TV Obsessive
The Flight Attendant
Derrick: HBO Max’s next venture The Flight Attendant stars former Big Bang Theory cast member Kayley Cuoco as Cassie, an alcoholic flight attendant with a flair for New York City party life and…murder? Unclear.
When a wild night with a passenger, Alex (Michiel Huisman), ends with Cassie waking up next to his naked corpse, she is forced to try and put the night together while also protecting herself from potential prison time as the guiltiest looking party. It’s part psychological thriller, part mystery, and part comedy, which adds up to some sort of self-aware kitchen sink cookie in its first episode (“In Case of Emergency”). This is all to say that it knows it’s junk food, it has an idea of who its audience is, and has brief moments of self-awareness that perhaps indicate that something more profound and surprising may come from the show than what meets the eye in its gratuitous montage cuts and pseudo-intellectual literature discussions.
From the Greg Berlanti-verse, there are definitely cringe-worthy Riverdale-esque moments in the first episode, but I think what’s on screen here feels more human, because it goes out of its way to point out how ridiculous its own plot is sometimes, and even its side characters’ high-jinks are up for debate and scrutiny from each other. If you are not a Kaley Cuoco stan (I’m not), come for the sharp zingers from Girls’ Zosia Mamet, or the heavy lifting from Search Party’s Rosie Perez. That’s not to say that star/executive producer Cuoco isn’t a reason to tune in—she’s plenty up for the range needed—but the supporting cast continuously elevate the show.
Spoiler-laden thoughts to come from me next week, but until then you can catch the first episode for free right here on the HBO Max website.
