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Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed

2026 American television series

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is an American comedy thriller crime series created by David J. Rosen, starring Tatiana Maslany as a divorced fact checker who falls into a web of murder, blackmail, and youth soccer. The series premiered on Apple TV on May 20, 2026.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed
Genre
Created byDavid J. Rosen
Starring
Music byWynne Bennett
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJason Sokoloff
Cinematography
  • Joe Anderson
  • Mark Schwartzbard
Editors
Running time29–40 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkApple TV
ReleaseMay 20, 2026 (2026-05-20) –
present

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is an American comedy thriller crime series created by David J. Rosen, starring Tatiana Maslany as a divorced fact checker who falls into a web of murder, blackmail, and youth soccer.[1] The series premiered on Apple TV on May 20, 2026.

Premise

Paula Saunders is a divorced fact checker in New York City in a contentious custody battle with her ex-husband Karl. Amidst her legal troubles, she pays for the online services of webcam boy Trevor and vents to him about her personal life. One night, Trevor is beaten and kidnapped on-camera; soon, Paula is receiving calls for ransom money. Police detectives insist to Paula that this is likely a scam, but then Trevor is found dead. Paula is roped into the mystery of Trevor's death as secrets from her past come to light.

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date [3]
1"Magnets"David Gordon GreenDavid J. RosenMay 20, 2026 (2026-05-20)
Paula is a journalist in the midst of a messy divorce from her ex-husband Karl which centres around the custody arrangements of their daughter Hazel. Having to leave the family home to Karl and his new girlfriend Mallory, Paula moves into an apartment and struggles with feelings of failure and a lack of accomplishment. She begins paying Trevor, a webcam boy, for his time, during which she vents about her life and enjoys sexual experiences with him. One night, during one of their sessions, Paula witnesses Trevor being brutally attacked in his home. Reporting it to the police, Detective Sofia Gonzalez believes it to be a scam, and states that there is not a lot she can do considering the limited information that Paula knows about Trevor. Paula then begins getting calls from Trevor stating that he is going to be killed if she does not send $15,000 to his attackers. When she eventually challenges him, Trevor blackmails her, revealing that he will destroy her life using the information she has shared with him in their sessions. Paula is able to determine where Trevor lives and, after an argument with Karl where he refuses to allow Hazel to stay with her over the holidays and incensed by continuous calls from Trevor, drives over alone to confront him. When she arrives at the house, she finds Trevor dead in the bathroom and hears someone approaching.
2"YABA"Dan SackheimDavid J. RosenMay 20, 2026 (2026-05-20)
In a flashback, Trevor is shown to be in a relationship with an older man, Frank, and proposes that they buy a run-down building and convert it into student apartments to make money. Frank later brutally murders Trevor and leaves to get tools to dispose of the body, unaware that Paula has entered the house in the meantime. Paula is able to escape from Frank, but then gets into an argument with Karl and is chastised by her boss Suzie for her lack of commitment to her job. She later has a tense conversation with Mallory about feeling as though she and Karl are trying to take Hazel away from her. Detective Gonzalez arrives at her office to question her after Trevor's body is found by a neighbor and is suspicious about why she didn't call the Police and begins investigating her. An overwhelmed Paula confesses to her co-workers Geri and Rudy that she was scammed online. Frank returns to Trevor's street and finds Hazel's soccer cleats, which were accidentally left behind by Paula during her escape.
3"Chunnel"Dan SackheimDavid J. RosenMay 27, 2026 (2026-05-27)
Karl and Mallory tell Paula they are moving to Boise, Idaho and offer to buy her a house out there so she can stay near Hazel, but she declines. Detectives Gonzalez and Baxter investigate Trevor's house and theorise about what really happened to him. Gonzalez calls Frank, who is using the name "Dennis", to inform him that Trevor has died, and he pretends to be upset. Baxter then reveals to Gonzalez that this is not the first dead body that Paula has been associated with. The anonymous caller tells Paula they want $15,000 by the end of the day, so she wires them $1 to learn their true identity. She argues with the caller, revealed to be a woman named Ash, who is not aware that Trevor is already dead, and attempts to contact him after Paula reveals this. Frank buys soccer cleats, hides trackers in them, and then drops them off at various schools trying to find Hazel. He follows and attacks Mallory, believing her to be Paula. Realizing his error, he steals her jewellery and leaves her in the woods.
4"Raisins"Damon ThomasTami SagherJune 3, 2026 (2026-06-03)
In a flashback to two years prior, Paula and Karl are married and living in Portland. Paula is driving home from a birthday party with Hazel, dejected that Karl spent most of the time at the event flirting with Mallory. Later, Paula calls Karl in a panic, saying she accidentally hit their neighbor Caleb with her car. Karl and Mallory arrive and help Paula cover up her culpability in Caleb's death. In the present, Frank goes to see Gonzales and Baxter and provides an alibi that checks out. While Mallory recovers from her attack, Gonzales phones Karl and raises her suspicions about Paula. Geri and Rudy confess to Paula that they snooped on her laptop and know about Trevor, and Paula is forced to come clean about Trevor's death and escaping the scene of the crime. Frank tracks Paula to her apartment and prepares to enter her home.
5"Scamboy"Damon ThomasMiki JohnsonJune 10, 2026 (2026-06-10)
Before Frank can enter Paula's home, he is called by his superior and sent on another assignment. For Karl's custody case, Mallory attempts to secure a judge that will be more sympathetic to Karl. Paula gets in contact with camboy Sky, an associate of Trevor's, and agrees to meet him with information on the murder suspect. She meets Sky at an abandoned motel, accompanied by Geri and Rudy who wait outside in a car. As Paula talks to Sky, she deduces that he is the man who pretended to kidnap Trevor. As Sky admits to being the kidnapper but not the killer, his girlfriend Ashley comes out of hiding and holds Paula at gunpoint. Ashley calls Frank and gives up Paula's location at the motel in exchange for money. Ashley and Sky attempt to flee the scene before Frank can arrive, but Paula gets hold of a nail gun on the floor and nails Sky to the floor with it. She escapes with Geri and Rudy. Frank arrives at the motel and ambushes and murders Sky; Ashley gets away. That night, Paula goes to a pawn shop and gets a gun. As she walks out of the store, she is photographed by a private investigator.
6"Rosebuds"Alethea JonesWyatt CainJune 17, 2026 (2026-06-17)
At a meeting with Karl's lawyer, the private investigator shows photos he took of Paula to Karl and Mallory. The photos include Frank in Paula's apartment alone, whom the investigator mistakes as a new boyfriend. Karl angrily confronts Paula at a party she is hosting for Hazel and the soccer team, questioning why she would give a key to "her new boyfriend." Paula realizes Frank has been inside her home without her knowledge. Frank murders the private investigator and kidnaps Paula, putting her in the trunk of his car. When he later tries to retrieve her, Paula shoots at him with the gun she got at the pawn shop.
7"Flighting"[4]Alethea JonesTBAJune 24, 2026 (2026-06-24)
8"Hallidays"[5]Damon ThomasTBAJuly 1, 2026 (2026-07-01)
9"Erroneous"[6]Damon ThomasTBAJuly 8, 2026 (2026-07-08)
10"Queens"[7]Alethea JonesTBAJuly 15, 2026 (2026-07-15)

Production

Development

The series is directed and executive produced by David Gordon Green and written and executive produced by creator and showrunner David J. Rosen. The 10-episode series was developed by and is executive produced by Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon for Genre Films under their first-look deal with Apple TV+, as well as Bard Dorros for Anonymous Content.[8] The series is also produced by Apple Studios and Counterpart Studios.[9]

Casting

On February 28, 2025, Tatiana Maslany was cast to star.[10] In July 2025, Jake Johnson and Dolly de Leon joined the starring cast.[2][11] In August 2025, Charlie Hall, Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg, Jessy Hodges, Jon Michael Hill, and Nola Wallace were cast as series regulars.[12][13] On February 2, 2026, Brandon Flynn and Murray Bartlett joined the cast.[1]

Filming

Principal photography was reported to be occurring in October 2025.[14] Filming locations include Queens, New York.[15]

Release

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed was released on Apple TV on May 20, 2026, with the first two episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis until July 15.[1]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 93%, based on 56 reviews, with an average of rated reviews of 7.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Tatiana Maslany boldly leads this twistedly thrilling whodunit, serving as a fascinating exploration of the unexpected through compelling storytelling, diverting escapades, and the undeniable assurance of Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed."[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[17]

Maslany received praise for her performance.[18][19] Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter wrote Maslany "effortlessly [embodies] Paula in all her contradictions — she's a genuinely good mom and one who desperately needs (in Karl's exasperated words) to 'tighten [her] fucking shit up,' a sympathetic victim in over her head and someone who can't seem to stop running headfirst into bad ideas. Without going out of her way to make Paula seem 'likable' or even necessarily 'relatable,' Maslany's naturalistic performance keeps her endlessly fascinating."[19] Han also praised the supporting cast and Murray Bartlett, "who gets to play a full range of energies — from warm to icy, charismatic to slightly pathetic".[18]

Brian Tallerico of The A.V. Club wrote Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is a "well-paced, wonderfully performed, and unpredictable" show that "employs the lost TV arts of tempo and rhythm, with propulsive episodes that never overstay their welcome".[18] Tallerico said the show hints at themes about technology in the modern era and how "we give so much of ourselves to relative strangers online without asking enough questions about the hidden costs".[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cordero, Rosy (February 3, 2026). "'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed' Sets Apple TV Premiere Date; Brandon Flynn & Murray Bartlett Join Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Cordero, Rosy (July 21, 2025). "Jake Johnson Cast In Apple's 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed' Starring Opposite Tatiana Maslany". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Shows A-Z – Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed on Apple TV". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Season 01, Episode 107, Flighting". Australian Classification. Archived from the original on May 27, 2026. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Season 01, Episode 108, Hallidays". Australian Classification. Archived from the original on May 27, 2026. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Season 01, Episode 109, Erroneous". Australian Classification. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Season 01, Episode 110, Queens". Australian Classification. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  8. ↑ Shanfeld, Ethan (February 28, 2025). "Tatiana Maslany to Star in Comedic Thriller Directed by David Gordon Green; Apple Series Promises 'Blackmail, Murder and Youth Soccer'". Variety. Archived from the original on March 1, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (February 28, 2025). "Tatiana Maslany Stars In 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed' Series Greenlighted By Apple". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 31, 2026. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  10. ↑ Porter, Rick (February 28, 2025). "Tatiana Maslany to Star in Comedic Thriller Series at Apple TV+". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 28, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  11. ↑ Cordero, Rosy (July 29, 2025). "'Nine Perfect Strangers' Star Dolly De Leon Joins Apple Series 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 29, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  12. ↑ Cordero, Rosy (August 5, 2025). "Charlie Hall & Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg Join Apple's 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 5, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  13. ↑ Cordero, Rosy (August 7, 2025). "Apple's 'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed' Rounds Out Cast With Jessy Hodges, Jon Michael Hill & Nola Wallace". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  14. ↑ Grobar, Matt (October 20, 2025). "Tim Heidecker & Tatiana Maslany Set For Late-Night-Themed Dark Comedy 'The Comedy Hour'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 20, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Starcams (aka Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed)". Filming In The City. Archived from the original on November 14, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Tallerico, Brian (May 20, 2026). "Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed almost fulfills the promise of its title". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 23, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  19. 1 2 Han, Angie (May 20, 2026). "'Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed' Review: Tatiana Maslany Delivers the Goods in Apple's Deliciously Twisty Thriller". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 26, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.