Many people – including stalwart members of the TV Geek Army – are saying: first Terriers, and now this?
After just ten mostly promising episodes, FX has decided to put the kibosh on the drama that focused on former heavyweight champion Patrick “Lights” Leary (Holt McCallany). The final episodes of the first season will air over the next few weeks. The problem as ever was ratings, with a per episode average coming in underneath one million (863,000 to be more specific), rather anemic in a basic cable environment that is not spitting out major hits of the likes of The Walking Dead and Jersey Shore.
While I didn’t share Mike Proper’s (and many others) passion for Terriers, I’m rather sad to see Lights Out go so early in its series arc. I very much enjoyed discussing the series weekly with reviewer Lucas High; we both believed there was a lot of good stuff at work, though there were admittedly some major problems (McCallany’s stiff presence at times, weak subplots) that needed to get worked out. Still, what was good was really good: overall it was a world that I enjoyed spending time in, where elements of tension and dilemmas get poured on top of an aging boxer that he’s forced to fight his way out of… though that could be the very thing that destroys him and his family.
At its best, there were tinges of The Shield’s ability to methodically ratchet up the tension to frenetic levels. But really I think I’ll remember the phenomenal supporting cast most: Stacey Keach as Pops, Pablo Schreiber (of The Wire Fame) as brother/con man/manager Johnny, Reg E. Cathey (also from The Wire) as promoter Barry K. Word, and Elizabeth Marvel as sister Margaret. The Leary family (minus wife Theresa, played by Catherine McCormack, who was handed some of the weaker scenes throughout) felt real, and I enjoyed watching them band together and react to challenges to their little clan week to week. Anyone who reads my stuff knows I’m an unabashed Wire fanatic, but let me say here that Pablo Schreiber deserves his own show – he owns every scene that he’s in, and has a great ability to show that he’s wearing the weight of the world on his shoulders all while running several metaphorical games of three-card monte all the while.
Don’t forget too that FX cancelled Damages recently – one of the better shows on television with strong writing, great suspense and production value, and a stellar cast fronted by Glenn Close – recently as well (DirecTV, a growing player in original programming, picked up the series for its fourth season).
What’s next for FX? They’re running a ton of promos for a truly bizarro-looking show called Wilfred, about a guy (played by Elijah Wood, so pretty big star power there) who believes his dog is actually a real dude who wears a dog suit… or something. More than anything though I’m looking forward to the return this summer of Louie, starring Louis C.K.
