“Political Animals” debuted on USA Sunday night and our forums posters were soon analyzing the Emmy prospects of this political drama. Does this news series from Greg Berlanti (“Brothers and Sisters”) have what it takes to impress TV academy voters? Have your say here.
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Three-time Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver makes her TV series debut as a former First Lady, now serving as the Secretary of State. Irish actor Ciaran Hinds plays her wayward ex-husband while triple crown acting champ Ellen Burstyn is her tart-tongued mother and Carla Gugino is her adversary in the press.
Their pedigree impressed some of our posters while others were less convinced. Below, just a sample of their savvy observations.
thesmartone
This is nothing like I expected it to be. First, it took me a while to warm up to Sigourney Weaver’s acting. It starts off really unbelievable (and not in a good way) in the beginning, but gets fantastic in the end. Ellen Burstyn has some great one liners, and is fantastic in her scenes, but if all of the episodes feature performances from her like this, there is no way she is earning an Emmy next year. The only cast member that really stood out to me is Sebastian Stan. I thought he was fantastic in all of his scenes as the gay, drug and alcohol addicted son. Overall, this wasn’t a fantastic premiere, but I will stick with it to see where it goes.
jamesclin
It might be too soon to tell but Weaver is unbeatable in my opinion! It is gonna take another Danes-type performance in season 1 of “Homeland” to even try to compete with her. I am not a big fan of Weaver, but damn she’s GOOD! I cheered for her, I cried at some of her speeches, I laughed when she was being cool!
Sasha
This is a very entertaining soap opera. I didn’t get bored at all. Nice job Berlanti! Oh, and Weaver is so winning that Globe, SAG and even Emmy. Absolutely outstanding performance.
Mr. Taloson
Pretty good premiere with solid acting all around. Weaver is obviously a highlight and will undoubtedly get into whichever category, Drama or Miniseries Actress. Sebastian Stan is also shaping up to be a standout. Carla Gugino, despite having the second most screentime just isn’t compelling to watch IMO. The writing and directing is very much in the Greg Berlanti style, which I’ve missed since the days of “Brothers & Sisters.” It’s certainly not gonna be a huge Emmy contender but from what I’ve seen thus far it seems like a solid summer show. And it looks like Ellen Burstyn will be the Maggie Smith of this show.
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