the time the series ends. He even promotes a same sex romantic film to Avis, who green lights it.]]
60	** The Ace Studios lawyer, who Avis tried firing, who warned against producing ''Meg'' based on the leading actress’s skin colour. [[spoiler:Becomes even more despicable when he takes all prints of the movie and burns them, almost wasting all the effort the cast and crew put in if it hadn’t been for the editor who kept a print.]]
61	* HeadTurningBeauty: ''Everyone'' at Ace Studios notices Camille's beauty, with a couple even outright calling her the prettiest actress there.
62	* HeelFaceTurn: Several.
63	** Ace, before his coma, was a horribly sexist, racist piece of shit who didn't care about his movies' quality so long as they performed well, and was cheating on his wife with an actress he was exploiting. After his coma, he takes stock, watches ''Meg'' and utterly falls in love with the film, and promotes his wife to co-executive, and tries to make peace with her before he dies.
64	** Ernie, early on, is a pimp who takes advantage of Jack's desperate financial situation to pressure him into becoming a prostitute, and tries to pressure him into engaging in gay sex, which he's clearly not OK with. After ''Meg'' begins to enter production, he decides to support them leaving the life and making their dreams, and even donates to their production costs so they don't have to earn the money turning tricks. [[spoiler:In the end, he gives up his prostitution ring to finally pursue acting]].
65	** Claire starts off as TheRival and trying to be TheVamp, with issues of ItsAllAboutMe. Getting to know Camille and her father's health scare prompt her into instead ''supporting'' Camille, even tanking her own audition. In the end, she gets a good supporting role part in ''Meg'' and [[spoiler:finds love in Jack]].
66	** It takes a ''while'', but after spending most of the series as the TokenEvilTeammate and a general slimeball who abuses his clients, in the epilogue Henry gets sober and genuinely tries to atone. [[spoiler:Understandably, Rock doesn't forgive him, but seems willing to accept he's a changed man.]]
67	* HeelRealization: Claire is on her way to becoming a ruthless go-getter, but after her mother gives her a WhatTheHellHero speech about her SkewedPriorities and she talks to Camille about her anxieties with the screen test, Claire realizes she should be more self-aware. She purposely tanks her audition half-way through to ensure they ''have'' to cast Camille, and instead accepts the part of her best friend, while also becoming genuine friends with her and Jack.
68	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: While most of the main characters are fictional, there are also several real people in roles of various importance:
69	** Creator/RockHudson, a leading man with a manly image who was actually a closeted gay man (and one of the most notable examples of such during that era). His sexuality only became public after his death in 1985, which also made him the first major celebrity to die of AIDS-related illness (and bring the disease to worldwide conversation).
70	** Creator/VivienLeigh, a British actress famous for playing Scarlett O'Hara in ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'' and Blanche du Bois of ''Film/AStreetcarNamedDesire''. Also notable for being married to Laurence Olivier, and starring with him many times. She struggled with bipolar disorder in real life, leading to the collapse of her marriage.
71	** Creator/HattieMcDaniel, the first African-American to win the Oscar (Best Supporting Actress for ''Film/GoneWithTheWind''). She was heavily typecast as maids and variations of {{Mammy}}, although she later became the first African-American to have her own radio show (''Beulah'').
72	** Creator/AnnaMayWong - the first ever Chinese-American movie star. Despite her popularity and status as a fashion icon, she was passed over for leading roles in favor of white actresses in {{Yellowface}}; often getting stuck as the DragonLady or BeautifulSlaveGirl. The film Dick regrets not casting her in is likely a reference to ''Literature/TheGoodEarth'', a wholly Asian story featuring white Americans in yellowface, and Anna May was offered the only wholly unsympathetic role after being passed over from the lead.
73	** Henry Wilson was a real Hollywood agent and power broker from the 1930s until the 60s. He specialised in young, good-looking men who were given manly stage names. He himself was a closeted gay man, and molded many of his gay clients into straight-appearing stars. He likewise kept blackmail material on file, and would use it to help his clients (sometimes at the cost of his others). The story he tells of William Haines - a Silent Era star who quit the industry rather than enter a sham marriage - is true as well.
74	* HorribleHollywood: Subverted. While the industry and the Academy are, as a whole, horrible, the main cast includes actors, producers and writers who are shown to be somewhat decent people.
75	* InSpiteOfANail: While the 1948 Oscars in this world has ''Meg'' dominating with [[spoiler: Wong, Raymond, Archie, and Camille all winning Oscars]], Jack still loses Best Supporting Actor to Edmund Gwenn for ''Film/MiracleOn34thStreet''. (He brushes it off with "come on, it's Santa Claus!")
76	* InformedAbility: Jack, Camille, Raymond, and Archie are supposed to be incredible auteurs in their field worthy of Oscars, but from what we see, they don’t come across as particularly impressive.
77	* ItsAllAboutMe: Claire at first, which her mother confesses is ''why'' she wanted to stop her daughter becoming an actress, as she believed the pursuit of fame would corrupt her into becoming this way. Thankfully, Claire takes stock and avoids falling into this mindset long-term.
78	* JadeColoredGlasses: Anna May is ''very'' cynical about Raymond's attempts to change Hollywood from the inside, being all-too-familiar with how awful the industry can be to people, especially women, of color.
79	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Dick Samuels is blunt and abrasive but he's pretty decent guy who helps both Archie and Raymond achieve their dreams.
80	* TheKlan: They’re name dropped early in the series as a reason not to produce ''Meg''. Once the film is green-lit, Camille and Avis are both sent a message by Klan members in the form of a burning cross on their yards. Camille refuses to live on the studio lot, as she feels that would be letting the racists win by showing they got to her, but she and Raymond are still scared -- and for good reason.
81	* LargeHam: Vivien Leigh, but would you expect anything else?
82	* LighterAndSofter: Compared to some of Ryan Murphy’s other work, this show is surprisingly a lot more uplifting and heartwarming. That being said, it is still filled with horrific racism that was around during the time.
83	* LoveFatherLoveSon: [[spoiler:Gender-flipped. Jack's first client at the gas station is Avis, and he later falls in love with her daughter Claire. Fortunately for him, by the time they get serious, Claire is aware of his former job and the fact that her mother was a client, and is remarkably chill about it. So is Avis, though she did just about have a stroke when she initially found out.]]
84	* TheMafia: When a tabloid reporter finds out about Jack's arrest for prostitution, and threatens to cause a scandal, Henry Willson solves the problem by reaching out to contacts in the mafia to have a few legbreakers to put the reporter in the hospital.
85	* OutWithABang: [[spoiler:Ace dies after a night of reconciliation sex with Avis.]]
86	* ParentalSexualitySquick: After Ace and Avis patch things up, they celebrate their attempt at starting again by a night of passionate love-making. In the morning, while Avis is singing at the breakfast table, a sleep-deprived, traumatized Claire arrives for breakfast, revealing she could ''hear them'' and couldn't sleep because they were doing it until ''4 AM''.
87	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Ace decides to support progress and in-particular support his wife, with the two trying to renew their relationship. Which they start by having very passionate sex that lasts for ''hours''. Unfortunately, they ''forgot'' that his heart attack was ''caused'' by having sex, and the experience unfortunately kills him. Unfortunately, because he dies, his lawyer tries to usurp control and destroy ''Meg'' before Avis can fully take control and fire him.]]
88	* RejectedApology: [[spoiler:Rock is glad Henry's taking steps to improve himself, but outright says he'll probably never be able to forgive him. Henry acknowledges this as fair.]]
89	* RomanceOnTheSet: InUniverse, [[spoiler:Jack and Claire]] become a couple during filming of ''Meg''. So do [[spoiler:Ellen and Ernie]].
90	* SafeSaneAndConsensual: PlayedForLaughs in a scene where Ernie enacts a fairly hardcore bondage scenario with a client, screaming verbal abuse at him, tying him up, throwing him in a trunk, and later leaving him on the side of the road (after probably having had sex with him, though we don't see that part for sure). We know it's SSC because he keeps annoying the client by breaking character to ask if he's comfortable, if he needs him to loosen his bonds, etc.
91	-->'''Ernie:''' So, I tied you pretty loose; you should be able to wiggle out. ''[gestures back to his car]'' I'm going to be right over there if you need me.\
92	'''Client:''' ''[muffled]''\
93	'''Ernie:''' What?\
94	'''Client:''' ''[through his gag]'' Stay in character!\
95	'''Ernie:''' Oh, sorry. I mean, I'm gonna leave you here to rot, you pervert!\
96	'''Client:''' ''[grunt of approval]''\
97	'''Ernie:''' ''[cheerful]'' This was fun!
98	* SkewedPriorities: When her father has a heart attack, Claire's first thought is how it'll affect her screen test. Fortunately this makes her [[JerkassRealization realize how selfish she's being]] and from here on out she becomes a committed NiceGirl.
99	* TakeThat: One Ace Pictures meeting concerning ''Meg'' brings up at the same time, Disney had released ''Film/SongOfTheSouth''. Avis calls the film "garbage", noting how uncomfortable she is with its casual racism.
100	* TearsOfJoy: ''Lots'' of them are shed during the Oscars scene, both by the main characters and the people at home listening to the ceremony.
101	* TokenEvilTeammate: Henry Willson, a sleazy, manipulative, exploitative bastard who weasels his way into working on ''Meg''. While he is useful and [[JerkassHasAPoint sometimes has a point]], he's also very much TheFriendNobodyLikes.
102	* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory:
103	** In-universe, Archie is persuaded to change his script "Peg" about the real life actress Peg Entwhistle to an allegorical story about a black actress named Meg which simply takes inspiration from her life.
104	** The show itself, while an AlternateHistory, explores a fictitious version of Rock Hudson and Henry Willson. It remains ''loosely based'' as Rock's real name is given an AdaptationalNameChange from Scherer to Fitzgerald (sort of, his stepfather's last name really was Fitzgerald and he admitted his last name was originally Scherer) and Henry's portrayed as a sexual predator; the latter though is likely a case of DeliberateValuesDissonance as it was noted that many of his talent 'co-operated' with him and his sexuality for parts.
105	** Ernie seems to be a fictional version of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotty_Bowers Scotty Bowers]], a gas station manager who in his 2012 memoir ''Full Service'' would claim that from the 1940s to the 1980s he also acted as a Hollywood pimp. Ernie's [[https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/HOLLYWOOD_101_Unit_01150RCC.jpg?resize=1800,1200&w=1200 uniform]] in fact seems to be taken from [[https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91LxiWSaArL._RI_.jpg a picture of Bowers wearing a similar uniform]] used for the poster of a 2017 documentary based on his book.
106	* WhamLine: For those not too knowledgeable about Hollywood, it might well be a surprise when Roy Fitzgerald (who we've gotten to know as a struggling simple guy caught in some shady stuff) meets with Henry Wilson who suggests a name change: "Rock...Rock Hudson."

Context Series / Hollywood2020