Copyright Screen Rant
Ryan Murphy's new legal drama All's Fair has gotten negative reviews, and critics are united about several aspects of the show. The Hulu series stars Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, and Niecy Nash-Betts as Allura Grant, Dina Standish, and Liberty Ronson, three women who run a divorce law firm. Sarah Paulson plays Carrington Lane, who works in the same industry but doesn't get along with the others. Based on the premise, you would expect a fun, dramatic show that you can fully escape into and forget all your worries. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Although Murphy has created several successful shows, including the soap opera-like Doctor Odyssey and the unsettling American Horror Story horror franchise, All's Fair got a surprising 0% Rotten Tomatoes rating upon its premiere. And after watching the first three episodes, which premiered on November 4, 2025, critics were unimpressed. The Tone Isn't Campy Enough To Make All's Fair Fun Ryan Murphy is known for campy shows like Scream Queens, a slasher comedy set at a college campus and hospital that pokes fun at sororities, masked killers, and horror tropes. You can also appreciate a lot of soapy fun on the medical drama Doctor Odyssey, which aired for one season, and Nip/Tuck, which dives into the world of plastic surgery. As noted by The Guardian, All's Fair doesn't have a consistent and strong tone, which makes it impossible to enjoy the ride. If the show leaned into its campiness, like some of Murphy's other series, then that would be a completely different story. But since it doesn't, you're not sure if it's meant to be funny or serious. The Guardian: "If this was all part of a lurid, camp drama played with gusto by all and narratively stuffed with treats, Murphy might have got away with it. But no one seems to know what they’re doing; the performances seem to respond to about nine different ideas of what the show is and the plots are dismal." This is one of the most disappointing aspects of All's Fair because the premise of powerful female divorce lawyers sounded great. And as noted by many critics, Murphy has created a lot of TV, so we expected the tone to be clear from the start. Nailing a campy tone is tricky, and it works particularly well in the horror genre since you can go wild with commenting on tropes and including plenty of humor. But a campy legal drama would be excellent, too. The Guardian review referenced the 1990s series Ally McBeal, and that is definitely a great example of a law drama that figured out how to be strange, quirky, and campy while still being entertaining. All's Fair's Storylines Are Lackluster If you're going to make a legal drama after so many fantastic ones have already aired, you have to make sure the plotlines are compelling, fresh, and new. And if you're going to make a show about divorce law, the couples who are splitting up need to be particularly dynamic. Critics agree that the All's Fair storylines aren't interesting at all. Variety's review says the show becomes formulaic quickly, which is a shame to hear since only three episodes are streaming on Hulu at the time of this writing. Variety noted that the clients are all women who want to get even with their husbands who hurt them. That's definitely disappointing and plays into sexist stereotypes. The review points out two especially upsetting characters: Lee-Ann (Jessica Simpson), who throws sulfuric acid on her ex, and Deandre Barber (Elizabeth Berkley), who takes her own life. Variety: "Every single client on “All’s Fair” is a variation on the same shallow story: a rich man, a wronged woman and sweet revenge." If the rest of the show is like this, it's hard to imagine anyone being interested in the storytelling. Seeing women wanting to divorce their husbands and ensure that they have an awful time is going to get old and fast. Given the wild storylines on Murphy's procedurals 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star, and the recent addition to the franchise 9-1-1: Nashville, it's particularly odd that the storytelling wouldn't be stronger. Sure, we might wince at the "bee-nado on 9-1-1" and some of the sillier cases that the characters take on, but at least they're engaging. Kim Kardashian's Acting Leaves A Lot To Be Desired Several critics agree that Kim Kardashian's acting isn't very good in All's Fair, with The Hollywood Reporter noting how "stiff" it is. Although she is famous for her reality TV background after starring on Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Hulu's The Kardashians with her equally starry family, Kardashian starred on American Horror Story season 12 as a publicist named Siobhan Corbyn. Although it's fair to say that Kardashian didn't give an incredible performance on AHS, the season of the horror anthology series was fairly campy, and she fit in. Critics didn't have positive things to say about watching Kardashian on All's Fair and found that she doesn't express emotions or bring anything special to the show. The Hollywood Reporter: "But Kardashian’s performance, stiff and affectless without a single authentic note, is exactly what the writing, also stiff and affectless without a single authentic note, merits. Her very presence, which succeeds at generating buzz and not much else, feels fitting for a show that seems to want not to be watched so much as mined for viral bits and pieces." While it's always impressive watching Glenn Close and Sarah Paulson, there's no doubt that Kardashian's poor acting is distracting. And since she's supposed to be the main character and the buzz around the show was that she was starring in a Murphy legal drama, her acting should be stronger. All's Fair's Writing Is Poor Great writing goes a long way on TV, whether it makes up for some lackluster acting or ensures that certain lines or monologues stick with you long after you're done watching. Unfortunately, the writing isn't great on All's Fair, as noted by USA Today. The publication called it "stilted, artificial, and awkward," which are definitely not words you want to see applied to a TV show's script. The review even refers to it as "the worst TV show of the year." The Guardian review also mentioned the awful dialogue, including Liberty saying, "My flight was turbulent and so is my mood." USA Today: "An embarrassingly terrible show with scripts worse than what Chat GPT was spitting out two years ago and acting worse than your local Christmas pageant, "Fair" is an unmitigated disaster of such outlandish proportions it's a wonder not a single person in the production process didn't stop and ask 'What are we doing here?' to their fellows." Critics agree that there are no intelligent or hilarious lines in All's Fair. If that's what the first three episodes are like, it's tough to imagine the show's writing will improve. And, again, given Murphy's background in TV, it's surprising that so many critics would find the dialogue to be so bad. The All's Fair Characters Aren't Likable Or Easy To Invest In As mentioned in the Vulture review, the All's Fair characters are clearly good at their jobs, which doesn't give you much to think about when watching them. There's nothing in the first three episodes of the show that would make you want to learn more about them and cheer them on as they continue to move through their careers. A TV show can't succeed without fantastic and captivating characters, and since the women on the show are lawyers, you want to feel that there are some lows in their professional lives as well as highs. Vulture noted that the best, most intriguing character is Carrington, who is set up as an evil person you're not supposed to like. Critics are also in agreement that rather than a depiction of complicated and fascinating female characters, All's Fair is all about being a stereotypical "girlboss." The characters sound ditzy rather than brilliant, and the consensus is that it's tough to imagine wanting to spend a lot of time with them. Vulture: "But do we care? Not at all. The show has yet to introduce us to these characters in any meaningful way beyond the glossy surface. So why would we root for them? Our lady-lawyer trio is endlessly successful, Über wealthy, gorgeous..." That's upsetting, considering how inspiring the characters could be. Since they're female lawyers representing other women, there was a lot of potential here, and the show could dive into the challenges of marriage and the mental health toll that divorce can take. That would not only be compelling to watch but would set All's Fair apart from other legal dramas. Given all the bad reviews and 0% Rotten Tomatoes score for Murphy's new show, it's hard to say that All's Fair will last beyond season 1, and it likely won't be as successful as Murphy's long-running shows like 9-1-1, which is currently on season 9.
