Graves

In today's more crowded than ever TV landscape it's easy to miss some rare gems airing on channels like Epix not known for their original programming. "Graves," starring Nick Nolte and Sela Ward is one of those gems. The setup is that Graves, played by a gravel-voiced Nolte doing the best work in his career, is a former two term Republican president (a cross between Reagan and George W. Bush) lauded by conservatives for his regressive, anti-immigrant, anti-gay, anti-environment - basically anti anything good, policies which have wreaked havoc on the country.

Now, twenty years out of office, he has an epiphany where he realizes what a genuinely horrible president he was. Wracked with regret and on a constant verge of a nervous breakdown, he embarks on a whacked out odyssey of redemption all to the consternation of his respectable Republican wife, played by Sela Ward also doing the best work in her career. Who knew she was that funny? This show is one of the smartest and funniest political shows to hit TV in years. Unlike Veep, which though funny is completely cynical and cold, Graves is funny AND filled with genuine emotion. The humanity and vulnerability of the characters in "Graves" make the laughs much deeper and more satisfying than anything Veep has ever done. Graves also has smarter writing and better acting than any other comedy on TV today. One would have to go back to the "All In the Family" to find a comparable show that combines politics, social issues and comedy in such a brilliant way.

Anything with Sela Ward gets a 10, and then you work backwards.

Nick Nolte has become a caricature of himself and the days of "Affliction" are long, long gone.

Think of Bill Maher writing a series of acts of contrition for George W. Bush, spend no time editing them or inserting irony and wit, and you have "Graves".

The stereotypical characters, including the cameos of "real life" politicians, make you embarrassed to watch, and if you are looking for some nexus or meaningful connection to the current election campaign, do not hold your breathe.

Hard to figure out why it was not so much better. A group of professionals phoned it in.

Former Republican President Richard Graves (Nick Nolte) is adored by his supporters, and reviled by almost everyone else. He starts to have doubts about his legacy. His wife Margaret (Sela Ward) is looking to run for office. Isaiah Miller (Skylar Astin) is his true-believer new body man. His daughter Olivia (Heléne Yorke) has a broken marriage. His son Jeremy (Chris Lowell) is bitter after four years in the army. Sammy (Callie Hernandez) is the new waitress at his local diner who opens up his eyes to a new outlook.

Nick Nolte sorta works as this burnt-out former man of power. He has the demeanor. The varying cast around him mostly work as individual characters. It's the interconnections and the plot writing that often falls down. The waitress is an odd character to get sucked into his world. She needs to be tied to the family a lot more securely. At a certain point, there are too many recurring characters. It needs to work on the relationships between the main characters. I like all the actors and Nolte does his good standard gruffness. The plot does keep drifting which gives the show an unhelpful instability.

I was apprehensive about another political series, but politics are not the focus here; life and maturity are. There are moments of pathos and moments of laugh-out-loud comedy. Nick Nolte has always been an underrated actor. He is fantastic!! Sela Ward is perfect as the strong matriarch. The entire cast are great actors and they work so well together. They are so comfortable in their roles. They are like those chance meetings of people in your life that turn into lifelong friendships. You look forward to spending time with the Graves family every week. The 1st episode didn't grab me, but I hung in there and I am so glad I did!

Republicans are bad. Democrats are good.

[ yawn ]

Is there anything more tired than that old narrative? And aren't shows like this a dime a dozen? Alpha House was actually funnier and it's canceled.

I'll watch some more and perhaps change my review after doing so, but I'm not holding my breath that this sad little show will perform any better than the 1st episode did.

When will Hollywood learn that predictable is boring as hell?

The only reason I didn't give it 1 star is because Sela Ward's acting is actually pretty good considering the disaster that is this show's writing.