Ryan Murphy's 'The Politician': 'Gossip Girl' meets 'House of Cards' in Netflix's new high school drama with political undertones

'The Politician' is a Netflix show starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Platt and Zoey Deutch in lead roles. Platt plays the role of Payton Hobart in the show and Paltrow plays his mother Georgina Hobart who supports him in all his endeavors.

Payton has known from when he was young that he wanted to be President of United States and the first step in making his childhood dream come true is ruling the political landscape in his high school - Saint Sebastian High School. Payton is the son of a privileged family, who resides in Santa Barbara, California, and so the school he goes to is an elite one, not very different from the one we see in 'Gossip Girl'. 

The reason Payton needs to secure a spot as the Student Body President is to get himself into Harvard to secure a successful path towards his dream. However, things don't go according to plan and this is where we see the political overtones.

Scandal, speculation, damage control and lies - Payton is expected to come face to face with it all in his high school. To understand what goes into becoming a politician, one that can actually withstand the pressure and the expectations of the job, 'The Politician' will explore if Payton can handle what it takes to make his dreams come true and this is where the show meets 'House of Cards'. 

For instance, Payton introduces his running mate Infinity Jackson (Zoey Deutch) to the school only to learn later Infinity may not be the best running mate for him. She has a history, one that includes using slurs against a gay man, which becomes a scandal big enough to blow up in his face.