We heard about how Ryan Murphy wanted to create a legal drama soap based semi-biographical on the lives of Hollywood’s top female divorce lawyers like Laura Wasser.

Then he said he wanted Kim Kardashian to be the first on the call sheet, aka the star of the show. 

People rolled their eyes. I did not. I was expecting fun, pretty decent cliffhangers, love triangles, and just a good distraction. 

I did not expect a show that wrote actually smart decisions being made, and despite knowing it’s going to concentrate on women, that almost no men are on screen, truly a rarity. 

The official reviews were coming in and saying it was awful. Terrible writing, over-acting, it’s crap, one star, blah blah blah. 

I waited to binge-watch it because I felt, this isn’t one of those shows that you just watch one episode a week, looking forward to the next. This is the kind of show you watch with your friends like in a slumber party, almost, laughing and forgetting about your own troubles. I was partially right. 

Is the writing bad? Honestly, I don’t think so. It’s not cheesy, it’s not brash, it’s pretty realistic under the circumstances. Of course, Sarah Paulson has the best lines being mostly of insults, and it’s a joy to hear them. But it’s not Shakespeare or Sorkin, and it doesn’t have to be. 

Is the acting bad? No. Kim is in obvious great company with award-winning actors who have shown their comic, dramatic skills for decades. Even the newbies alongside her are great at showing the range needed. 

I think Kim does a good job on this show. I was really impressed with her first big role for Murphy in American Horror Story: Delicate. Here, she isn’t playing the same role but still, it’s not Kim Kardashian, the reality star we are most familiar with.

But here is what I really like about All’s Fair: It actually shows what to do, good examples and smart moves. Now possible spoilers going down so be warned…

Good Example 1: What a good marriage looks like

The show is about divorce attorneys. Glen Close is the mentor and has been married to one man who is dying. It has been rough for her, and at one point, she is approached by a man for a one-night stand. She is tempted but ultimately does not. She tells her husband, much to the dismay of her friends. Why? Because she loves her husband, she trusts him, and he is her best friend. If she can’t express her frustration that they cannot be intimate due to his illness, her guilt that she was tempted for really, the first time in their marriage to cheat, and in turn, her husband understood. So, for a show about marriages breaking up, this was an early example of showing what a good marriage looks like.

Good Example 2: Reporting a rape

Neicy Nash’s character is a single mother, proud and a total bad-ass. But she is single because of some bad experiences. Despite her hesitations, she agrees to go to a party. She meets a man and he is nice, charming, and handsome. The next thing she knows, she wakes up with pain around her wrists, a headache and blurred memories from the evening. She realizes the man had drugged her and has violated her. She does the right thing: she goes immediately to the police, conducts a rape kit, tells all the details she does know and calls her friends for support. Most shows would have made her keep it a secret, given her shame and called her a slut. We all have seen it on everything else. I applaud the show for portraying a woman doing all the recommended moves when she realizes what has happened. She does feel awful, embarrassed, and angry, but she is never blamed for what happened to her. That is very unique, you have to admit that. As for why she was targeted? Well, there is more to that story so watch the show.

Good Example 3: Love needs space

Kim Kardashian’s character goes through a divorce, her husband, Chase has a sex addiction, cheating with Kim’s protege and that is just the tip of the iceberg. However, they do love each other and fall back in each other’s arms once the divorce is finalized. The whole time, I am screaming this is a terrible idea. Finally, Kim’s character tells Chase she needs space from him. He needs to go to sex addicts anonymous and she has to remember herself without him. Again, smart moves! It isn’t easy, they break each others hearts but it is necessary: Breaking a vicious cycle.

Good Example 4: Know your why

Speaking of Chase, his lawyer is the mortal enemy of Kim’s, Sarah Paulson’s character, Carrington or Carr for short. Both of these characters have the most obvious faults and problems. We learn fast that Carr has a history of self-harm, cutting and abandonment issues. Chase as we know has a sex addiction. They become close and it isn’t healthy but it is productive because for Chase, he says Carr for all her faults, she never judges. She in turn, advises Chase that he will never get past his problems with sex and women until he figures out why he has the problems in the first place. That piece of advice sticks with him, and he listens, for the most part (it still needs to give us a season 2).

And finally, it has complicated female characters with barely any men on the show. How many other shows can we say about that? Carr is a great lawyer, a mother who loves her daughter but avoids her kid and hates abandonment.
Neicy’s character is a cop turned private investigator turned lawyer, single mother of triplet teenage boys. But she does not believe romance is there for her, she is insecure when it comes to dating even though she has moments where she wishes she has it, before and after her assult.

Naomi Watt’s character is a partner of a growing law firm, fantastic friends, a loving, supportive man. But she is desparate for approval from Glen Close, hates being missed out and wonders if she ever truly is accepted in the law firm she co-founded and in her friendship group.

I could go on but I love that we have these characters: they are powerful, rich, smart, and unapologectic about their careers. But they are deeply insecure in other parts of their lives. Just like how people are in real life, men, women, non-binary. I have not seen a show that has this many women, having these many layers and I am glad it exists.

Is it silly? Yes, their characters names are so stupid. If you aren’t aware, Kim’s is Allura Grant, Niecy is Emerald Greene, Naomi is a British woman named Liberty working law in the States. These are such silly names, double entendre, but that is part of the fun.

I, for one, enjoyed season 1 and look forward to another season. I will not be apologizing for it.

All’s Fair is on Hulu, watch the trailer: