The Premise [Episode 5]

Novak introduces his series, The Premise, where each episode will have a new story and a new all-star cast. What he doesn’t say in his intro is that each story will be about big issues, but filtered through comedic set-ups, hence the title.The first episode, “Social Justice Sex Tape,” starts with Darren Williams (Jermaine Fowler) screaming about his innocence as he’s hauled into a police cruiser. We cut to a small law office where young attorney Eve Stone (Ayo Edebiri) goes through her e-mail inboxes searching for a case that speaks to her, as per the instructions from her mentor, Rayna Bradshaw (Tracee Ellis Ross).The Premise Season 1 Download

She’s sent evidence in the Williams case, a sex tape made in a nearby apartment that shows Williams in the background, out the window; as Williams said, the cop he’s accused of assaulting tripped and fell as he got out of the cruiser. The next step is to go to the man who made the tape, Ethan Streiber (Ben Platt), and ask if he is willing to have the tape used during Williams’ trial.Ethan is one of those white guys who thinks he’s “all in” when it comes to supporting causes like Black Lives Matter; he donates, marches, volunteers. But because of the embarrassing nature of the tape, he is unsure he wants it out in public. He makes the excuse that he broke up with his partner on the tape, but Eve quickly gets her permission to use it. Eve convinces him to allow the tape in as evidence, since it will definitely exonerate Williams.During the trial, though, after multiple viewings of the tape, the prosecutor (Talia Balsam) claims that the video could be a deepfake, given the attractiveness of Ethan’s partner relative to him, and the fact that he’s a grown man who has no idea where women’s parts are. That’s when Eve gets the idea to submit all of the photos and videos on Ethan’s phone as evidence, and put his former partners on the stand. Ethan is for the cause, of course, but how far does he want to go to support it?