High Fidelity (TV series)

High Fidelity is an American romantic comedy streaming television series, based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, that premiered on Hulu on February 14, 2020.[1] In August 2020, the series was canceled after one season.[2]

High Fidelity
GenreRomantic comedy
Based onHigh Fidelity
by Nick Hornby
Developed byVeronica West
Sarah Kucserka
Starring
Narrated byZoë Kravitz
Music byNathan Larson
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Adrienne Erickson
  • Raymond Quinlan
CinematographyCarmen Cabana
Editors
  • Kate Hickey
  • Catherine Haight
  • Matthew James Barbato
  • Jack Cunningham
Running time26–34 minutes
Production companies
DistributorHulu
Release
Original networkHulu
Original releaseFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)

Premise

High Fidelity follows "the ultimate music fan, a record store owner who's obsessed with pop culture and Top Five lists" in the neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn.[3]

Cast and characters

Main
  • Zoë Kravitz as Robyn "Rob" Brooks,[4][5] the owner of Championship Vinyl who struggles with a lifetime of failed relationships
  • Jake Lacy as Clyde[5]
  • Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Cherise,[5] an employee at Championship Vinyl and one of Rob's best friends
  • David H. Holmes as Simon,[5] an employee at Championship Vinyl and Rob's other best friend who is also Rob's heartbreak story #3

Recurring
  • Kingsley Ben-Adir as Russell "Mac" McCormack, Rob's latest ex-boyfriend who broke her heart and heartbreak story #5
  • Rainbow Sun Francks as Cameron Brooks, Rob's brother
  • Nadine Malouf as Nikki Brooks, Cameron's pregnant wife and Rob's sister-in-law
  • Antonio Ortiz as Carlos, a bodega cashier
  • Edmund Donovan as Blake, a bartender who flirts with Simon

Guest
  • Clark Furlong as Kevin Bannister, Rob's heartbreak story #1 when she was in middle school
  • Ivanna Sakhno as Kat Monroe, Rob's heartbreak story #2
  • Justin Silver as Justin Kitt, Rob's heartbreak story #4
  • Kevin Iso as Lewis, a friend of Rob, Simon, and Cherise
  • Thomas Doherty as Liam Shawcross, a young Scottish musician
  • Debbie Harry as herself
  • Jeffrey Nordling as Tim Parker, a music enthusiast whose wife is secretly selling his vinyl collection
  • Parker Posey as Noreen Parker, an Upper West artist who wants to sell her husband Tim's vinyl collection
  • Jack Antonoff as himself
  • Sydney Mae Diaz and Kyoko Takenaka as Shane and Peachy, two aspiring musicians who borrow the store's records
  • Brian Silliman as the Hammer, an old friend of Rob and Cameron
  • Christian Coulson as Benjamin Young, a lawyer and Simon's on-again, off-again boyfriend
  • Dana Drori as Lily, Mac's fiancée
  • Tara Summers as Tanya, Rob's first roommate, with whom she goes out on her 30th birthday

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Top Five Heartbreaks"Jesse Peretz and Jeffrey ReinerVeronica West & Sarah KucserkaFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)
Robyn "Rob" Brooks is the owner of a record store called Championship Vinyl. Breaking the fourth wall, she explains her history of failed relationships, five of which compose her All-Time Top 5 Most Memorable Heartbreaks. One of her ex-boyfriends is Simon, who is now working at the store and is best friend with her alongside Cherise. Rob's latest breakup was Russell "Mac" McCormack, who left her brokenhearted to live in London. A year later, thinking she has recovered from Mac, she decides to go on a date with a man named Clyde. On her way to the meeting spot, she bumps into Mac, who is back to New York. Distraught, she behaves poorly at the beginning of the date, but ultimately cedes and takes Clyde to her house. The next day, he is gone, but he returns at night and explains to her that his car was towed, and he needed to take off without explanations, even leaving his phone behind.
2"Track 2"Jeffrey ReinerVeronica West & Sarah KucserkaFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)
Rob is developing a playlist about Mac with no intention of sending it to him. While explaining how to make a good playlist, she rewinds past events from their relationship. One night, she found a wedding ring among his stuff and panicked; she left suddenly and only returned late in the night, saying that she was ready to be his fiancée. As Rob flashes back, Simon and Cherise show up at her apartment and take her to watch the show of an up-and-coming punk rock singer named Liam Shawcross. They end up adoring Liam and his musical expression, so they invite him to show up someday at the store. Rob returns home with the perfect song to close the playlist and sends it to Mac. The next morning, having brunch with Cam, Rob's brother, and his wife Nikki, Rob discovers that Mac is dating another woman and leaves infuriated.
3"What F*cking Lily Girl?"Jeffrey ReinerJosh KoenigsbergFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)
Rob discovers via Cam that Mac met Lily one year earlier and is about to propose. As she starts obsessing with Lily, Liam Shawcross shows up at the store and invites them to a concert he's performing. Simon questions Cherise why she hasn't released a song yet, even though she wants to launch a music career. Rob misses Liam's show because she was trying to spot Lily in a frose bar, but she and Liam have a good time together afterwards, ending up in Liam's apartment. When they start kissing, Rob discovers that Liam's much younger than her and leaves abruptly. Questioning why she always becomes miserable after a breakup, Rob calls Kevin Bannister, number one on her top 5 heartbreaks, and learns through one of his family members that he has married Hannah Shepherd, the girl he dated after Rob, when they were children. This revelation makes Rob understand that the end of their relationship was fate and was beyond her control. Relieved, she decides to search for the other ex-lovers she had.
4"Good Luck and Goodbye"Andrew DeYoungEli Wilson PeltonFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)
5"Uptown"Jeffrey ReinerE.T. Feigenbaum & Zoë KravitzFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)
6"Weird...But Warm"Natasha LyonneCeleste HugheyFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)
7"Me Time"Jeffrey ReinerFranklin HardyFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)
8"Ballad of the Lonesome Loser"Jeffrey ReinerSolomon GeorgioFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)
9"Fun Rob"Chioke NassorVeronica West, Sarah Kucserka, and Leigh Ann BietyFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)
10"The Other Side of the Rock"Jeffrey ReinerVeronica WestFebruary 14, 2020 (2020-02-14)

Production

Development

On April 5, 2018, it was announced that Disney was developing a television series adaptation of the 2000 film High Fidelity to be written by Veronica West and Sarah Kucserka with the intention of distributing it through their then-unnamed upcoming streaming service, now known as Disney+. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Midnight Radio and ABC Signature Studios.[6] On September 24, 2018, it was announced that Disney had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. Executive producers were expected to include West, Kucserka, Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, and Zoë Kravitz.[3] On April 9, 2019, it was announced that the series has been moved from Disney+ to Hulu.[7] In July 2019, during an interview, Natasha Lyonne revealed that she was directing an episode of High Fidelity.[8] On August 5, 2020, Hulu canceled the series after one season.[2]

Casting

Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Zoë Kravitz, whose mother Lisa Bonet appeared in the 2000 film adaptation, is set to star in the series.[3] On April 22, 2019, it was announced that Jake Lacy had been cast as a series regular.[9] On May 17, 2019, it was reported that Da'Vine Joy Randolph and David Holmes had joined the main cast.[4] In the same month, Kingsley Ben-Adir was cast in a guest starring role.[10]

Filming

The principal photography started around July 2019 in Brooklyn.[11]

Release

Broadcast

High Fidelity premiered on February 14, 2020.[1] The first three episodes were also aired on March 16, 2020, on Freeform.[12] Internationally, the series premiered on February 21, 2020, in Canada on Starz and on May 1, 2020, in Australia on ABC iview and ABC Comedy.[13][14]

Marketing

The first set of images were released in late October 2019 with the announcement of series premiere date.[15] The teaser trailer for the series was released on December 20, 2019 [16]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an 86% approval rating with 70 reviews, with an average rating of 7.79/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Though it skips the occasional beat, High Fidelity's fresh take on a familiar track is as witty as it is emotionally charged, giving the charming and curmudgeonly Zoe Kravitz plenty of room to shine."[17] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]

References
  1. Shaffer, Claire (December 20, 2019). "Zoe Kravitz Stars in Teaser for Hulu's 'High Fidelity' Remake". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  2. Andreeva, Nellie (August 5, 2020). "'High Fidelity' Canceled By Hulu After One Season". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (September 24, 2018). "Zoë Kravitz To Topline 'High Fidelity' Series Reboot For Disney OTT Service". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  4. Petski, Denise (May 17, 2019). "'High Fidelity': Da'Vine Joy Randolph & David Holmes Join Series Reboot On Hulu". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  5. "High Fidelity Bios". Hulu Press Site. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  6. Andreeva, Nellie (April 5, 2018). "'High Fidelity' TV Series With Female Lead In Works For Disney's Streaming Service From Midnight Radio & 'Bull' Writing Duo". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  7. Andreeva, Nellie (April 9, 2019). "'High Fidelity' Series Reboot Moves From Disney+ To Hulu". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  8. Blyth, Antonia (July 31, 2019). "'Russian Doll's Natasha Lyonne To Direct Awkwafina TV Series, 'Shrill' & 'High Fidelity' Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  9. Petski, Denise (April 22, 2019). "'High Fidelity': Jake Lacy Joins Zoë Kravitz In Series Reboot On Hulu". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  10. Tartaglione, Nancy (May 21, 2019). "'High Fidelity': Kingsley Ben-Adir Joins Series Reboot On Hulu As Recurring Guest Star". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  11. Steves, Ashley (July 11, 2019). "NYC What's Filming: Hulu's 'High Fidelity' Adaptation Starring Zoë Kravitz + a Chance to Get Cast". Backstage. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  12. Archive, Disney Schedule (March 7, 2020). "Freeform will air the first three episodes of the Hulu Original Series, "High Fidelity" starring Zoë Kravitz, for one night only on Monday, March 16 from 9-11 PM. The series was originally pitched for Disney+ but premiered on Hulu instead on February 14, 2020.pic.twitter.com/ZfFhbOHVHJ". @DisneySchedules. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  13. Gay, Danielle (May 13, 2020). "Zoë Kravitz on High Fidelity, a third season of Big Little Lies and missing the 2020 Met Gala". Vogue Australia. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  14. "TV Adaptation of 2000 Cult Classic HIGH FIDELITY, Starring Zoë Kravitz, Announced as a STARZ Exclusive for Canada – Bell Media". Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  15. Michael, Brendan (October 30, 2019). "First Look at Hulu's 'High Fidelity' Reveals Zoë Kravitz in the New Series". Collider. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  16. Pedersen, Erik (December 20, 2019). "'High Fidelity' Teaser: Zoë Kravitz Lives For The Music In Hulu's Comedy Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  17. "High Fidelity: Season 1 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  18. "High Fidelity: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
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