Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is a quick-hit conspiracy thriller.
Think of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed as the Swiss Army knife of the Apple TV+ lineup — it works for a number of occasions. Looking to check out and decompress after work? Check. Need something twisty enough to get your blood pumping? Check. Sugarfish and a show with your guy or gal? Check again.
Paula (Tatiana Maslany), a divorced mom and fact-checker barely keeping her life together, spends her evenings on video calls with a cam boy — until one of those calls is interrupted by what looks like a kidnapping. The police call it a scam. Paula calls bullshit.
It's a hell of a hook. It's also refreshing to see a show where the person hooked on porn and making terrible decisions isn't a middle-aged man for once. One minute Paula's sneaking into the office bathroom for a quick fix with her cam boy. The next she's showing up at a blackmailer's apartment armed with a hockey stick. The show bounces between sex, blackmail, violence, dark comedy, and mystery with surprising ease — and just enough intrigue to keep you smashing the "next episode" button.
Maslany's excellent — we'd watch her read a phone book at this point. Her co-workers end up being one of the better surprises of the season. Their jokes land. The violence lands harder. One minute you're laughing at a pair of overeducated amateur detectives. The next somebody's having a very bad day involving a nail gun and expanding foam.
Does it live up to the promise of "maximum" in the title, the heart-pounding trailer, or that bass-thumping theme song? Not quite. But there aren't many shows built around a horny divorced mom accidentally stumbling into a criminal conspiracy. If you like Tatiana Maslany, blackmail, and the occasional burst of violence, you'll have a very good time with Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.
The Rundown
Performances
Maslany is exactly what you'd hope — funny, frantic, and incapable of making a good decision. Jake Johnson is a delight, but the show doesn't give him much to do. Paula's two co-workers deliver the best one-liners. Murray Bartlett barely has to open his mouth to be terrifying.
What You Come Here For
Tatiana Maslany. Blackmail. Amateur sleuthing. Brutal deaths. Punchy thrills with some laughs mixed in. A horny divorced mom making increasingly terrible decisions.
Best Episode
S1E6 — the season's tipping point. The violence punches you in the face, and the ending leaves you wanting to fast-forward straight to next week's episode.
Weak Spots
The show doesn't live up to the promise of the title — we wished it went a little more "maximum." Paula physically confronting her blackmailer felt like a stretch, even within the show's own logic. And balancing the criminal plot with the domestic stuff can feel rushed and messy, probably a byproduct of the short episodes.
Pair With
Search Party, The Flight Attendant, Dead to Me.
Included In
What Our
Ratings Mean
Learn More →Your Mileage May Vary: There's a good chance you'll enjoy these, especially if they land in your wheelhouse. But there's a lot of range in the 7s — handy time-fillers, comfort watches, or easy crowd-pleasers.
