Next week Stan unveils its new event drama series, The Loudest Voice, based on Gabriel Sheman’s 2014 biography ‘The Loudest Voice in the Room’.
When The Loudest Voice opens, it 2017 and Roger Ailes (Russell Crowe, Gladiator) has just died a year after being removed from FOX News amid claims of sexual harassment.
We then go all the way back to 1995 where Ailes, who has just been let go from another television network, gives us a voiceover as to how he thinks he’s perceived – “Right wing. Paranoid. Fat. And I’m not going to argue with them. I am conservative. I do like to eat. And I believe in the power of television – giving people what they want. Even if they don’t know they want it.”
Shortly after leaving he goes to work for Rupert Murdoch (Simon McBurney, The Theory of Everything), whose goal was to create a cable news service.
The series’ opening hour explores the birth of Fox News. The brainchild of Ian Rae (Jamie Jackson, The Blacklist), it was originally set to be tabloid TV, but Roger doesn’t like this idea, asking who their audience is meant to be. He points out that if other networks are appealing to the left side of political spectrum, then they should appear to be the right. And so, Fox News is born.
After previewing the first three episodes of this series for this review, The Loudest Voice, is about Roger’s ride and fall from power. Notable casting in the series includes Sianna Miller (The Lost City of Z) as his eventual third wife Beth; Brian Lewis, who looked after Fox’ public relations is played brilliantly by Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy); and Annabelle Wallis (The Mummy) shines as Laurie Luhn, the person who gives us our first look at Roger’s behaviour.
The opening script is penned by Gabriel Sherman himself and Tom McCarthy, who get straight to the point with a compelling script that leaps of the page and moves at a nice fast pace, showing Roger in his many shades from loving and caring to ruthless.
Crowe gives a memorable performance that showcases the many sides of his character, but really every single performance is fantastic and no one can be faulted.
The Loudest Voice may focus on Roger Ailes rise and fall, but it shall only rise to be one of the most memorable TV dramas of 2019.
4/5 Stars
The Loudest Voice premieres on Stan on Monday July 1.
