‘The Politician’ lead character Payton Hobart is an ambitious high-schooler reminiscent of Designated Survivor's Tom Kirkman
Ben Platt in Ryan Murphy's first Netflix show 'The Politician' is a high school student from an elite neighborhood who goes to a prep school in California. Since he was seven years old, he has strongly felt that in the future, he would be the President of the United States.
The first step in achieving his dream is to win the election in his school to become the class president for the year. This would ensure his entry to Harvard in combination with his high scores and impressive portfolio and it is while competing in his highschool election that we see Payton channel his inner Tom Kirkman of 'Designated Survivor'. No, not the Kirkman from the first two seasons, but the seasoned politician the character has developed into in the most recent season.
From the trailer of the show, we see Payton begin just as Tom Kirkman did by trusting someone to be running mate, only to later realize everyone has secrets - some dirtier than others. For instance, Payton's running mate Infinity Jackson initially seemed like a great idea.
The minute he introduced her to his class, to people who would be voting in the upcoming election, the impressions on Payton's team's social media handle for the upcoming election sees an increase unlike any his team has ever seen before. This is exactly what led Payton to believe that the election is possibly now a done deal, but what awaits Payton is a nightmare of massive proportions that could put his Harvard and in turn his presidential ambitions at risk.
Infinity's past holds a secret that could bring Payton's campaign down and this seems to happen in the middle of the night because we see Payton knock on Infinity's door at the middle of the night. "So, evidently there is a videotape of some footage of you using an offensive gay slur. Do you have any idea what I might be referring to?" is the first thing he asks a surprised Infinity.
When her mother Dusty Jackson (Jessica Lange) asks him if he has any idea what time it is, he responds, "Shut up ma'am. I am not going to take your bulls*** tonight, okay?" And then he continues to hammer questions at Infinity. When he realizes the magnitude of the situation he is in because of his running mate, he is sure his dreams will come crashing because, "It's all over now."
It all began because Payton wanted to fuel his ambitions with something significant on his curriculum vitae, but now, it seems even his mother Georgina Hobart (Gwyneth Paltrow) is scared of his ambitions.
'The Politician' premieres on Netflix September 27.
