50 Time February 10, 2020
working-class girl seeking her fortune
in high fashion. Her snooty co-workers
have it out for her. Their boss (Katherine
LaNasa) is a Prada-wearing devil. She
starts to question what she has with K.O.
Yet Katy isn’t the only Cinderella in
this story. Her roommate Jorge (Jonny
Beauchamp) has a drag alter ego, Gin-
ger, and Broadway dreams but faces
anti femme prejudice. New arrival Josie
(Ashleigh Murray), late of the Pussycats,
a wannabe rocker from Riverdale, meets
a music-industry heartthrob. Their pal
Pepper (Julia Chan), an It girl with se-
crets, is somewhat out of place in this
wide-eyed world. But her darker story
line is such soapy fun, I didn’t care.
Each show in megaproducer Greg
Berlanti’s Archie franchise combines
retro aesthetics with deep cultural lit-
eracy. This latest escapist mixture is a lit-
tle bit Fame and a little bit Felicity, with
big “summer of scam” energy and sing-
along musical numbers. Less about find-
ing your Prince Charming than about
realizing your dreams without losing
your soul, Katy Keene is a blissful fairy
tale for a new decade.KATY KEENE premieres Feb. 6 on the CWNobody’s perfecT, buT KaTy KeeNe
comes close. A lovely young New York
native, she spends her days charming
VIPs in the personal- shopping depart-
ment of a Bergdorfesque emporium
called Lacy’s. By night, she’s a budding
designer, banging out whimsical pink
and red garments— dramatic capes,
smart bouclé dresses—for herself on a
sewing machine that’s been in her fam-
ily for generations. She lives in a big,
shabby-chic apartment with two other
aspiring artists and parties at the club
where K.O. Kelly (Zane Holtz), the chis-
eled sweetheart who’s been her boyfriend
since high school, works as a bouncer.
On paper, she sounds kind of cloy-
ing. But the breezy Riverdale spin-off
Katy Keene is a fairy tale—and every
fairy tale needs its princess. Thankfully,
Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars) makes
an unusually appealing one. A stylized
update of a decades-old Archie Comics
character, her Katy also embodies the
best traits of every idealized TV career
woman: Carrie Bradshaw without the
empty philosophizing, Midge Maisel
without the baggage, a Mary Richards
for our time.
Oh, she faces some adversity as a
REVIEW
A big McScam
Wanna feel old and disillu
sioned? It was way back in
1987 that McDonald’s joined
forces with Monopoly for a
series of smashhit promotions
in which game pieces pasted
to food packaging offered
shots at prizes of up to $1 mil
lion. And for 12 years, an ex
cop, who ran security for the
firm contracted to administer
the contest, was rigging it in
a bananas selfenrichment
scheme. All told, he and his
many accomplices siphoned
off $24 million.
As recounted in a 2018
Daily Beast article for which
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon
swiftly snapped up the film
rights, it’s a fascinating, often
funny caper, all corporate
cluelessness, desperate
characters and FBI operations
disguised as film shoots. But
like so many docuseries born
out of the truecrime boom,
HBO’s McMillions—a sixpart
exploration of the scam—
overplays its hand. Episodes
end on true cliffhangers but
overflow with filler; mundane
events are recounted in detail.
The story sometimes moves
too slowly, and insight proves
elusive in the three episodes
sent for review. McMillions
could’ve been a great doc, if
only its makers had learned
from their subjects not to
get greedy. —J.B.MCMILLIONS premieres Feb. 3
on HBOREVIEW
Greg Berlanti’s fairy tale of New York
By Judy Berman
TimeOff Television
KATY KEENE: BARBARA NITKE—THE CW; MCDONALD’S: GETTY IMAGES
Twenty-one people were
indicted as part of the caseTV’s newest Cinderella (Hale), resplendent in Katy Keene couture