649 replies to this topic

[insanityproject]

I am unreasonably excited about a show premiering on USA (of all places!). It's the new series Political Animals from Greg Berlanti [Everwood, Jack & Bobby, Brothers & Sisters] and starring the magnficent Sigourney Weaver. Deadline has a write-up and look at the trailer. It's set to premiere July 15. (Was July 4 already taken?)

Weaver's character is a former First Lady now serving as Secretary of State. (Wherever did they come up with such an idea)? Adrian Pasdar (who will always be Profit to me) and Dylan Baker play POTUS and VPOTUS. Ciarin Hinds co-stars as Weaver's ex-husband (and the former POTUS), while Jimmy Wolk and Sebastian Stan play their very pretty sons. Carla Gugino is the reporter out to cause trouble for our fair SoS.

It's a 6-episode order for a mini-series with an option to go to regular series if popular enough.

These new political-based shows (Scandal, Veep and now Political Animals) are a very nice change of pace from the criminal procedurals. I am very curious to see how Berlanti's particular vision (which I don't always like but I admire him for having a point of view) and USA's cookie cutter approach to shows will mesh.

Edited to include some of Berlanti's credits in case his name was not familiar to some

Edited by insanityproject, May 17, 2012 @ 8:10 PM.

[redshirtx]

Sigourney Weaver and Carla Gugino on the same show...plus Dylan Baker and Ciaran Hinds? (And a special aaaand for Ellen Burstyn, who's playing Weaver's character's mother.) This could be awesome, but I can't help thinking: USA? Really?

[insanityproject]

How could I forget to mention the epic Ellen Burstyn?!!

redshirtx, I am also wondering how USA is going to pull this off. Maybe they gave Berlanti free reign?

[TWoP Howard]

Oh, dear Lord, what a cast! Ciaran Hinds and Carla Gugino in the same cast is just blowing my mind, let alone all the others. And Berlanti. I will definitely be checking it out. You’re right, though—from reading the cast and synopsis I never would have guessed USA network.

[fastiller]

Weaver's character is a former First Lady...
~ ~insanityproject

Interesting casting for a former FLOTUS, considering Dave.

[S7W9C2]

I'm a sucker for USA shows so I'm in. What a cast.

[insanityproject]

Came across some new info on the show at HuffPostTV. Love the cast photo, especially the couldn't give a damn way Sebastian Stan is sitting. Don't recognize the young actress standing next to James Wolk (Brittany Ishibashi?)-- anyone know who she is (do I have her name right?) or what role she's playing? Maybe a daughter-in-law?

Edited by insanityproject, May 25, 2012 @ 4:49 PM.

[redshirtx]

Apparently Brittany is playing a woman named Anne Ogami, who is also Doug Hammond's (Wolk's character) fiancee. As for Sebastian's pose in the picture, especially compared to everybody else...damn if my mind didn't flash immediately to the late Kings the second I saw that. Prince Jack, Beltway style!

[Tippi Blevins]

I'll be writing the weecaps for TWoP. I am ridiculously excited for this show.

[ScarletPrincess]

Saw a commercial for this the other night. I am so in! And James Wolk???? Humina humina! Going on my TiVo season pass.

[insanityproject]

Twop weecaps?! Nice! I also read that Vanessa Redgrave will be doing an arc as a Supreme Court Justice!

[neciamorris]

Just saw the trailer for this during the Suits premiere and I'm very excited. I just hope it will be better than Commander in Chief and Veep.

[Stalkmylife82]

Just saw the trailer for this during the Suits premiere and I'm very excited. I just hope it will be better than Commander in Chief and Veep.

I love Veep. I just hope this show can be just as entertaining if not more.

[rove3]

What a great cast. I will definitely be checking this one out.

[Freckles101]

Here's a new promo with a bit more footage than has been in previous ones. (Although still no Adrian Pasdar, unfortunately.) I absolutely cannot WAIT for this show to start.

[stereohype]

Yes, yes, and YESSSSS! I randomly caught a promo for this and got so excited I had to run to my calendar and program in a reminder to put a season pass on the DVR once it showed up because the DVR wouldn't let me program a show that far out. Sigourney looks fantastic in the promo, and I really hope this lives up to my expectations.

[catrina]

I love me some Ciaran Hinds but I do wonder about his Southern accent. He's a great actor but I've found Brits sometimes overcook the Southernness of accents. (Also isn't he basically going to "be" Bill Clinton?)

[redshirtx]

This early review (some plot spoilers within, beware) doesn't seem to bode well for this show. I'm still there for Sigourney and Carla, though.

[bulldawgtownie]

I haven't seen a movie with Sigourney Weaver that I didn't like so I was in the first time I saw a promo for this show. Why it's a mini-series and not a regular series is beyond me and I don't understand the bashing that the USA network is getting. IMO they have a number of good shows on their network and this will fit in fine.

[jch323]

Why it's a mini-series and not a regular series is beyond me and I don't understand the bashing that the USA network is getting.

I'd assume it's because you probably wouldn't get Weaver (and others such as Gugino and Hands) for a full series commitment and they wanted big names and known character actors to make the biggest splash possible.

[OptimisticCynic]

Great article on Carla Gugino

I'm very excited to see this show and I hope this gives Carla Gugino a fully dimensional character to work with. It disappoints me when her talent is squandered on crap like "Sucker Punch," so I'm interested to see what type of work she does here.

It will be interesting to contrast this show with The Good Wife and Veep. Veep is tonally different - satiric comedy, but it feels very true to life in the minutae of the office and underhanded politics.

Vulture article with Greg Berlanti:

We had conversations about that. I wanted to show the disparity in politics where you sound one way when you’re talking to the world on camera and then you go into the backroom and it’s vulgar as hell.

This is something Veep captures incredibly well, but the show is very much focused on the office and Hill dynamics. We don't see a lot of the characters personal and family lives.

So I'm interested to see how they handle the scandal aspect in comparison to The Good Wife. It probably will only be touched upon in expository backstory, I'm guessing.

Edited by OptimisticCynic, Jul 13, 2012 @ 11:48 PM.

[Firebunny]

It took me long enough to find this thread.

I'm assuming the show takes place in DC, but it was filmed (at least the exterior scenes) in Philadelphia and every other week or so for the past few months I'd step outside my apartment building to find the bathrooms and guest actor trailers parked on my street. I had no idea what the show was until I finally asked a PA. Then I looked it up on IMDb and was like Sigourney Weaver? No shit!

I have spoilers based on the names that were taped to the guest actor trailers.

Spoiler

In one episode there will be a reporter and an "Agent Bill."

I also got to watch a scene filmed in Rittenhouse Square and

Spoiler

it had some attractive young people dressed in business-casual clothes talking about something

. Pretty mind blowing, I know.

Anyway, will definitely watch this show for the cast and to see my neighborhood double as DC.

[ayako38]

I am also looking forward to this show. I've been seeing the promos all weekend so I can hardly wait. But this may sound like a dumb question, but does anybody know the name of the song that is playing with these promos? It is in my head and I can't get it out.

[TaraGel]

Great article on the show in The Atlantic today, taking some digs at The Newsroom and Veep, and praising PA for being a show that revels in strong women taking care of business.

[coppersin]

ayako38, I think the song is "Animal" by Kesha.

And I'm glad the show is a limited run. Too many shows drag on forever; it's refreshing to have a US show with an end in sight, and creators/writers that can tell a story and be done with it.

[callietwo]

Wow, is it hard to find this thread!

I'm really looking forward to seeing this; USA is the perfect channel for this if you ask me as they've really upped their game with several of their shows (Suits, Necessary Roughness esp.)

Sigourney Weaver is perfect casting! The rest, are just names to me and I have trouble connecting names without seeing their faces. Was Carla G. Michael J. Fox's girlfriend in the first season of Spin City? I wondered why she was written off that show, but haven't really seen/noticed her in anything else that I remember.

[starriepie]

I am also looking forward to this show. I've been seeing the promos all weekend so I can hardly wait. But this may sound like a dumb question, but does anybody know the name of the song that is playing with these promos? It is in my head and I can't get it out.

ayako38 The other song is "Future Starts Slow" by The Kills.

I'm intrigued by the show. The cast sounds amazing, but I fear as with all USA shows, I'll ultimately be let down.

[Artsda]

It was amazing, part soap, part political intrigue. It was like West Wing meets Dallas. Loved seeing the secrets behind all the closed doors and Sebastian Stan is doing great as the addict child.

[BuddhaBelly]

Well that was way better than I expected. I mean wow! All the little nuances were beyond perfect and I love the way Sigourney Weaver's character played against Carla Gugino's.

[name234]

That did not suck. It did not. The looks on the secret service agents' respective faces as Elaine walked out of the motel room, that was priceless. I am definitely in for the remainder. If they make it a recurring mini series instead of a 22 episode a season show, that might enable them to keep up the quality Okay that assumes the next five episodes are as good as this one. Ellen Burstyn is perfect and its good to see Dylan Baker and Roger Bart again.