Damages

Plot

Season one

The regular cast consists of Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Ted Danson, Tate Donovan, Željko Ivanek and Noah Bean.

A young woman, Ellen Parsons, is found running through the streets half-naked and covered in blood. During the ensuing police investigation, her fiancé, David, is found in the couple's apartment, bludgeoned to death, and Ellen is arrested.

Six months earlier, Ellen, a newly minted lawyer, is being courted for prestigious jobs. She turns down an offer to work with the defense attorney Hollis Nye (Philip Bosco). Ultimately, she chooses a job at Hewes & Associates, headed by notorious lawyer Patty Hewes. When Nye finds out about this, he warns Ellen of the dangers of working for Patty and asks her to sign his business card. Ellen later notices he wrote, "I was warned,” above her signature.

Ellen becomes engrossed in a major case that Hewes & Associates is pursuing. Patty has been retained in a class action lawsuit by the former employees of billionaire Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson). In a case reminiscent of the Enron scandal, Frobisher is accused of insider trading and lying to his employees about his company's health, even as he unloaded hundreds of millions of his own stock, depriving his employees of their retirement funds and benefits. Early in the season, Patty shows she is willing to go to extreme, unethical, and illegal lengths to win her case. As the season progresses, Ellen becomes increasingly involved in the case and in Patty's tradecraft.

Ellen deduces that one reason she was hired was her personal connection to the case; her fiancé's sister turns out to be an important witness. Throughout much of the season, Ellen skirts the edges of unethical behavior, and she eventually crosses that line. As Ellen becomes increasingly devoted to the case, her relationship with her fiancé, David, becomes strained. The situation worsens when Patty betrays his sister. Eventually, Ellen and David tire of Patty, and Ellen publicly leaves Hewes & Associates. Nevertheless, she maintains an interest in the case and soon becomes personally and professionally embroiled in it again.

Throughout the first season, the series plays with time. Instead of unfolding in the present and showing flashbacks of the past, the main narrative unfolds several months in the past and is interspersed with flashes of events that are taking place in the present. These flashes gradually reveal that Ellen's fiancé, David, has been murdered and that Ellen, while staying at Patty's apartment, appears to have been attacked.

Season two

Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, and Tate Donovan return as regulars in the second season of the series. Season one recurring star Anastasia Griffith became a regular, while season one regular Ted Danson returned for five episodes. William Hurt, Timothy Olyphant and Marcia Gay Harden also joined the regular cast, while John Doman guest starred.

Once naive young attorney Ellen Parsons talks to an unknown person off-screen. Suddenly, she pulls out a gun before pulling the trigger twice.

Six months earlier, an old acquaintance of Patty's, scientist Daniel Purcell (William Hurt), convinces Patty to take a case involving a conspiracy between Purcell's scientific firm and a huge energy corporation, Ultima National Resources (UNR). Patty's initial refusal to assist Purcell is understood better when it is revealed that Purcell is the father of Patty's son, Michael, a relationship she abused to win a case during Michael's childhood. Currently, Purcell is having an affair with Patty's opponent in the courtroom, Claire Maddox (Marcia Gay Harden), the attorney of UNR's CEO. On a similar note, a partner in UNR, Dave Pell (Clarke Peters), conspires against her with Patty's husband, Phil, while Phil is also having an extramarital affair. When Phil's affair is anonymously leaked to the press (found to be by Patty), Patty kicks him out of their apartment. Ellen, still believing Patty had tried to have her killed, deals with her past by attending group grief counseling sessions and working with the FBI to bring Patty down. Patty's partner Tom Shayes, whose wife is pregnant with a son, continues to be in the dark on certain issues regarding cases. Eventually, Ellen uses Tom to further the FBI investigation, causing him to get fired in the process.

Similar to the first season, the majority of the narrative is past tense, with glimpses of the present. This season gradually reveals it is Patty that Ellen held at gunpoint, attempting to force the truth out of her. Several minutes after Ellen fires the gun, Patty is found bleeding in the elevator.

In the season finale, Ellen convinces Patty to bribe the judge to accept evidence that would otherwise be inadmissible, in a setup to incriminate Patty. At the same time, Patty makes a deal with Pell to call off the FBI and hand over the data proving UNR is using toxic chemicals. In return, Patty will drop the energy trading angle of the case. She also sets up Ellen to take the fall for bribing the judge. Ellen, meanwhile, procures a handgun. After destroying the FBI cameras in the room by shooting them, Ellen confronts Patty about her actions from season one, leaving to bribe the judge after Patty confesses that she was responsible for the attempted murder of Ellen. Soon thereafter, Patty is found bleeding in the elevator. Here, it is revealed that before her confrontation with Ellen, Patty was stabbed by Fin Garrity. When Ellen bribes the judge, her FBI handler arrests both her and the judge. As they leave, US Marshals arrest the corrupt agent Ellen was assisting, freeing Ellen.

Season three

Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, and Tate Donovan returned as regulars for the third season. Season 1 regular Ted Danson returned for five episodes. Martin Short and Campbell Scott joined the cast. Lily Tomlin and Keith Carradine special guest starred.

Patty is the victim of a car crash. The other car belongs to Tom Shayes, who is found dead in a dumpster. Ellen is implicated in Tom's murder because her blood-stained purse is found in the hands of a homeless man near the dumpster. When a detective questions Ellen, they discuss what the homeless man said, and the detective asks whether Ellen and Tom were romantically involved. Ellen replies, "We were starting a law firm together".

Six months earlier, Patty Hewes is tackling a new case. Appointed a trustee by the US government, she is tasked to recover billions of dollars lost to the largest investment fraud in Wall Street history: a fraudulent Ponzi scheme run by Louis Tobin (Len Cariou), a Bernie Madoff-type. Patty believes Tobin has hidden the money and that members of his family, specifically his loyal son Joe (Campbell Scott) and daughter Carol, secretive wife Marilyn (Lily Tomlin), and trusted attorney and family friend Leonard Winstone (Martin Short) know much more than they claim. Tom has a personal involvement because he invested in the Tobin fund and lost his savings and those of his parents and in-laws, which makes his work on the case a conflict of interest. Ellen, meanwhile, has stayed true to her promise not to return to Patty's firm and has avoided contact for the past year that she has been working at the District Attorney's office. Ellen runs into Tom, and she mentions she is having trouble cracking a drug case. Soon afterward, Ellen's case is suddenly resolved under suspicious circumstances, and she receives a package from Hewes & Associates containing an expensive Chanel bag from Patty (the same bloodstained bag that ends up in the hands of the homeless man). Believing Hewes & Associates is more capable than the D.A. to bring about restitution for the victims, Ellen begins to secretly cooperate with Patty and Tom, and they all get drawn into the Tobin family's world of deceit.

Patty and Ellen's bond resurfaces as they work on the case together. Throughout the third season, Ellen tries to prove that she can get to and manipulate Patty, which Patty figures out through Ellen's manipulation of her replacement at Hewes & Associates: a young, ambitious lawyer named Alex.

Season four

Glenn Close and Rose Byrne returned as regulars for the fourth season. John Goodman and Dylan Baker joined the cast. Chris Messina guest starred.

The fourth season opens to reveal Ellen's new job at another law firm (the same firm she was offered a position at in season one). Ending Ellen's search for a career-defining case, she begins researching and gathering witnesses for a wrongful-death suit against private military contractor Howard T. Erickson (John Goodman), who heads the "HighStar" security company. Erickson made his fortune supplying the U.S. government with security forces in Afghanistan and is protected by his connections within the highest echelons of power in Washington, D.C. During a high school reunion, Ellen enlists her old friend Chris Sánchez (Chris Messina), a HighStar employee, as her key witness. Unfortunately, the law firm Ellen works for, fearful of repercussions, rejects the case, forcing Ellen to seek resources for the case elsewhere. After Patty sees Ellen harassed by a supporter of HighStar while she and Ellen have lunch together, she offers Ellen everything necessary to file the case. As the case unfolds, Jerry Boorman (Dylan Baker), an opportunist deeply tied to Erickson and the CIA, works all angles to prevent the case from progressing, fearful that his true involvement in the wrongful-deaths will be discovered.

Once the case is clearly resolved, Ellen and Patty meet in Manhattan in a spot overlooked by the Statue of Liberty. Ellen is angry because Patty put Chris in danger by continuing the case despite her protest. In response, Patty offers Ellen her hand claiming that they "can do great things together". Ellen refuses and says goodbye.

Season five

Glenn Close and Rose Byrne returned as regulars for the fifth and final season. Ryan Phillippe joined the main cast. Chris Messina, Jenna Elfman, Janet McTeer and John Hannah guest starred.

After four seasons of manipulation and deceit that cross professional and personal lines, season five sets the stage for the final showdown between Patty and Ellen. In a storyline inspired by the vicissitudes of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange, Channing McClaren (Ryan Phillippe) is a computer expert and the iconoclastic founder of a website, McClarenTruth.org, devoted to government and corporate transparency. It is shown, in the premiere, that Ellen and Patty are set to go head to head in a case over the death of Ms. Walling (seen to have been attacked by two anonymous people), as Patty claims that McClaren murdered her, as well as stealing personal information and posting it on his site.

The final season opens with Patty walking into her office to see her granddaughter sitting at her desk drawing. Patty says to her, "Get out of Mommy's chair." The girl responds, "You're not my mommy." When Patty approaches the desk, Ellen appears in place of the girl, saying, "I love you, Mommy." The end of the season premiere depicts Patty being questioned by the police about Ellen's disappearance. Ellen is shown in an alley, unconscious and bleeding. While this case is occurring, Michael organizes a custody case over Catherine, with Ellen agreeing to testify against Patty after the McClaren case was over. Also, in Ellen's personal life, her mother has left her father after he threw something at her and she was scared. She lived in Ellen's apartment for a while before moving into her own apartment, only to move back in with Ellen.

The McClaren case continues, with both Ellen and Patty being contacted by a hacker named Samurai Seven. He sold information to both of them about the involvement of Princefield in Naomi's death. However, only Patty receives this information and then Samurai Seven is found dead in a burnt-out car. In court, Ellen suspects that Patty has a personal relationship with the judge, which seems to be confirmed when Patty receives a personal call from him. However, once Ellen has raised attention to this and removed the judge from the case, Patty reveals that it was all a setup, and that she and the judge disliked each other. When Ellen finds out that Patty has received the Princefield information, she tells the new judge and Patty is forced to give Ellen the information, losing her leverage on the case.

Cast and characters

The series details the mentor-protegee relationship between high-stakes attorney Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) and newly graduated attorney Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). During the first three seasons Tom Shayes (Tate Donovan) acts as Patty's associate, right-hand man and later partner. Michael Nouri stars in the first two seasons as Patty's husband Phil Grey, and makes periodic guest appearances in subsequent seasons due to their characters' separation. Zachary Booth's character recurs throughout the series as Patty's damaged son, Michael Hewes.

The first season mainly focused on a case involving Arthur Frobisher, played by Ted Danson, a man blamed for embezzlement and fraud; Željko Ivanek played his regretful attorney Ray Fiske. Noah Bean starred as David Connor, Ellen's fiancé, with Anastasia Griffith recurring prominently as Katie Connor, David's sister and the key witness in the Frobisher case (at the end of the first season Bean and Ivanek leave the main cast with the death of their characters, but still serve as occasional guest stars with their characters appearing in flashbacks). Notable recurring characters during the first season were played by Peter Facinelli, Philip Bosco, and Peter Riegert.

The second season found Patty and her firm inadvertently thrown into a massive case against the billion dollar-worth energy corporation Ultima National Resources (UNR). William Hurt played Daniel Purcell, a mysterious man from Patty's past who initiates the case and puts it in Patty's hands. John Doman played Walter Kendrick (in a billed recurring role), the primary antagonist of the season as the CEO of UNR, while Marcia Gay Harden joined the cast as UNR's misinformed but smart and vicious lead counsel Claire Maddox. On the personal front, Anastasia Griffith returned as Ellen's friend Katie Connor, who helps her in taking down Frobisher, while Timothy Olyphant played a man in grief counseling who bonds with Ellen under ambiguous motives. Returning recurring actors in prominent roles were Ted Danson, David Costabile, Tom Aldredge, Mario van Peebles and Glenn Kessler. Notable recurring characters during the second season were played by Clarke Peters, Brett Cullen, Kevin Corrigan and Darrell Hammond.

The third season, inspired by the Bernie Madoff scandal, tracked Patty's aggressive pursuit of bringing down the disgraced Tobin family after they were revealed to be a part of a Ponzi scheme that ripped off millions of citizens. Campbell Scott played Joe Tobin, the shamed but ultimately spoiled and selfish youngest son of the family. Martin Short played the family's longtime trusted lawyer Leonard Winstone who finds his place in this family changes as the Tobins reveal their true colors. Lily Tomlin special guest starred throughout the season as the secretive matriarch Marilyn Tobin, while Len Cariou appeared as the patriarch of the family blamed for all of the fraud and conspiracy. Returning recurring actors in prominent roles were Ted Danson, and also Timothy Olyphant in a single guest appearance. Notable recurring characters during the third season were played by Dominic Chianese, Mädchen Amick, Ben Shenkman, and Keith Carradine. Wallace Shawn also made a notable guest appearance.

Production

Conception

Creators Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman developed the series as centering on the relationship between a mentor and a protégée: two women in powerful positions. Although the initial story idea did not have the series set in the legal arena, the creators felt the legal world included women who commanded power and influence. The concept was inspired by the creators' interactions with their superiors and with their experiences in the entertainment industry. Todd Kessler addressed how he views gender as playing into the series' narrative saying, "I don't think we look at the story as, this is a great female story... We see the Patty-Ellen relationship as a universal one between anyone who has had a boss and goes into a job thinking that success is working hard and doing what the boss asks and realizing that it's only a small percentage of it." The setting veers away from typical legal dramas, whose storylines are often set inside courtrooms, and instead it describes the characters' lives and interactions outside the courtroom, thereby focusing on the behind-the-scenes power maneuvering and manipulation. Concerning the characters Zelman notes, "We don't look at any of the characters as good or bad or anything like that. What really motivated us to write about this world, first and foremost, was our interest in power dynamics, the dynamics of power in society."

Writing

Each season, established lawyer Patty Hewes takes one major case. But seasons often simultaneously deal with other minor cases and later seasons focus more on Ellen's cases rather than Patty's.

Season 1 focuses on a class action lawsuit against the fraudulent multi-billionaire CEO of a defunct company; the plot was inspired by various corporate scandals and characters involved in them, most notably the 2001 Enron scandal. Season 2 deals with the energy industry and related environmental issues; the story is influenced by recent and ongoing environmental cases in the United States in the mining industry and by the events of the 2001 California energy crisis. The writers were guided by environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who shared his experience in the field with various corporations and CEOs. Season 3 is largely based on the 2009 Bernie Madoff scandal. Season 4 describes events based on the Blackwater Security Consulting scandal.

The series uses nonlinear narrative, employing flashforwards, foreshadowing, and red herring narration techniques. This approach has given the writers flexibility in storytelling. The narrative handles multiple plot lines and has loose ends. Zelman explains, "We know where we're going. We have tent-pole moments that we're building to all the way through to the end, and it's very clear to us where we want to end up. [However], we want to leave room for improvisation..." While the two different time-frames format was initially intended for the first season, in preparation for the second season the producers felt that the nonlinear format had become a signature of the series and decided to continue it for the second season. With the serialized format of the show decreasing the viewership, Todd Kessler contended that the second season would contain stand-alone storylines to make the show more accessible.

Casting

When creators Kesslers and Zelman pitched the show to executives at FX, network president John Landgraf suggested they consider Glenn Close for the main character Patty Hewes. Close had earlier worked on FX's The Shield and had conveyed to the network officials her interest in being cast as a lead in another show, so long as the show was set in New York City. After a three-hour meeting with the creators, Close accepted the role, impressed particularly by the powerful persona of the character "as the head of her own law firm [...] in a male-dominated world". Describing her character, Close said, "Patty is a complicated character... She's not somebody who you can easily characterize. People tend to say she's manipulative and evil, which always makes me laugh, because I think women and power are still problematic, especially in this country. I take that as a compliment." In preparation for the role, Close met with several female attorneys in New York, including Mary Jo White, Lorna Schofield, and Patricia Hynes.

The creators cast Ted Danson for the part of Arthur Frobisher, a corrupt billionaire CEO, because of his role in The Onion Field (1979). Danson was attracted to the project immediately after learning that Close would be playing the lead role. As part of his preparation, Danson studied the collapse of Enron by watching documentaries such as The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) and meeting CEOs of various Fortune 500 corporations. The producers also suggested that Danson consult Close's acting coach Harold Guskin. Danson was initially hesitant about this suggestion, but found the consultation extremely helpful.

Series cast members Rose Byrne and Tate Donovan, portraying Ellen Parsons and Tom Shayes respectively, secured their parts through auditions. Byrne had been unavailable when she was initially approached because she was shooting the film 28 Weeks Later but auditioned later when the part had not yet been cast. Both Byrne and Donovan prepared for their roles by consulting lawyers and attending court trials. According to producers, the characters of Ellen's fiancé David Connor and his sister Katie were the hardest to cast.

For the first-season cast, Noah Bean, who was cast as David, said he "gave an awful first audition" but managed to get the part when given a second chance while waiting for an elevator. When British actor Anastasia Griffith auditioned for the part of Katie Connor, the producers were hesitant to have a British actor play an American, especially since they already had an Australian (Byrne) playing an American. However, Griffith convinced the producers by speaking in an American accent throughout their follow-up meeting. At the time of casting, Griffith's role was intended only for three episodes, but it was extended after the producers realized the character's success. Željko Ivanek scored the initially very minor role of Ray Fiske through an audition, but as producers watched Ivanek's work in the dailies, they beefed up the role considerably.

Title sequence

The title sequence, set to the song "When I Am Through with You" by The VLA, depicts images of New York City public sculpture, including The Glory of Commerce atop Grand Central Terminal, Civic Fame atop the Manhattan Municipal Building, and Asia in front of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House. The frieze of the New York County Courthouse is also shown, inscribed with a quote from George Washington, "The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government".

Move to DirecTV

Due to the low ratings and high costs, it was speculated early that Season 3 might be the show's last. However, Sony reached an agreement with DirecTV to share the cost of future seasons with its Audience Network (formerly The 101 Network and originally Freeview). Other outlets were also approached about sharing the cost of a new season. However, no other network opted to pick it up, leaving Audience Network the new broadcaster. The New York Times reported that FX continued to hold a small stake in the show and that "[The] series offers a way for the Audience Network to define itself as a provider of niche entertainment for an educated, upper-middle-class demographic, an experiment it started by picking up the football drama Friday Night Lights from NBC." Glenn Close said she always thought the show was "kind of a tricky fit for FX," further stating, "I think FX was defined by The Shield, which was a testosterone-laden show, and they continue to be a testosterone-laden network. I think we were kind of off-brand for them." Damages made its first premiere on DirecTV on January 5, 2011. Seasons one through three ran until the season 4 premiere on July 13, 2011.

Home media

All five seasons have been released on DVD in regions 1, 2, and 4, while only the first season was originally released on Blu-ray. Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on Blu-ray and DVD on February 26, 2019.

Damages is also available on Amazon Prime Video, the iTunes Store, and Disney+.

Reception

Critical response

The first season of Damages received generally positive reviews from critics with the series ranking in the top ten lists of several critics, who include Robert Abele (LA Weekly), Robert Lloyd (Los Angeles Times), and Alessandra Stanley (The New York Times). TV Guide ranked the season one finale (episode #52) on its list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".

Season 2 was met with further critical praise, along with season 3, which Verne Gay (from Newsday) rated A+ and termed it, "Gorgeously acted, written, paced, structured and conceived, it remains one of the best shows on TV--and maybe the most enjoyably addictive." When the series returned for its fourth season in July 2011, after it was saved by DirecTV, Maureen Ryan (of The Huffington Post) reacted positively said "Damages knows what it's about these days. And if you want to see some prime, grade-A acting, well, you could do a lot worse". TV Guide's Matt Roush praised the series and stated that "Damages is worth it. And for those without access to DirecTV, worth the wait."

Ratings

The series premiere on July 24, 2007, drew 3.7 million viewers, with total of 5.1 million viewers including re-airing on the same night, becoming the most watched cable television program for the night. However, the viewership declined over the first season, partially due to the story's serialized approach, with the season finale drawing 1.4 million viewers. Regardless of its critical acclaim, Damages seriously suffered in its second season ratings. Season Two premiered with only 1.7 million viewers watching, even with the momentum that was built following its Golden Globe and Emmy wins. Despite the show's low ratings, FX picked up and secured the program for a third season. John Landgraf hoped the show would continue on the air following its third season; after taking into account the encore presentations and "extraordinary" DVR numbers, the ratings appeared to be quite good.

The third-season premiere, which aired on January 25, 2010, only managed to draw in 1.483 million viewers. The third-season finale managed to pull in only 960,000 viewers.

Awards and nominations

Damages won four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, a Casting Society of America Award, and a Satellite Award. Additionally, the series was nominated for a Producers Guild of America Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Television Critics Association Awards, among others.

For its first season, Damages was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards, along with six other nominations. Co-creators Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman were nominated for writing and Allen Coulter for directing the pilot episode ("Get Me a Lawyer"). Glenn Close received a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, with co-stars Ted Danson and Željko Ivanek nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Close and Ivanek won in their respective categories, with the series also receiving a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series. The series earned four nominations at the 65th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Television Series – Drama, Close for Best Actress, and Rose Byrne and Ted Danson for their supporting roles. Close won the award in her category.

For its second season, Damages was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy nominations at the 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards, with Glenn Close receiving her second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Ted Danson also received another nomination, for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Rose Byrne earned her first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and William Hurt was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. It was also nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Todd A. Kessler for "Trust Me") and received its second and final nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. On September 20, 2009, the show won its fourth Emmy Award when Glenn Close won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. The series earned three nominations at the 67th Golden Globe Awards, including Close for Best Actress, and Byrne and William Hurt for their supporting roles.

For its third season, Damages earned its most acting nominations at the 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards. Along with Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, and Ted Danson returning in their respective categories, featured cast additions Martin Short and Lily Tomlin as newly nominated actors. Short was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and Tomlin was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. For the first time, Damages was unable to win a major Primetime Emmy despite their success in the nominations, as Glenn Close lost for the first time in her category, losing to Kyra Sedgwick.