High Hopes (Hulu)
Reality Television Comes From Hell but 'High Hopes on Hulu is something special.
I realized we were fucked as a culture halfway through the first season of The Apprentice, and I swear I’m not practicing revisionist history here. Until then, I was all in on Survivor and Big Brother. My children watched Billy the Exterminator and Duck Dynasty. It was cheap, easy, and highly entertaining. But watching Donald Trump fake fire fake people in fake situations became a funhouse mirror, where I looked at myself and said, “What the fuck are you doing with your life?” I wish it had happened sooner, but I wasn’t wise or strong enough to know that these shows had already become a national cancer.
And I stopped almost cold turkey. Over the years, a few interesting concept shows broke through, though they didn’t hold my attention for long. I watched the first few seasons of Shark Tank because I was learning important business concepts that they didn’t teach me in Creative Writing school (most writers are kept ignorant of fundamental business concepts, which is by design), but even that became boring and repetitive. The only reality show I have allowed myself to consistently keep up with is The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch because what’s happening out there on that ranch in Utah is fucking bonkers and catnip to anyone who loves The X-Files (including me).
But I’m on vacation right now, and I tend to allow myself indulgences that I normally don’t. So, when I was scrolling Hulu to find a good documentary series to watch, I came across this 6-episode reality show about a cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles, and god dammit, if this show didn’t hit me with a double-whammy in my Reality TV weak spot: A. It was about a business in a compelling industry B. It was about cannabis. If High Hopes had aliens in it, that would have been a triple bullseye, and I’d be rewatching it all over again right now instead of writing this review.
On its surface, the show exercises what have become standard tropes for these workplace reality shows:
Colorful bosses who react to bizarre business situations
Quirky employees doing shit that annoys the bosses
Insider insight into how an industry runs and the challenges of being successful
An element of chaos that makes things interesting
Someone to root for or against
Besides the insights into the culture of marijuana for profit and pleasure, High Hopes is filled with good-hearted hustlers trying to make their mark in the middle of lives filled with smoke rings and green schemes. I rooted for everyone in this show and relished in the drama of these characters navigating one of the most misunderstood facets of modern business—the conflict of interest.
I hope this will be a vacation show I can indulge in each Summer to keep up with these danky weirdos as they each undertake their individual and collective hero journeys to bring calm, comfort, and creativity to the world.
