The Last Tycoon is an American television series, originating from a pilot produced in 2016 as part of Amazon Studios' seventh pilot season. The show stars Matt Bomer and Kelsey Grammer and is loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's last book, the unfinished and posthumously published 1941 novel The Last Tycoon. Amazon picked up the pilot to series on July 27, 2016. The first season premiered on July 28, 2017. On September 9, 2017, Amazon cancelled the series.
Contents
Premise
Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's last book The Last Tycoon (published posthumously), the show takes place in 1936 Hollywood. Monroe Stahr, loosely based on the producer Irving Thalberg, battles his boss Pat Brady.
Cast
Main
Matt Bomer as Monroe Stahr (born Milton Sternberg), a movie producer with a terminal heart condition, working under a false name to hide his Jewish ancestry
Kelsey Grammer as Pat Brady, head of Brady American, a Hollywood picture studio
Lily Collins as Cecelia Brady, Pat's daughter, romantically interested in Monroe
Dominique McElligott as Kathleen Moore, a waitress and Monroe's new girlfriend
Enzo Cilenti as Aubrey Hackett (born Enzo Resteghini), a cynical writer working for Monroe
Koen De Bouw as Tomas Szep, a German covert assistant of Pat Brady
Mark O'Brien as Max Miner, a poor man from Oklahoma, discreetly working for Pat Brady
Rosemarie DeWitt as Rose Brady, Pat's wife, having an affair with Monroe
Recurring
Vince Nappo as Landon Aames, a novelist turned screenwriter, often in over his head
Bailey Noble as Bess Burrows, Pat Brady's mistress
Whitney Rice as Mary Greer, Monroe's secretary
Kerry O'Malley as Kay Maloney, another of Monroe's screenwriting team
Saul Rubinek as Louis B. Mayer
Iddo Goldberg as Fritz Lang, a German émigré, directing the "An Enemy Among Us" picture for Monroe
Danielle Rose Russell as Darla Miner, Max Miner's younger sister, dreams of becoming an actor
Annika Marks as Bernadette Davis, a recently widowed screenwriter
Jennifer Beals as Margo Taft, an uncompromising movie star Brady American needs
Jessica De Gouw as Minna Davis, actress, Monroe's deceased wife
Michael Siberry as Georg Gyssling, a German consul
Melia Kreiling as Hannah Taub, a German musician fleeing the Nazis
Guest stars
Seth Fisher as Irving Thalberg ("More Stars Than There Are in Heaven")
Larry Cedar as Dr. Harold Grife ("More Stars Than There Are in Heaven")
Stefanie von Pfetten as Marlene Dietrich ("Burying the Boy Genius")
Rob Brownstein as Jack Warner ("Eine Kleine Reichmusik")
Nick Lehane as Frank Capra ("An Enemy Among Us")
Joshua Weinstein as George Cukor ("An Enemy Among Us")
Reception
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the show a score of 45% based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "This old-fashioned tour through F. Scott Fitzgerald's vision of Hollywood has lush production values and an attractive varnish of glamorous pedigree, but lacks a storytelling hook or a compelling character to latch onto - resulting in an inert bauble that is pleasing to look at but elusive to feel." On Metacritic, the show holds a weighted average score of 57 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".