I won’t pretend that I went into “All’s Fair,” Hulu's new legal drama starring reality TV tycoon Kim Kardashian with particularly high expectations. This “Suits” wannabe didn’t exactly look binge-watch worthy from the trailers, but even I was surprised by just how quickly the whole show falls apart. From the first scene, it was clear that creator Ryan Murphy had made a stinker.
I’m clearly not alone in thinking that “All’s Fair” represents a new low point for TV in 2025. While early reviews are still trickling in after the first three episodes (of nine total) landed on Hulu this week, as of writing, the show scores a rare 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. And frankly, that rating is more than deserved. I don’t want to pile on here, but “All’s Fair” is a total disaster.
After streaming the first episode for myself, I’ve instantly noped out. In fact, I’d have been more than happy to dip within the opening 10 minutes, but my stubbornness convinced me to see at least the pilot through to the end, and I should have trusted my first instinct. If you’re even considering watching this new Hulu show, here’s why you should avoid it at all costs.
What is ‘All’s Fair’ about?
From Ryan Murphy (creator of “American Horror Story,” “Glee” and Netflix’s “Monster” anthology series) comes “All’s Fair,” a show that puts “Suits” and “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” in a blender and then attempts to force-feed viewers the resulting sludge.
Allura Grant (Kim Kardashian) and Liberty Ronson (Naomi Watts) are two ambitious divorce attorneys who opt to leave their male-dominated firm to start an all-female practice of their own. Their goal is to speak for those who feel powerless, and to ensure that powerful men who think they can get away with indiscretions without consequences are brought down a peg.
Also starring Niecy Nash-Betts, Teyana Taylor, Matthew Noszka, Sarah Paulson and Glenn Close, “All’s Fair” arrives on Hulu this week, with a three-episode premiere, and subsequent episodes drop weekly until December 9.
‘All’s Fair’ is a horrific Hulu original
Right from the start, something is very off about “All’s Fair.” The show opens with Kim Kardashian’s Allura and Naomi Watts’ Liberty at their breaking point, deciding it's time to leave their male-controlled legal firm. But rather than setting the scene and stakes, viewers are thrown straight into a sequence of quick cuts and introduced to multiple characters in minutes.
Nothing is ever allowed to breathe. It’s like the show runners are so afraid viewers might switch off that something melodramatic needs to happen at least every few minutes.
I genuinely wondered if I’d accidentally started streaming a later episode, as the lack of context is baffling. It feels almost like watching a “previously on…” recap rather than the opening moments of a show’s first episode. This erratic pacing, to put it kindly, doesn’t let up either. Nothing is ever allowed to breathe. It’s like the show runners are so afraid viewers might switch off that something melodramatic needs to happen at least every few minutes.
Many media critics have noted the corrosive effect of platforms like TikTok on the average attention span. I’ve never quite subscribed to that line of thinking, but “All’s Fair” stinks of a show made to appeal to viewers who can’t focus for more than a few seconds at a time. It’s cut like a trailer, quickly leaping between locations and characters to ensure you never spend enough time on one scene to get bored. Ryan Murphy needs to have more faith in his viewers. None of the (bland) dramatic beats are allowed to stew.
There’s talent here, Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson and Glenn Close among them, but “All’s Fair” doesn’t utilize them. In their defence, the material given is shlocky to the extreme, lacking any sense of authenticity, and for a show that clearly wants to empower, the materialism on display is more than a little jarring. Lead Kim Kardashian seems most at home in this world of vanity, but her performance is wooden, and her character isn't compelling.
I’m certainly not the only one who’s had a near visceral negative reaction to this new Hulu show. As noted, the show has managed a rare 0% on Rotten Tomatoes just a day after its streaming debut. The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan said, “Fascinatingly, incomprehensibly, existentially terrible... It’s so awful, it feels almost contemptuous” in a cutting zero-star review.
Meanwhile, Ed Power of the Daily Telegraph went even further, saying, “Ryan Murphy is the high priest of tacky, tasteless television, and this year he has outdone himself with a show of mind-bending horror sure to trigger nightmares in the unsuspecting viewer.”
So, if you’re looking for a new TV show to binge-watch this week, I implore you to avoid “All’s Fair." Unless you take a kind of perverse pleasure in watching a show so awful that you have to wonder how it ever made it to our screens, nothing is appealing about this legal drama whatsoever. It may have stolen 45 minutes of my time already, but I have no intention of giving it any more. And in the spirit of the show, Murphy can expect to hear from my lawyers, as I want financial compensation for my watching time wasted.
"All's Fair" episodes 1-3 are now streaming on Hulu
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