Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Advertisers and journalists were given their first sneak peek at E!’s newest original scripted series, The Arrangement, during NBC Universal’s 2016 Upfronts today. On the surface, this show’s got all the juicy drama you’d expect from the Hollywood-obsessed network: A pretty young ingenue auditions for a movie and discovers that she was really auditioning to be a major movie star’s wife. (Oh, and she’s hiding a secret past of her own!) What’s surprising? How The Arrangement is obviously a not-so-thinly-veiled attack on Tom Cruise, David Miscavige, and the entire church of Scientology.
The Arrangement is the brainchild of Mad Men alum Jonathan Abrams and the style of the show is reminiscent of Lifetime’s UnREAL. Josh Henderson stars as Kyle West, a Hollywood mega-star who’s fond of motorcycles and belongs to a mind-bending cult. Young actress Megan Morrrison (Christine Evangelista) is offered a major contract to be West’s wife, but to pass muster she has to impress his creepy best friend, Terrance Anderson (Michael Vartan). Anderson is the head of a self-help organization called “The Institute of The Higher Mind.” The parallels are clear: West is Cruise, Anderson is Miscavige, and the whole show is spitting in the face of Scientology.
E! has already ordered 10 hourlong episodes of The Arrangement. No word on the premiere date — or how Tom Cruise will respond.
