The accusation some viewers have made is painfully reductive. <\/p>
I don\u2019t care what anyone says: it\u2019s fun to ridicule the one per cent. Of course, it does nothing to solve the extremely serious issues of wealth disparity and worker exploitation, but it applies a bit of cool relief to that burning sensation many of us feel.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019m clearly not alone in thinking that. The satirisation of the upper classes has become a major trend in pop culture lately \u2013 from The White Lotus<\/a> to Knives Out<\/a> and Triangle of Sadness<\/a> \u2013 with some arguing that Fleishman Is in Trouble also belongs in this category.<\/p>\n The comedy-drama, which landed on Disney Plus<\/a> in the UK this week, chronicles the failed relationship between Dr Toby Fleishman (Jesse Eisenberg) and his former wife, Rachel (Claire Danes), who are adjusting to post-divorce life.<\/p>\n They once shared a luxurious apartment in New York City, paid for partly by his wages as an accomplished liver specialist, but mostly by her enormous pay cheque from being a prolific talent agent. They are unmistakably upper class and knowingly run in snobbish circles, but that\u2019s not really what this story is about.<\/p> Nevertheless, it has been a point of discourse. Fleishman Is in Trouble<\/a> was well-received by most upon its North American release last year, but there were some dissenting voices; not least USA Today<\/a>, which harshly branded its plot as \u201crich people problems\u201d.<\/p>\n It\u2019s here I should say that the series also follows Libby (Lizzy Caplan), a friend of Toby\u2019s from university, who spends the series in the throes of a deep malaise. She too is upper middle class, with the salary of her lawyer husband allowing her to be a stay-at-home mum in a picturesque suburban neighbourhood \u2013 although that isn\u2019t exactly what she wanted for her life.<\/p>\n As we recover from a tenacious case of White Lotus fever and acknowledge class unrest more broadly, I can understand the knee-jerk reaction to view this troubled trio as nothing more than wealthy whiners. But, in this instance, I would encourage a deeper look into the issues at hand.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t another social satire about deluded poshos \u2013 and that\u2019s OK, there are plenty of those knocking around right now. Fleishman Is in Trouble actually touches upon themes which are near-universal, as explained by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who penned the original book<\/a> and this adaptation.<\/p>\n