The steely blue eyes belie a warmth that Glenn Close effuses in person.
The fixed stare and clenched jaw of Patty Hewes are unlike the relaxed persona the surprisingly petite actress projects when not in character. Playing Hewes, ruthless queen of high-stakes litigation in the legal thriller “Damages” on FX, Close telegraphs a cold and calculating reserve. A fashionable office suite, glorious duplex and upscale wardrobe situate the character in the top tier of Manhattan power brokers, but the essence of Hewes’ character mostly is beamed through Close’s eyes.
Close is only one asset in the sterling cast of this engrossing drama. “Damages” is the destination of choice for a gaggle of fine film actors this year.
When Season 2 of the Emmy Award-winning series begins Wednesday, locally at 11 p.m. on FX, the Rose Byrne returns as Ellen Parsons, Hewes’ protegee- turned-vengeful antagonist.
“Six months ago she tried to kill me. Now she’s acting like my best friend,” Parsons says of Hewes. She’s confiding her feelings about Hewes’ deceit to the FBI agent with whom she’s collaborating to take down Hewes and her firm.
The first-rate assemblage includes William Hurt (in his first onscreen reunion with Close since “The Big Chill”), Marcia Gay Harden (“Pollock,” “Mystic River”) and Timothy Olyphant (“Deadwood”). Zeljko Ivanek continues in flashbacks as Ray Fiske, the rival who killed himself in front of Hewes in her office last season.
Judging by the first two of the season’s 13 new episodes, the tension is delicious, the intriguing relationships ever more strained and complicated, the secrets piling up in even more promising ways.
To allow newcomers to catch up on Season 1, FX will repeat those episodes around the clock this weekend, starting Saturday night at 11. Set the DVR.
Last season, Hewes (Close) scored an unprecedented victory over Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson), the billionaire CEO whom we last saw crawling on the ground after a near- fatal gunshot wound.
As this season opens, Hewes is celebrating her win by appearing on “Regis and Kelly,” accepting kudos and announcing that she will take a break from the law in order to pour herself into creating a charitable foundation to feed New York’s hungry. Such a selfless hero, that Hewes. Ellen watches from the wings, uncomfortably smiling on cue.
As the now wiser and more bitter Ellen Parsons, Byrne manages to convey multiple layers of conflicting emotions, wanting to stay close enough to Hewes to ultimately destroy her, barely concealing her rage, flirting with depression and still staying on top of her job in order to pull Hewes into a case devised by the FBI.
The danger for “Damages,” as it marches into its sophomore season, Emmy in hand, is that the marquee names might overwhelm the story. Like the stunning sets, Close’s wardrobe and, of course, those searing eyes, the amazing cast lineup can’t carry the show alone. It’s going to take another great narrative.
The first two episodes introduce a compelling sequence of unfolding secrets surrounding Daniel Purcell (Hurt), his relationship to Hewes and his reasons for coming to her now for help. Here’s hoping creators Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman have mapped out another winning season as they continue to demonstrate how cable is rewriting the rules of scripted television.
KUSA-Channel 9 and KMGH-Channel 7 this week announced a helicopter sharing deal calculated to save both stations hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. In financially strapped times, with newsrooms cutting personnel, perhaps it makes sense for them to pool resources. They’ll share video but keep editorial content independent.
The stations have the right to put competing reporters side by side in the chopper. Most days, a camera will do the flying, and reporters will remain on the ground.
For daily traffic and weather, the deal would seem to make sense. But what happens when there’s a car chase, a unique bird’s-eye view of some local happening or actual news beyond highway tieups?
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
