Dirty Sexy Money

Nick George (Peter Krause) follows his late father's footstep as the legal fixer for the scandal ridden New York Darling family. Tripp (Donald Sutherland) and Tish (Jill Clayburgh) are the heads of the family. Their son Patrick (William Baldwin) is the reluctant politician with closeted secrets. Karen (Natalie Zea) is the jet setting daughter who has a lifelong crush on Nick despite his marriage to Lisa (Zoe McLellan). Juliet (Samaire Armstrong) is struggling with issues (including real-life ones) along with twin Jeremy. Brian has an illegitimate son. Simon Elder (Blair Underwood) is Tripp's rival.

The concept is promising but it's reliant on the likability of the characters. They can't be all be douches and mostly they're not. Mostly they're just damaged by the secrets they're keeping. There are probably a few too many characters. The show lasted two seasons. The first season does well. It has a nice balance of comedy and darker revelations. The second season gets weighted down by too much revelations. Sadly it's the usual way for a failing TV show to ramp up the drama.

This has become my favorite show on television. It has its own special charm to it. I love the characters in the Darling family. The acting is superb for nearly all of them. Donald Sutherland is incredible as always in the role of Tripp, the tactful businessman. Then you have Glenn Fitzgerald as Brian, the flawed priest; William Baldwin as Patrick, the spineless politician; Samaire Armstrong as Juliet, the spoiled daughter; Seth Gabel as Jeremy, the reluctant playboy; Natalie Zea as Karen, the impetuous harlot; and Jill Clayburgh as Letitia, the spaced-out mother.

The character of Brian is the one I find the most entertaining. He perfectly pulls off being a complete jerk, which makes his contrasting moments of humanity that much more impressive. His relationship with his son brought some of the funniest and most heartfelt moments of the season, which is really saying something considering the strength of the rest of the show. The character of Jeremy is intriguing as well, as he's somewhat of a security blanket for Juliet. Fitzgerald and Gabel show off their acting talents in these roles, but it's Sutherland that steals the show.

The well-acted characters don't stop there, though. Peter Krause nails the role of Nick, the lawyer/babysitter for the family. Will Shadley is adorable as Brian Jr. Blair Underwood adds mystery as the rival billionaire. Daniel Cosgrove gave a memorable performance as Karen's boytoy Freddy. Shawn Michael Patrick adds even more talent as the obedient limo driver. Zoe McLellan is stuck in that middle as Nick's wife Lisa, along with fascinated-by-rich-life daughter Kiki, portrayed by Chloe Moretz.

There are precious few flaws with this show. Leticia, Patrick, Juliet, and Karen can grow tiresome, partly because their characters are sometimes intended to annoy the viewers with their actions. However, the truth is that Clayburgh, Baldwin, Armstrong, and Zea simply don't possess the acting talent of the rest of the cast. I can hate and love Brian at the same time, and I can't say that for the rest of these characters who are supposed to elicit similar feelings.

The only reason I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 is because the latest episodes haven't been quite as good as the early ones. Still, I think that speaks more to the excellence of the show's beginning more than anything else. There's plenty of potential to develop all the characters much further, as you could make a lesser series based on any one of the characters. I don't know what the future holds for this show, but I can only hope that we haven't seen the last of it. If they give this enough of a chance, I think it will be truly great.

I worry, though, because nearly everyone I try to talk to about it hasn't heard of it, and we're going on a few weeks now without a new episode. It seems pretty high-budget as well. I think a little more promotion or patience could save the show. I fear the worst, but I'll breathe a sigh of relief if I see another new episode in the new year.

Please, ABC, keep this show going. If it disappears, it will be sorely missed.

Just wanted fans of Dirty, Sexy Money to know that while so many of us have been waiting for the new shows to air, ABC suits have been unhappy with writers and have laid off the cast and crew. Some new episodes were filmed but if and when we will see them who knows. It is not like they have so many great shows on. I am so disappointed I was really looking forward to a new season. There were so many hints that many juicy secrets were yet to come. If the cast and crew get offers for new jobs it will be impossible for them to get them all back together. I guess they want to kill the show. Fans need to rally behind the show and get ABC to bring everyone back. The show must go on!!!

I starting watching this show with the expectation that it would be driven only by it's star power and would leave little to the mind, however, that said - Dirty, Sexy, Money far exceeded my expectations. It is an intriguing drama with plots than only become more interesting at the season progresses. The Darling's are not a 1-Dimensional family - we get a balanced view of each family member's bizarre, twisted and occasionally desirable life styles with a plot that only becomes darker as the weaves of truth and deception spin their way onto our TV sets. Out of the many new shows that were aired this year, DSM is certainly one I would place up in the top 3. My final word? - this is definitely a show you want on your TiVo.

I consider this to be the third best new show I started to watch last year( with Damages undoubtedly on a first place and Californication on a close second ).

It has all that you want from a prime time soap: intelligent satire, adoring characters, a captivating mystery and ambient settings. I love it how they show that a materialistic lifestyle doesn't lead to happiness. In all their efforts to buy their happiness, these characters find that it is the small things that make a life worth to live. A comforting thought for a ''poor'' guy like myself.

My only criticism is that the title of the show is a bit misleading. If you put the words dirty and sexy in a title, it suggests that the content is...well, dirty and sexy. But this show is actually rather decent compared to a lot of recent shows.