Everyone is entitled to some privacy to do what they want in their home. Yet not everything stays private, even if there’s no one else around, and the repercussions of what someone thought they were doing without anyone looking can be disastrous if that turns out not to be the case. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed explores a worst-case scenario for its protagonist, whose dirty laundry threatens to completely implode her already fractured and delicate life.
Paula (Tatiana Maslany) is endlessly devoted to her young daughter Hazel (Nola Wallace) but hasn’t had an easy time of it lately. Her ex-husband Karl (Jake Johnson) is in a committed relationship with Mallory (Jessy Hodges), and Paula finds fulfillment in chat sessions with cam boy Trevor (Brandon Flynn). When she witnesses Trevor being abducted on camera and later receives a call demanding ransom money, she’s horrified to learn that the kidnappers seem to know much more about her than they should. Unsure whether she’s being scammed but still concerned about her own safety, she sets out to figure out what’s really going on and take down anyone who might be coming for her.
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed comes from creator David Rosen, whose past credits include Citadel, Sugar, Hunters, and Invasion. Also on board as director and executive producer is David Gordon Green, best known for comedy collaborations with Danny McBride and horror films from the Halloween and The Exorcist franchises. That combined experience is an informative preview of the tone of this show, which is very difficult to nail down. There’s a comedic undercurrent to an otherwise very dark storyline, one that sometimes feels like Fargo in its heightened portrait of how crime often plays out in the presence of truly stupid people.
Reuniting with Green after starring opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in his film Stronger, Maslany makes a strong return to off-kilter television after a successful stint as a Marvel superhero in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. This is a fitting role for her after her breakout in Orphan Black playing a number of scrappy, clever characters who found imaginative ways to get themselves out of holes and sticky situations. Paula is just one person but still comes with a magnetic frantic energy, one that pushes her not to back down and to make questionable decisions in the face of certain danger because she’s simply too determined to give up.
This show’s title might indicate something different than what audiences will actually experience when they sit down to watch it, and its brief but memorable opening titles sequence properly sets the tone. While Paula’s journey can feel isolating, she’s not alone on it, with reporters Geri (Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg) and Rudy (Charlie Hall) serving as tenuous allies who gradually want to get to the bottom of a mystery they at first aren’t sure is all that real. While Johnson and Hodges are shying away from their comedy roots to something more serious, the standout of the supporting cast is Dolly de Leon, whose Detective Sofia Gonzalez likes to follow her intuition and do her work with more than a touch of biting sarcasm.
With ten episodes running just over half an hour apiece, this show packs a good deal of intrigue and tension into each installment. It never feels overstuffed and also never quite goes in exactly the direction it feels like it should, which is a welcome approach that makes watching it involving and unpredictable. Audiences certainly won’t want to be Paula and will likely not approve of her choices on how to respond to each new obstacle or threat, but following someone so chaotic proves to be quite rewarding. Maslany’s energy is just right for this show’s unique tone, which is far from relaxing but also doesn’t always take itself that seriously, especially when it comes to life-or-death moments. This show doesn’t deliver maximum pleasure but offers something richer and more fulfilling: a compelling viewing experience that’s just different enough from the rest of what’s out there to stand out.
Season grade: 8/10
