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The character in question, Asher Siegel, is played by co-creator Nathan Fielder, of the high-concept reality comedies The Rehearsal and Nathan for You. And the persona he adopts here shares much with the fictionalized versions of himself that he's portrayed in those series: awkward, pushy, disconcertingly affectless. Genre-wise, The Curse is a different kind of show; what begins as a scripted satire of HGTV real estate porn builds tension until it becomes, of all things, a Hitchcockian psychological thriller. Fielder's inscrutable presence is as pivotal to building suspense as it was in setting the offbeat tone for his past projects.
Asher and his wife of one year, Whitney (Emma Stone), have moved to the small, economically depressed New Mexico city of Española on a mission to reinvigorate the community by building environmentally friendly houses. Aware that these expensive dwellings are bound to displace low-income residents, the socially conscious couple plan to offset the inevitable gentrification by attracting new businesses, including a high-end coffee chain and a designer denim boutique, that will create jobs for unemployed Españolans. They're also, of course, hoping to become the next Chip and Joanna Gaines.
This story is from the November 20, 2023 edition of Time.
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This story is from the November 20, 2023 edition of Time.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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