Emma Stone | The Curse
- Genre: Black comedy, Comedy-drama, Psychological thriller, Satire
- Created by: Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie
- Written by: Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie, Carrie Kemper
- Directed by: Nathan Fielder, Nathan Zellner, David Zellner
- Starring: Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie
- Music by: Daniel Lopatin, John Medeski
- No. of seasons: 1
- No. of episodes: 10
- Executive producers: Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie, Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Josh Safdie, Ravi Nandan, Alli Reich, Ali Herting
- Producers: Joshua Bachove, Inman Young, Mary Beth Minthorn
- Production location: New Mexico
- Cinematography: Maceo Bishop
- Editors: Adam Locke-Norton, Stacy Moon, Benny Safdie
- Running time: 38–69 minutes
- Production companies: A24, Fruit Tree, Blow Out Productions, Elara Pictures, Showtime Studios
- Network: Showtime
- Release: November 12, 2023 – present
The series explores "how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring on their problematic new HGTV show, Fliplanthropy."
"Land of Enchantment"
- Season: 1
- Episode: 1
- Directed by: Nathan Fielder
- Written by: Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie
- Premiere: November 12, 2023
Married couple Whitney and Asher Siegel work on the pilot for their Española, New Mexico-based HGTV show Fliplanthropy, which aims to use their property development company to help locals but is criticized for gentrifying the area. Asher snaps at interviewer Monica Perez when she brings up Whitney's parents Paul and Elizabeth's reputation as slumlords, and Perez agrees to not air the interview if he gives her proof of corruption on the gaming control board of his previous employer, the Whistling River Casino. Paul gives Asher advice on dealing with his micropenis. Asher is irritated to find chicken missing from his meal kit, and during sex, he roleplays being cuckolded while masturbating Whitney. Asher's friend and Fliplanthropy producer Dougie Schecter has him give a hundred dollars to Nala, a young street vendor, for B-roll, who "curses" him when he takes it back. Whitney sees the footage and demands he give her the money. He cannot find her at a nearby homeless shelter and gives the money to a nearby single mother, telling Whitney that Nala lifted the curse after he paid her.
"Pressure's Looking Good So Far"
- Season: 1
- Episode: 2
- Directed by: David Zellner & Nathan Zellner
- Written by: Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie & Carrie Kempe
- Premiere: November 19, 2023
Asher clumsily infiltrates a Whistling River office and covertly downloads footage from pit boss Bill's computer. While on a date, Dougie tells the story of how his wife was killed in a drunk driving accident, though he denies responsibility due to being under the legal limit. He tests his blood alcohol content while driving his date home and realizes he is over the limit, walking her the rest of the way. Whitney attends Pueblo artist Cara Durand's gallery, but is bothered by a performance piece where Cara screams after Whitney eats a piece of turkey cut for her, then asks "why did you do that?" The Siegels are delighted to learn that Whitney is pregnant, but quickly discover that it has gone ectopic.
"Questa Lane"
- Season: 1
- Episode: 3
- Directed by: David Zellner & Nathan Zellner
- Written by: Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie
- Premiere: November 26, 2023
Asher is bothered by a focus group's negative assessment of him during a pilot screening. He finds Nala and her family squatting in a recently purchased property, and he and Whitney agree to waive their rent for a year. Nala mentions cursing him as part of a TikTok trend, and Asher becomes paranoid when she explains she wished for the chicken to go missing from his dinner. One of the show's sponsors pulls out and leaves one of its subjects, Fernando, out of the job the Siegels promised him. Whitney employs him as security for their clothing store. Whitney and Asher share a humorous moment when her sweater gets stuck and he is forced to tear it off, but Whitney's attempt to recreate it on camera for Instagram prove dry and Asher is distracted with worries about the curse. They argue about her supposed lack of support and accuse each other of racism before deciding to go to bed.
"Under the Big Tree"
- Season: 1
- Episode: 4
- Directed by: David Zellner & Nathan Zellner
- Written by: Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie
- Premiere: December 3, 2023
Dougie awakens in a field and learns that Fliplanthropy has been picked up for a full season. He finds the keys to his car and the two abandoned ones next to him buried and drives to one of the addresses written on his hand, learning that he bought alcohol for the teen living there and his friends but withheld their keys to prevent an accident. He admits to Asher his fear that he may be cursed. One of the Siegels' homebuyers plans to install a gas stove, which violates the house's passive certification, and Asher unsuccessfully tries to steal the house's induction range. Whitney presses Asher to take a corporate comedy class, where he is the only one in a group exercise to not make anyone laugh.
"It's a Good Day"
- Season: 1
- Episode: 5
- Directed by: Nathan Fielder
- Written by: Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie
- Premiere: December 10, 2023
Whitney lashes out at a couple who want to violate the passive certification by installing air conditioning and refuse to sign their support for Pueblo land rights, causing them to quit the show. Cara is brought in to pose as a buyer, but is intentionally disruptive and forms a rapport with Dougie. Fernando stops and calls the police on a shoplifter at the clothing store, and Whitney has the cashier charge her credit card for stole items to prevent future police attention. Her parents come to say hello and she lashes out at them when they ask to have Paul's birthday party on one of the properties. Asher suggests contacting a previous prospective buyer, who Whitney is mistrustful of because of a Blue Lives Matter sticker on his car. He surprises her by being interested in passive housing and supportive of the Pueblo, and she later is cold with Asher after selling to the man.
"The Fire Burns On"
- Season: 1
- Episode: 6
- Directed by: Nathan Fielder
- Written by: Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie
- Premiere: December 17, 2023
Whitney finds a cut of a Fliplanthropy uninteresting, so she and Dougie scheme to play up Asher's awkwardness and insert conflict between him and Whitney. He approves her idea of changing the title to Green Queen. While filming at a firehouse, Asher finds raw chicken in the bathroom sink and believes Dougie is pranking him, though surveillance footage reveal that he was not responsible. While trying to sabotage Dougie's budding relationship with Cara, Whitney sees in their texts that she is interested a statue that offensively depicts an Indigenous man. Asher innocently asks Nala to guess how many screws he is hiding in his hand and she guesses them correctly, though becomes upset when he squeezes his hand so hard he cuts it with the nails.
"Self-Exclusion"
- Season: 1
- Episode: 7
- Directed by: Nathan Fielder
- Written by: Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie
- Premiere: December 24, 2023
Nala tries to curse her school bully to fall off the climbing rope during gym class and is ignored by her teacher when she complains about her negative treatment. Whitney buys the statue and gives it to Cara, missing the point of her art being that she steals and repurposes racist products. Cara agrees to keep working on Green Queen when Whitney offers to hire her as a "consultant" for Indigenous depiction, and Whitney confesses her uncertainty with her marriage while filming with Dougie. Asher is kicked out of his class when the instructor pressures him to make a joke about his penis, which offends several students. Perez airs her story about Whistling River, where Asher is seen in the footage laughing over the board taking a woman's winnings, which he and Whitney argue about. Nala's bully trips and injures herself on the playground.
"Down and Dirty"
- Season: 1
- Episode: 8
- Directed by: Nathan Fielder
- Written by: Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie & Carrie Kemper
- Premiere: December 31, 2023
Fernando confronts the Siegels on the increased petty crime Whitney's no-police policy has brought to Española, leaving Whitney disgusted when Asher weakly tries to stand up for her. He bumps into Bill in public, who ignores him. After Dougie presses Asher about his cuckold fetish on camera, they go out to dinner and drive to Nala's, where Dougie pleads with her to curse him when they are alone. As he starts to cry, a scared Nala calls for her father Abshir and Asher drags Dougie out. They argue as Dougie drives Asher home, and after Asher brings up Dougie's dead wife, Dougie curses him. Whitney and Cara attend an art gallery and Whitney decides to film in the house, staging a conversation where she praises Cara's art. When asked, Cara explains that her turkey piece was her cutting off bits of her Pueblo identity and giving it away, and later throws out the statue when she arrives home.
"Young Hearts"
- Season: 1
- Episode: 9
- Directed by: Nathan Fielder
- Written by: Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie
- Premiere: January 7, 2024
An HGTV representative requests that the Siegels's marriage be shown positively, so Whitney takes Asher bowling. He runs into Bill, who explains he ignored him after believing he leaked to the press, though now believes it was someone else. Wanting to impress Whitney, Asher proudly declares himself the leaker. A Green Queen crew member is fired when he leaves a distasteful note on Whitney's car after his friend's relative is evicted from her parents' building. She confronts her parents, who point out the man was a bad tenant, and she takes their money without any issue. She and Asher watch a cut of a Green Queen episode, where she comments on him holding her back from her dreams. Shaken, he admits that he never gave Nala the money and that he is the real curse, tearfully promising to improve as she looks at him in stunned silence.
"Green Queen"
- Season: 1
- Episode: 10
- Directed by: Nathan Fielder
- Written by: Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie
- Premiere: January 14, 2024
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