Created by Jon Brown, produced by Armando Iannucci and directed by Sam Mendes, “The Franchise” centers on the cast and crew of a second-string superhero film.

The new HBO series “The Franchise” satirizes the making of a superhero movie by a fictional movie studio that is Marvel in all but name. (The actual fictional name is Maximum Studios.) Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO’s parent, is Marvel’s bitter rival in the superhero field, so you might expect the show to offer an extra measure of savage mockery.

Which is a stealth joke within “Tecto,” and “The Franchise,” and a mischievous stroke of satire that transcends an already absorbing storyline. Mr. Anderson is the Journal’s TV critic.

Hollywood loves a navel-gazing satire about the movie business. Audiences do too, when given a good reason, from the upbeat mockery of 1952’s “Singin’ in the Rain,” to the excoriation of a studio executive in 1992’s “The Player,

HBO comedy 'The Franchise' goes behind-the-scenes of a fictional movie franchise to satirize the artistic bankruptcies driving modern blockbusters.

The Franchise is so good and fun precisely because it has excellent, quippy writing, cast chemistry, and a steady stream of comedic situations.

A group of filmmakers experience the stress and pitfalls of making superhero cinema in HBO's The Franchise trailer.