Weigh in on very un-USA like trailer for new series 'Political Animals'
Sigourney Weaver, Carla Gugino, Ciaran Hinds and James Wolk star in a sexy, classy 'event series'
Sigourney Weaver stars in USA's summer "event series" "Political Animals"
Credit: USA
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Apparently USA is no longer satisfied to flood their airwaves with successful shows that viewers love and critics rarely praise. This summer the home of "Psych" and "Royal Pains" appears to be moving into FX/AMC territory with the classy, racy and ambitious new six hour "event series" "Political Animals."
Now, there's still a chance the show won't be very good. But do you want to root against Sigourney Weaver's first series TV gig? I didn't think so.
Weaver stars as Elaine Barrish Hammond, a powerful and influential Secretary of State married to a former President (Ciaran Hinds) known for his Southern charm and cheating heart. Hmm, sound like any real political figures you know?
There's a whiff of another Berlanti series here: the inside the world of the wealthy soap "Dirty Sexy Money," which never quite lived up to its high caliber cast and promising premise. That show was compromised, in part, by its network TV home and longer form storytelling. Let's hope Berlanti applies the lessons learned there to make this six episode cable series as good as it can be.
Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think. And fair warning: There's an ever so brief flash of bare skin in a sex scene. (Another sign this isn't the USA we're used to?)
"Political Animals" premieres Sunday, July 15 at 10 p.m. on USA
Geoff Berkshire lives in Los Angeles and writes about film and television. His work has appeared in Variety, the L.A. Times, and Premiere, among other publications. He is the former national entertainment editor and film critic for Metromix.com.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupJedyKnight
May 17, 2012 at 7:36PM EST Reply to CommentTo me USA shows almost always look fun (and i have even watched a season or 2 of some of them, like Psych and Royal Pains), but this looks actually good, plus Ripley as a Hillary Clinton type ? ! I'm In. =)
btw, I think Sebastian Stan did a helluva job as the Mad Hatter in OUAT.
JedyKnight
May 17, 2012 at 7:37PM EST Reply to Commentoh, forgot.. Dan, i know it has less than 1% chance of coming back to US airways, but was there any mention at all of the LA Complex ? or is it officially and formally done ?
JedyKnight Sorry, i got re-directed here from Fienberg's CW article. :)
May 17, 2012 at 8:21PM ESTTJ
May 17, 2012 at 7:38PM EST Reply to CommentWhoa. That certainly is a heck of a cast. And a great premise. So, you know, right there I'm interested. Hard to get a feel for what the actual show is going to be like, since I'm assuming it's not going to be 95% talking heads, but still--that looks promising.
Karras
May 18, 2012 at 5:59AM EST Reply to CommentWell, it's definitely off brand for USA. I wonder if they're doing this because they're trying to change their image or because they just really liked the show. They'll certainly have to promote it a lot because they don't have anything resembling a compatible lead-in. And I'll just say I'm not as excited about this one as everyone else seems to be. It's a terrific cast, but the behind the scenes people give me pause. Greg Berlanti has never impressed me. And it would have been nice to see them try to move a little further from reality. Weaver's character looks like way too thinly veiled a version of Hilary Clinton for my tastes. I realize she's obviously based on her, but the only difference doesn't have to be red hair. Now maybe the show will prove me wrong on that last point, but I'll probably wait for reviews before I tune in.