The lure of solid-gold dross

Kim Kardashian's new series 'All's Fair' has been panned but still picked up for a second season. Helen Coffey asks why truly dreadful TV programmes get so many 'hate-view' hits?

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If there’s one show that has dominated internet discourse these past few weeks, it’s All’s Fair.

The widely panned Kim Kardashian vehicle, about a bunch of high-flying female divorce lawyers in visible thongs, has captured the world’s attention – for all the wrong reasons.

Clips of Kardashian’s comically expressionless face and voice while “acting” have cropped up all over my social media feed; Instagram has shown me countless reels compiling the best - read: most wince-making - lines of dialogue. Then there were the reviews filling up my news feed, notable because the show garnered zero stars - a notoriously difficult feat that only a handful of programmes have managed to accomplish over the years - from several publications.

Critics crowed over the terrible scriptwriting, questionable casting and wooden performances, while expressing surprise that so many big-hitting performers had agreed to participate. Speculation abounded that show creator Ryan Murphy must have some pretty serious dirt on Oscar-winner Glenn Close to secure her involvement through nefarious means.

The result of all this trash-talk? Not only has All's Fair already been renewed for a second season, but it became the biggest Hulu Original scripted series to premiere in three years. The series immediately went straight to No 1 for Disney+ in the UK upon release.