Self The devil wears Prada it’s one of your favorite movies (we love it too, but it’s a bit dated), hold still, we’ve found you an heiress to savour, a Spritz in one hand, a gloss in the other.
Created by Jordon Nardino (who worked on Desperate Housewives OR Gilmore Girls), Fascinating follows in ten episodes the adventures of Marco Maija (Miss Benny), a gender-variant queer youth and aspiring influencer with a passion for makeup, who describes how “tubular therapy”. Her career took off when she landed her dream job as an assistant Madlyn Addison (Kim Cattrall). This former model has successfully launched her own luxury makeup brand and is looking to dust it off. Armed with his freshness and good ideas, Marco will make him want to take risks again.
From Miranda to Madolyn
Madolyn Addison looks like a 2023 version of the archetypal popess of fashion and beautycreated with the character of Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) in The devil wears Prada. She exudes self-confidence and knows no fashion faux pas. If she remains feared and admired, Madolyn has more to do with Jacqueline Carlyle (Melora Hardin), the benevolent mentor of The bold type.
He is never dismissive, learns from his mistakes and listens to everyone from his son and right-hand man Chad, to his first assistant, the ambitious Venetia, to his trusted chauffeur and confidant, Teddy (Ricardo Antonio Chavira, aka Carlo Solis in Desperate). It’s a pleasure to find Kim Cattrall in a role as a fashion icon and LGBTQ+ ally that’s close enough to her true personality. It is one of the major attractions of Fascinatingbut he never steals the show from Marco, played by the irresistible Miss Benny.
Appeared in With love, Victor OR American Horror Stories, the trans actress and YouTube influencer shines brightly in this role tailored to her talent. As brilliant as he is, Marco can also get on our nerves because he doesn’t always make the right decisions and can hurt loved ones along the way.
But that’s also what makes him a human character. Marco is not angelized and his more questionable choices remain understandable. We also love his relationship with his mother. Played by the charming Diana-Maria Riva (Dead to me), Julia understands that she has to let her son fly on his own, despite her maternal anxieties. The series also explores the relationship between Madolyn and her son Chad (Zane Phillips), the latter seeking her approval at all costs.
Weird and proud of it!
The main advantage of Fascinatingthat’s all strangeness, which he proudly wears on his shoulderthrough its numerous LGBTQ+ characters (Marco, Chad, Venetia, Ben, Britt…) or its spicy dialogues (“I’m a prep guy, I can do anything!”, the French translation loses some spice, but gives this: “I’m a guy on Prep, I can do anything!”). Each episode contains his share of hilarious jokes as Chad, who missees Marco’s arrival and spews: “‘Yass Queen’ is going to bankrupt us!” (“He’s going to bankrupt us with ‘yass queen’!).
Parker, Marco’s love interest, is a gay man with a perfect muscular body, who works in finance and can pass for a straight man. And he would like Marco to control his way of presenting himself and abandon makeup and heels when the situation makes him uncomfortable. Fascinating thus addresses the prejudices and internalized homophobia that reign within the gay community. Warning, spoilers! The finale concludes with the release of Marco’s trans (Miss Benny also made hers this month). The series also develops a Sapphic love story between two black womenVenice (Jade Payton), bisexualand Britt (Ayesha Harris), a lesbian. It’s not every day that a series covers nearly the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum!
The series also evokes the pinkwashinghimselft brands’ recovery of the LGBTQ+ cause, which peaks during Pride Month. As she embarks on the production of a special Pride palette, Madolyn takes the time to reflect on her role as an LGBTQ+ ally and launches a busier-than-expected campaign.
Amorous or professional betrayals, ransom threats, crushes and hectic evenings… Fascinating it does not shine for the originality of its narrative arcs, but for its extra soul and for the care given to the writing of its protagonists. It proves that it is possible to invent a soap that is both fun and benevolent. And that’s exactly what we need this summer!
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
