Fosse/Verdon TV Show Review: A Star Duo
Fosse/Verdon is an FX original miniseries based on the real lives of theater/film legends Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon, following their tumultuous relationship and creative pursuits. Bob Fosse was an award-winning director and choreographer, and Gwen Verdon was an award-winning performer. At times, Verdon was almost like Fosse’s muse and rock that helped keep his sanity together. This show is kind of what you would expect it to be - a behind-the-scenes look into Hollywood, where everything isn’t as glamorous and glitzy as it appears. I loved the show for how it depicted the coming together of movies and musicals, such as of Cabaret and Chicago. I thought the show’s focus on character development and the interesting way it hopped from past to future was interesting, but the biggest draw for me was the behind-the-scenes reenactments of auditions, rehearsals, and production. So if you also like stories about old Hollywood and the creative process, I would recommend this show!
Another major draw for this series is the fact that Sam Rockwell as Bob Fosse and Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon absolutely killed it in their roles! They are both such dynamic and interesting actors, and it was fascinating to see the makeup department do their work to transform them in almost every episode from young adults to older adults. Because Fosse and Verdon were both choreographers/dancers, there’s a lot of dancing involved. The choreography and dancing scenes were arguably the best scenes in the show for how fun they were to watch, especially when you start to see the coming together of iconic dance moves and choreography that many people can still recognize in popular culture today.
On the other hand, this show is also very serious in its portrayal of Fosse’s downward spiral into drug abuse, sexual abuse, and mental instability. It was honestly pretty infuriating to watch how young female dancers were abused and pretty much manipulated into doing certain things for him in order to get their shot at fame. It was also infuriating to see the way his infidelity broke up his marriage and caused Verdon so much grief. But even after saying all that, there’s ultimately no hero or villain in this story. I think the main focus was about how Fosse and Verdon were such a power couple in the industry on the surface, but had a lot of demons to deal with underneath. Their marriage didn’t last, but the takeaway is that their partnership made their creative outputs strong and lasting. And while the title of the show is Fosse/Verdon, a lot more focus seemed to be on Bob Fosse. It makes sense because this show is based on a biography titled Fosse.
I think that while the show starts off as a look into the rise of a power couple in Hollywood, it’s ultimately pretty depressing. There are many interesting directorial choices that I thought were super fun to watch, like how the choreographed numbers came together. The show was definitely at its strongest when Rockwell and Williams shared the screen and showed off their incredible chemistry and acting chops. I’m glad I watched this show for their performances alone, if anything.