The cast is rounded out by members of the JSN Studio staff. There’s John, Jason’s new styling assistant, who he poached from a “luxury showroom in LA” Though he’s energetic and motivated, it eventually becomes clear that John can struggle to keep up with the demanding, high-pressure environment Jason has fostered. There’s Kafia, the operations manager, a longtime friend who has worked with Adair since the beginning. She spends the season butting heads with her boss as she branches out from the company with several “side hustle” gigs; as she explains, she needs them to support her Somali immigrant parents and her seven brothers and sisters. There’s also Melinda, Adair’s assistant-cum-project manager, who helps maintain peace in the JSN Studio office and sometimes uses her background as a former winner of Miss Norway to double as a fit model for Jason. Finally, there’s my favorite cast member: Cruz, Jason and Adair’s dog, a huge, furry bundle of obedient joy. I weep every time he appears on the screen.
The eight episode season covers the entire five-month period of awards season, starting with the Emmys in the first episode and concluding with the Oscars in the finale. Though some of the show is dedicated to watching Adair run the interior design side of the business — a home renovation project for Psych’s Dulé Hill and Ballers’ Jazmyn Simon stretches across the entire season — the majority is spent following Jason as he works to… style Hollywood. The show takes viewers inside exclusive showrooms, where the fashion on display is routinely gorgeous — full of designer pieces, both ready-to-wear and couture. Jason proves to be the ideal narrator for these scenes, always describing the fabulous clothes he sees in the most hilarious terms, like when a Tom Ford tuxedo arrives and he notes that “it feels very valet.”
Of course, one cannot bank an entire series on high fashion alone, so the show also makes plenty of room for conversations about other issues, particularly race. During a photoshoot of the couple for Out Magazine’s Hollywood issue, Adair expresses his discomfort posing for a photographer whose work has been known to be slightly “provocative.” Though his fears initially seem unfounded, the reasons behind them slowly reveal themselves, as he opens up about his difficult childhood and how that has affected his adult life. “Growing up in the Bronx, you wouldn’t show affection to anybody you were dating in public. You can be harmed walking through those neighborhoods,” he admits. In a different episode, Jason is forced to respond to the Gucci blackface sweater fiasco right as he’s preparing to dress over ten people for the Oscars and the Vanity Fair afterparty. The drama inspires the stylist to reach out to one of his Black designer friends, Charles Harbison, who he then enlists to design a custom gown for Ava DuVernay. “Not enough of us are designing and are on the carpet,” Jason tells him.
