Not to be confused with the BBC’s Jack Whitehall-led comedy series of the same name, Bad Education is HBO’s upcoming comedy-drama feature that’s based on the real-life New York Rosalyn school district financial scandal.
Hugh Jackman (Logan) stars as Frank Tassone, the charming and charismatic school district administrator who raised the school district into one of the most prestigious in the country, and was beloved by students, parents and teachers. But there was another side to his success story, one that brought his life crashing down in the early 2000s. Tassone, together with his assistant superintendent, Pamela Gluckin (Allison Janney – I, Tonya), had engaged in a massive multi-year embezzlement scheme that between them had siphoned around $20 million in funds from the district and was used to finance a high-flying, flashy lifestyle. Their house of cards only fell apart thanks to a curious student reporter who uncovered irregularities when digging into expense reports.
It’s the sophomore feature from director Cory Finley (Thoroughbreds), and written by Mike Makowsky (I Think We’re Alone Now) – who was a student in the district when the scandal was uncovered.
The official plot synopsis is as follows:
Long Island school superintendent Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) and his assistant superintendent for business, Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), are credited with bringing Roslyn School District unprecedented prestige. Frank, always immaculately groomed and tailored, is a master of positive messaging, whether before an audience of community leaders or in an office with a concerned student or parent. In short, it seems Frank can do no wrong.
That is, until a plucky student reporter (Geraldine Viswanathan – Blockers) decides to dig deep into some expense reports and begins to uncover an embezzlement scheme of epic proportions, prompting Frank to devise an elaborate cover-up — by any means necessary.
Inspired by a true story, Bad Education is a smartly assembled, darkly hilarious, at times squirm-inducing chronicle of the most astonishing financial crime in the history of the US school system.
Let’s take a look:
This looks like a solid and entertaining dramedy with a top notch cast.
What do you think?
Bad Education will premiere on HBO on 25 April. It also stars Ray Romano, Alex Wolff, Kayli Carter, Rafael Casal, and Stephen Spinella.
Last Updated: February 24, 2020
