HBO’s new series “The Brink” is a dark comedy set in the world of U.S. government and foreign affairs. Creators/executive producers Roberto Benabib (“Weeds”) and Kim Benabib skewer those who vie, lust and live for power. With a strong cast led by Tim Robbins, Jack Black, Pablo Schreiber and Aasif Mandvi, “The Brink” aims to be closer in tone to “Dr. Strangelove” than “The West Wing,” and that bodes well for the rest of the season.
As “The Brink” opens, a political crisis unfolds in Pakistan. The pilot episode examines that situation’s effect on three men: Secretary of State Walter Larson (Robbins), low-level State Department officer Alex Talbot (Black) and Navy fighter pilot Zeke Tilson (Schreiber, most recently seen as “Orange Is the New Black’s” Pornstache), who must navigate through the chaos in order to stave off another World War.
Mandvi stars as Alex’s driver Rafiq, who, in a moment of crisis, takes Alex to his family’s home in order to protect them both. Esai Morales portrays POTUS and Geoff Pierson plays the secretary of Defense, who is always in hawkish opposition to Walter Larson.
In the course of the first episode, the highest level D.C. government powers debate launching an attack on the new leader of Pakistan, while Alex Talbot finds valuable information about the new and unbalanced leader in Rafiq’s family home. He also finds he’s completely captivated by Rafiq’s sister, who Rafiq warns him away from under threat of death.
Meanwhile, fighter pilot Tilson aka Z-Pack is stressed out as he takes off for his next mission, because he needs his ex-wife to replenish the supply of prescription drugs he’s been selling to his fellow soldiers at the base. Dosing himself and his co-pilot with what he believes is Xanax, he realizes it’s not Xanax as they fly into the heat of battle. Their long strange trip is just beginning.
Director Jay Roach (“Game Change,” “Meet the Parents”) weaves the stories together seamlessly while moving back and forth between the main characters in D.C. and Pakistan. The dialogue is smart, biting and sporadically funny as it convincingly argues that its strange fiction is truth and turns the wartime stuff of our nightmares into the blackest of comedy.
Black delivers what may be his most subtle performance to date, but with just the right amount of buffoonery to convince us that Alex Talbot is not the guy for any remotely important State Department job. Robbins is on fire as a lust-crazed secretary of State who can pretend he’s sober at the drop of a hat, so that he can speak intelligently in the Situation Room with POTUS.
Mandvi provides gravity as Rafiq, who, for instance, realizes the true danger in the weeknight jaunt to buy weed that Alex cajoles him into. The scenes with Rafiq’s family are also sharply written and acted, as the family quickly gets a read on Alex and tries to figure out how to avoid winding up in a Pakistani jail.
“The Brink” isn’t a big, noisy comedy, and airing after “Ballers” may not be the best lead-in, but if you like your comedy with a shot of bitter and twisted, add this to your summer viewing roster.
Jerry Weintraub, Roberto Benabib and Roach are executive producers on the 10-episode series. Robbins and Black are producers, and Mandvi is a co-producer.
“The Brink” premieres Sunday June 21 at 10:30pm on HBO
New 'True Detective' Season 2 Character Posters Feature Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell Sporting Brass Knuckles (Photos)
HBO released four new character posters from season two of "True Detective" on Friday ahead of the June 21 premiere.
Each of the main actors is featured, with Colin Farrell's character sporting a set of brass knuckles, and the series tagline, "We get the world we deserve."
Vince Vaughn plays Frank Semyon, a career criminal in danger of losing his empire when his move into legitimate enterprise is upended by the murder of a business partner.
Farrell plays Ray Velcoro, a compromised detective whose allegiances are torn between his masters in a corrupt police department and the mobster who owns him.
Taylor Kitsch is playing Paul Woodrough, a handsome, 28-year-old military veteran who has seen his own share of violence and destruction. Rachel McAdams plays police detective Ani Bezzerides.
'American Horror Story' to 'True Detective': 8 Anthology Series That Are Changing TV (Photos)
"American Horror Story: Murder House": The freshman installment of Ryan Murphy's FX anthology series introduced a new method of TV storytelling in 2011 -- and scared the bejesus out of viewers in the process.
"Fargo": FX once again went the anthology route with this adaptation of the beloved Coen Brothers film, which boasted an enviable cast and racked up an impressive pile of Emmy nominations (along with one win).
"American Horror Story: Asylum": For the second iteration of "AHS," Murphy went crazy -- literally -- and explored the twisted behind-the-scenes events at an insane asylum.
HBO got into the anthology game with "True Detective," which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in its maiden season and became one of the most buzzed-about series of the year.
"American Horror Story: Coven" took Murphy's ever-shifting vision to New Orleans for a tale of supernatural rivalry, and a multi-layered exploration of oppression.
"The Girlfriend Experience": Starz is currently developing a small-screen adaptation of the 2009 Steven Soderbergh film. Soderbergh is also behind the television version, which will feature a different story and different characters each season.
Starz is also considering an extension of "The White Queen," its 2013 partnership with the BBC, dubbed "The White Princess."
Murphy returns Wednesday night with a fourth iteration of "American Horror Story," subtitled "Freak Show," in which Sarah Paulson pulls a double-header.
1 of 8
Shows that are breaking ground by tearing down and rebuilding from season to season
"American Horror Story: Murder House": The freshman installment of Ryan Murphy's FX anthology series introduced a new method of TV storytelling in 2011 -- and scared the bejesus out of viewers in the process.
Taylor Kitsch and Rachel McAdams also star in the second season of the HBO anthology detective series, which returns June 21
HBO released four new character posters from season two of "True Detective" on Friday ahead of the June 21 premiere.
Each of the main actors is featured, with Colin Farrell's character sporting a set of brass knuckles, and the series tagline, "We get the world we deserve."
Vince Vaughn plays Frank Semyon, a career criminal in danger of losing his empire when his move into legitimate enterprise is upended by the murder of a business partner.
Farrell plays Ray Velcoro, a compromised detective whose allegiances are torn between his masters in a corrupt police department and the mobster who owns him.
Taylor Kitsch is playing Paul Woodrough, a handsome, 28-year-old military veteran who has seen his own share of violence and destruction. Rachel McAdams plays police detective Ani Bezzerides.
'American Horror Story' to 'True Detective': 8 Anthology Series That Are Changing TV (Photos)
"American Horror Story: Murder House": The freshman installment of Ryan Murphy's FX anthology series introduced a new method of TV storytelling in 2011 -- and scared the bejesus out of viewers in the process.
"Fargo": FX once again went the anthology route with this adaptation of the beloved Coen Brothers film, which boasted an enviable cast and racked up an impressive pile of Emmy nominations (along with one win).
"American Horror Story: Asylum": For the second iteration of "AHS," Murphy went crazy -- literally -- and explored the twisted behind-the-scenes events at an insane asylum.
HBO got into the anthology game with "True Detective," which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in its maiden season and became one of the most buzzed-about series of the year.
"American Horror Story: Coven" took Murphy's ever-shifting vision to New Orleans for a tale of supernatural rivalry, and a multi-layered exploration of oppression.
"The Girlfriend Experience": Starz is currently developing a small-screen adaptation of the 2009 Steven Soderbergh film. Soderbergh is also behind the television version, which will feature a different story and different characters each season.
Starz is also considering an extension of "The White Queen," its 2013 partnership with the BBC, dubbed "The White Princess."
Murphy returns Wednesday night with a fourth iteration of "American Horror Story," subtitled "Freak Show," in which Sarah Paulson pulls a double-header.
1 of 8
Shows that are breaking ground by tearing down and rebuilding from season to season
"American Horror Story: Murder House": The freshman installment of Ryan Murphy's FX anthology series introduced a new method of TV storytelling in 2011 -- and scared the bejesus out of viewers in the process.
