This Intense, Quirky Max Docuseries Is a Real-Life ‘Succession’

The big picture

• On HBO
  Ren Faire
  George Coulam is a ruthless ruler at the Texas Renaissance Fest, playing mind games with his would-be successors.
• The series highlights Coulam's predatory behavior and portrays sexism and toxic masculinity in the workplace.
• Ren Faire
  is visually stunning, with a fantastic score, that elevates the drama at the Texas Renaissance Festival.

“All the world is a stage, and all men and women are but players.” Words spoken by the awardee William Shakespeare It couldn't be more true, as a lively, out-of-this-world Renaissance fair in Texas thrives in the sweltering heat. Playing the strings of all the players, from popcorn makers to court jesters, George Coulam he's the puppeteer, and there's nothing he likes more than playing with people's hopes and dreams. For those who miss the rush of Successionand want to know if the real-life Logan Roys are slithering across the grass, you'll get the royal treatment with the new hit documentary series Max, Ren Faire.

Set at the Texas Renaissance Festival, directed by Lance Oppenheim and executive produced by John Safdie i Benny Safdie, Ren Faire is a visually stunning story that elevates the docuseries format to new theaters. In many cases, both it feels like a Shakespearean thriller and tragedy, similar to the drama of the whirlwind falling in Waystar Royco. In Ren Faireeveryone wants to be kingand for three employees in particular, their lives become hell as they seek their ultimate heaven to succeed the cruel King George on the throne.

What is 'Ren Faire'?

The Texas Renaissance Festival is the largest in America, and Coulam is its founding father, even creating an entire city in Texas for the location of the festival, Todd Mayor, of which he also serves as mayor The Max docuseries follows the 2021 pre-season as Coulam's health deteriorates, leaving him aware of who will deliver the festival. A strange and socially cold man, Coulam is calculating in his business dealings, dismissing friendship as a useless tool. Hailed as a self-made king who came from nowhere, George passionately refutes nepotism in his search for a new ruler, but he also can't seem to really give up his rule.

The series focuses on three “players,” all potential contenders in George's eyes, to take over the festival: CEO Jeff Baldwin, Lord of the Corn Louie Migliaccio, and former elephant trainer turned sales associate Darla Smith. Each has their own relationship with Coulam, and at times it's unsettling to see both the terror and awe he causes each of them. Having been in the game for over five decades, the only person with more experience is Jeff, who becomes George's biggest punching bag. In many scenes, Jeff literally adores George, which is unnerving, and the depths of emotion and intimate moments that Oppenheim captures elevate the series to soap opera levels, surpassing even Successionwild times sometimes.

'Ren Faire' revolves around a staple for succession

As shown in Ren Faire, George Coulam is an odd duck and a ruthless ruler. The series introduces us to him in his office during a particularly memorable conversation where, in his own words, he admits that he'd like his final moments to involve “being pounded to death by a woman.” He then informs the camera that he is at various Sugar Daddy locations, blatantly looking for companionship and willing to spend his money, viewing women as a commodity. Although his personal assistant implores him not to share this information with the documentary crew, he throws caution to the wind. What we see is what we get with Coulam. As Oppenheim himself told The Hollywood Reporter: “I think he likes it when people fail, so he can punish them.”

It first becomes clear how little Coulam considers the feelings of others during the first episode, where Louis and Jeff live up to being Coulam's first choice. Jeff wants so desperately to be the next king, but it's clear that he's destined to be a follower, pointed out by his blossoming competition, Darla, who is happily waiting in the wings for him to come aboard. Finally, as several newspapers reported on the day of the inauguration, it makes the water from the festival well undrinkable. George plays with the two men like a lion about to pounce on his food, and it becomes clear that his only real friends are those who are paid to work for him.

'Ren Faire' reveals the dark side behind its leader

While Coulam may initially seem like a harmless man who cares about ancient art and keeping a festival alive to entertain the masses, that view changes sharply, especially when the series reveals him as someone who isn't ashamed to pay a younger women for company. The second episode follows Coulam on one such date, as she shares a bowl of soup with a 24-year-old. He maintains at all times that he wants a woman to make him feel good and treat him well, like the king he considers himself to be. He is so desperate for love and to be loved, but he doesn't know how to love himself. The series explores this in every avenue of his life, and after a failed date, Ren Faire delve into Coulam's pastillustrating how he has successfully isolated himself from any friends or family as a result of his own greed.

Everyone in the series calls Coulam the king, and while he is as much a shark as Logan Roy Succession, is more brutal with Jeff: humiliating him, blaming him for the whole water scandal, and eventually hiring Darla to become co-CEO. What's even more shocking is how willing Jeff is to accept disrespect, like a toad continually mounted on a scorpion's back, surprised every time he gets stung. He even forces his wife, Brandi, to name Coulam king. It's awkward to watch, as Jeff orders him to say it, demanding, “I serve George, and by power you serve George.”

While Coulam is an emotionally abusive boss, it's clear he's not the only troubled man in the joint. How Ren Faire follows Jeff's wife Brandi, who is the head of entertainment, as she trains the entertainers, Jeff keeps inserting himself and eventually takes over. If you want a master class in mansplaining, look no further. Later, Coulam pulls off another cruel maneuver, demanding Jeff fire his wife from office while claiming nepotism. Jeff then makes some particularly shocking statements to Brandi at a restaurant, while his obsession with George becomes more clear: “I've been more faithful to him than my own mother… My mother, I could walk away from a house and you don't have to deal with the situation.” Brandi and Darla eventually become the most sane people on the show by extension, while Ren Faire don't shy away from the fact that in any industry, be it the world of media or a renaissance fair, the patriarchal system is very broad.

'Ren Faire' is visually stunning, with a fantastic score that elevates the drama

Oppenheim knows exactly what he's doing Ren Faire, and he is aware that all his subjects are based on the world of theatre. He uses his experience and his flame to be exaggerated to create imaginative and visually stunning sequences that the different contenders participate to heighten the drama. Throughout the three episodes, Jeff hallucinates a particular dragon-like creature that works in the park, letting him know that he is missing out on his chance to become king. Jeff relishes his moment to shine as a performer. It's just another layer Ren FaireThe dark tone of humor, as the subjects take themselves very seriously, not knowing that they are the target of the joke. The dramatic horn-based score also heralds the darkness that George carries wherever he goes like a somber funeral procession, as his subjects enter his office to inform him about fog machines, corn, or the pirate tavern.

Ren Faire it's a wild ride from top to bottom and it makes you feel like you've been physically dropped into an unpredictable circus full of outcasts. Witnessing how intense and stressful succession decisions are in real life, this series spares no detail while creating a fascinating character study of a deranged millionaire with nothing to lose but his life. Pay attention to the series and it's obvious how it will end, hinting at who George will choose as his successor in a bleak finale. It is summed up by two former family friends, Paul and Honey, who, after decades of working with George, one day inexplicably fire them: “All George cares about now is power over people. Power and control”.

Ren Faire is available to stream on Max in the US

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