Season two of Flack picks up with Robyn, played by Anna Paquin, in a tight spot both at work and outside of work. The season starts with a bang: A whorehouse is raided by police, a powerful Mills Paulson client is inside and needs his PR firm to bail him out.
Robyn holds the phone in one hand, advising the client, and a pregnancy test strip in the other. Her life is about to change yet again.
The crises come fast and furious on Flack, upping the anxiety level for PR aces Robyn and Eve, and Mills Paulson boss Caroline — and the viewer, for that matter. It’s not an easy watch.
Flack, which had its first season on Pop TV before shifting to Amazon Prime Video, may not work for the many viewers seeking happier, lighter fare amidst these troubling times. The dramedy is chock full of sleazy characters, but one finds oneself rooting for Robyn to pull it together — and perhaps find more wholesome employment, though that would not make a very compelling show.
The dialogue is snappy and full of clever put downs. Asked how Robyn is faring, Eve, played by Lydia Wilson, thinks about her colleague and responds, “Good ol’ dead-eyed tight-lipped, drown-everyone-around-you-in-a-black-sea of self-involved, self-destructive self pity Robyn.”
Daniel Dae Kim turns up as an Elon Musk-ish tech titan who has ticked off people on Twitter, and Sam Neill plays Caroline’s dying ex-husband, with Sophie Okonedo playing Caroline.
Six-episode season one premiered on Amazon in January. Oliver Lansley created the show, and portrays nattily dressed drug dealer American Mike.
Paquin fills Robyn with steely determination. Flack is over the top and a lot of fun, and London is a lovely backdrop to its many scuzzy dramas.
