Line #65 Series/ThePolitician


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_politician.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''We promise to promise you everything.'']]
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4	''The Politician'' is a political comedy-drama series created by Creator/RyanMurphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan. It is the first project of Murphy's development deal with Creator/{{Netflix}}, following the end of his long-running collaboration with Creator/{{FOX}} / Creator/{{FX\|Networks}}. The series debuted in September 2019.
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6	Payton Hobart (Creator/BenPlatt) is an ambitious high schooler who has convinced himself that he ''will'' become [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStates President of the United States]] someday, and to start putting that plan in motion, has decided to start small — specifically, becoming student body president of his wealthy Santa Barbara high school. HilarityEnsues.
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8	Starring alongside Platt is an [[AllStarCast all-star cast]] including the likes of Creator/GwynethPaltrow as Payton's mother Georgina, Creator/ZoeyDeutch as his former running mate-turned-rival Infinity Jackson, and Creator/JessicaLange as Infinity's grandmother Dusty, with Creator/BobBalaban, Creator/DylanMcDermott, Creator/JanuaryJones, Creator/JudithLight, and Creator/BetteMidler appearing in other roles.
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10	A second season was confirmed before the first one premiered, and was released in June 2020. Murphy has shared plans for a delayed third and final season, which will follow Payton during his self-prophesied POTUS campaign.
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13	!! ''The Politician'' includes examples of:
14	* AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil: Part of the premise of the whole show.
15	* AcademicAlphaBitch: Payton is a rare male example.
16	* TheAce: A lot of the characters are shown to be this, with numerous achievements and Ivy League-acceptances under their belt.
17	* AerithAndBob: Names like Alice, James, Andrew, Martin, and Luther show up with names like Infinity, Dusty, and [=McAfee=].
18	* AgeGapRomance: Hadassah and [[spoiler: Dede and Marcus's former boyfriend, William]]. The latter is quick to defend his attraction to her.
19	* AllAbusersAreMale: Averted. [[spoiler: Dusty Jackson]] is a woman.
20	* AllElectionsAreSeriousBusiness: The main characters in the first season take the Saint Sebastian High School presidential election incredibly, ''insanely'' seriously. [[spoiler: To the point where there are honest-to-god ''assassination attempts''.]] Subverted in episode 5, where we see events from the point of view of one of the "voters" (i.e. another student) who isn't involved, doesn't particularly care, and [[spoiler: ends up not even voting]], with the implication being that this is far from uncommon.
21	* AmicableExes: [=McAfee=] and [[spoiler:Skye]]. [[spoiler: Payton and Astrid]] also go through a phase of being this.
22	* ArtisticLicensePolitics: Plentiful in Season 2, although some of it could be [[TakeThat snide]] [[TruthInTelevision commentary]] about modern American campaigns. One standout is [[spoiler:a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} like Georgina, not to mention a young woman on an all-female ticket, winning the presidency by a landslide]].
23	** Subverted in terms of Payton's State Senate campaign. While it's uncommon for someone as young as him to become a State Senator, the age requirement to run in New York is 18.
24	* AwfulWeddedLife: Astrid and Payton both have parents that fit into this trope.
25	* BadassBookworm: Payton, for God's sake, as well as his campaign team.
26	* BaldnessMeansSickness: Infinity is bald, [[spoiler:due to her grandmother, who has Munchansen by Proxy, shaving it to make her look sick. After the time skip in the Season One finale she has a chin length bob]].
27	* BettyAndVeronica: Astrid is the seductive Veronica to Infinity's Betty and Ricardo's Archie.
28	* BlackComedy: This show's humor has plenty of shades of this.
29	* BigBrotherInstinct: Payton seems to feel a downplayed version of this for Infinity Jackson.
30	* ButNotTooBi: Inverted with Georgina. Her sexuality isn't explicitly mentioned, but she is seen in relationships with both women and [[spoiler: Senator Tino [=McCutcheon=]]].
31	* CastFullOfRichPeople: The first season is about uber-wealthy California prep school students, of which Payton is one of the wealthiest.
32	* CelebrityParadox: In the second episode, Payton plays a piano version of a song called "Run Away". It was written by Ben Platt, implying that Platt himself exists in this universe.
33	* ClassRepresentative: Payton and Astrid [[spoiler:(and Skye)]] want to be student council president and will go to disturbing lengths to achieve this.
34	* TheChessmaster: Payton. It is shown time and time again that he will do just about anything to get what he wants.
35	* ComicallySmallDemand: Ricardo's only request in exchange for [[spoiler: telling the police everything about Dusty Jackson]] is two Filet-o-Fish burgers, fries, and a milkshake.
36	* TheCutie: Infinity, though she crosses the line into BadassAdorable at times.
37	* DeepSouth: Infinity's grandmother has an accent that implies she was at least raised Southern.
38	* DomesticAbuse: Implied with Astrid's parents, though not explicitly shown.
39	* DramaClub: Payton and Infinity star as opposite romantic leads in a school musical, presumably to make use of Ben Platt's extraordinary singing talent.
40	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:River kills himself in the first episode. He mentions an earlier unsuccessful attempt before finally doing it]].
41	* DumbBlonde: Averted with Alice, who is shown to be a blonde TeenGenius. Astrid is also a blonde who's by no means dumb.
42	* ElectionDayEpisode: The entire series could be considered this, but "The Voter" (1x05), "The Assassination of Payton Hobart" (1x06), and "The Voters" (2x05) are the literal examples.
43	* EveryoneIsBi: It's not made out to be that big of a deal, but numerous main characters are shown to be non-straight to some degree.
44	* FamilyPortraitOfCharacterization: James mentions that famous photographer Annie Leibovitz took Payton's wealthy family's Christmas photo, and notes it as one reason he's not considered an "accessible" presidential candidate.
45	* FirstEpisodeTwist: [[spoiler:River commits suicide after he's set up as a protagonist for Payton in the very first episode]].
46	* ForcedOutOfTheCloset: An aborted attempt by one of Payton's rivals, in which he retaliates by calling them a bigot.
47	* FriendsWithBenefits: Astrid and [[spoiler: Ricardo]] are this, albeit briefly so. In Season 2, [[spoiler: Astrid, Payton, and Alice]].
48	* GenderBlenderName: River and Payton are generally seen as feminine names, but are given to male characters here.
49	* GoGetterGirl: Astrid and [=McAfee=].
50	* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Played with. [[spoiler:When both Alice and [[OneNightStandPregnancy Astrid]] become pregnant at the same time, they initially want to keep their children, despite being young and having other dreams. Later on, Astrid gets an abortion but Alice decides against it.]]
51	* GreyAndGrayMorality: The student council election. Though Astrid isn't the best candidate, Payton's intentions for running definitely aren't as noble as he'd have you believe.
52	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Dede and her second in command, Hadassah.
53	* HighSchoolHustler: Payton, alongside virtually every goddamn character in the show.
54	* HighSchoolSweethearts: Payton and Alice.
55	* HollywoodToneDeaf: Ricardo, which is played for comedy once he gets cast in the school musical.
56	* IfItsYouItsOkay: Payton and River's relationship seems to be portrayed this way. While it isn't confirmed if Payton considers himself wholly straight, he admits to Astrid in Season 2 that [[spoiler:he was never sexually attracted to River, he just wanted to feel close to him.]]
57	* IJustShotMarvinInTheFace: Dusty accidentally(?) shoots Ricardo.
58	* ImpliedLoveInterest: River may be seen as this for Payton during Season 1.
59	* InnocentlyInsensitive: Infinity gets in some serious trouble over calling someone a ''butt-muncher''.
60	* IvyLeagueForEveryone: Averted. While [=McAfee=] graduates from Columbia, [[spoiler: Payton's admission to Harvard is rescinded and it's too late to buy his way in like his brothers since he was disinherited.]]
61	* JerkJock: Both of Payton's brothers.
62	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Ricardo's unpleasant and not particularly smart, but you can't deny he loves Infinity.
63	* LargeHam: Infinity has shades of this, especially after she becomes an environmental activist.
64	* LowerDeckEpisode: "The Voter" (1x05) focuses on an undecided voter at Saint Sebastian High, who simply doesn't give a shit about the election and is more concerned with trying to masturbate in peace.
65	** Similarly, "The Voters" (2x05) follows one of Payton's campaign volunteers and her mother, who believes Payton's opponent Dede Standish is the better candidate.
66	* MaleGaze: Well demonstrated from the point of view of a very horny teenage guy in the episode "The Voter."
67	* TheMistress: Astrid gleefully plays this role to Ricardo when convincing him to run away with her.
68	* MoralityPet: Infinity appears to be this for Ricardo.
69	* MrFanservice: River is introduced with his shirt off, post-coitus.
70	* NaiveEverygirl: Infinity shows shades of this in later episodes. Justified as [[spoiler: she spent her entire childhood going through cancer treatment she didn't actually need, and wasn't able to participate in any normal teenage activities.]]
71	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: The junior Democratic Senator-elect from Texas who appears in Season 2 is pretty likely based off of 2018 Senate candidate/2020 presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, having both a similar name (Tino) and O'Rourke's presidential aspirations. His prospective running mate, New York Senate Majority Leader Dede Standish, whose district is based in New York City, also bears a striking resemblance to powerful Democrat Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. Maloney's district also happens to be based in New York City.
72	** Infinity's storyline borrows several elements from the real life case of [[spoiler:Gypsy Rose Blanchard, whose mother also suffered from Munchausen by proxy]].
73	* OverlyNervousFlopSweat: Payton sweats "like [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Nixon]]" in his debate with River.
74	* OfficialCoupleOrdealSyndrome: [[spoiler:Payton and Alice go through a cheating incident, multiple breakups, a fling with Astrid, and an unplanned pregnancy (not to mention all of the election drama) before finally ending up HappilyMarried.]]
75	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Dusty dismisses gay people by saying all they do is "munch butts and celebrate UsefulNotes/{{Halloween}}".
76	* {{Polyamory}}: New York State Senate Leader Dede Standish and her husband are in a threesome relationship with a man named William.
77	* PreppyName: Payton Hobart. [=McAfee=] Westbrook.
78	* RichBitch: Pretty much every character seems to be this to some extent, but Dusty fits the description to a tee (albeit less rich than the bulk of the cast since she's able to feed off of [[spoiler:people's sympathy for her fake-ill grand-daughter]]).
79	* RichesToRags: After being found out trying to [[spoiler:kill their own father, Martin and Luther are instantly cut off and left with nothing but a very expensive piece of furniture that they're instantly in debt for.]]
80	* RunawayBride: [[spoiler:Alice leaves another man at the altar to help Payton with his State Senate campaign.]]
81	* RunningGag: After Hadassah sings the praises of warming lube, which she calls "spicy lube", she sends [=McAfee=] to fetch some for her. The term "spicy lube" is uttered numerous times in the aftermath.
82	* SecretTestOfCharacter: [[spoiler:After awakening from his coma, Keaton is told how his sons are going to kill him for his money. He plays at being in a coma as they show up, discussing how to do it and cover for each other then reveals he's been awake the whole time.]]
83	* TakeThat: The hilarious nonchalance with which Georgina and the admission officers talk about bribery to get into Harvard is a huge one to the frequent practice of rich families [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney buying their children into college]] and ''especially'' those implicated in [[RippedFromTheHeadlines the then-recent]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_college_admissions_bribery_scandal college admission scandal.]]
84	** The opening credits pan over a long list of Presidential biographies (every president from Ronald Reagan on), many of which are award winners. When it gets to Donald Trump, it's ''An Idiot's Guide to Clowning''.
85	** A couple of potshots are taken at libertarians during the series. Astrid's rather unpleasant father met her mother because he hired her as an escort at a Ron Paul fundraiser and Payton describes the titular StrawLoser character of "The Voter" as a libertarian.
86	* TimeSkip: The Season 1 finale "Vienna" moves three years into the future.
87	* TheBusCameBack: Ricardo's appearance in Season 2. Payton and his team visit him in prison for some [[ItMakesSenseInContext Rock-Paper-Scissors advice]].
88	* TwoferTokenMinority: Skye is a black lesbian who's gender non-conforming to boot. She uses this to her advantage during the election.
89	* UptightLovesWild: Infinity is sweet, helpful and seems to be a pretty good kid. Why she would go with Ricardo is anybody's guess, but it might have something to do with this Trope.
90	* VitriolicBestBuds: In Season 2, [=McAfee=], James and Skye.
91	* WhatTheHellHero: Infinity [[spoiler:steals a ballot box to help Payton win the State Senate race]], much to Payton's dismay.

Context Series / ThePolitician