Stories like Glamorous are certainly ones Netflix should be seeking to tell, but based on the initial response following the 10-episode original’s premiere, there’s an argument to be made that it could have been told much better.
On Rotten Tomatoes, small screen veteran Jordon Nardino’s latest holds a middling critical approval rating of 56 percent, and even the audience average rating of 63 percent is surprisingly low when viewers tend to be much more forgiving when passing judgement on the streaming service’s film and television exclusives.
It’s only bearing a 55/100 average on Metacritic, too, but at least Glamorous is making a splash where it really counts by rocketing up the most-watched rankings. Per FlixPatrol, the story of gender nonconforming Marco landing the job of a lifetime working for Kim Cattrall’s makeup mogul Madolyn has arrived as the fourth top-viewed TV series on the worldwide charts after snagging a Top 10 position in 70 countries around the world.
The dramatic comedy has only been deemed worthy of a 5.3/10 rating on IMDb as well, so the apathetic response evidently hasn’t been reflected in its immediate dash to the upper echelons of Netflix’s viewership summit. The majority of critics and no shortage of audience members might not be entirely sold, then, but in a case of life imitating art, Glamorous has laughed in the face of its doubters to become an overnight sensation.
Optimistic, affirming, and heartwarming in equal measure, the fish out of water narrative and overriding message of embracing who you are has done more than enough to convince paying customers to give it a whirl.