Last Resort
Under the familiar heading of "shows gone too soon," ABC's robust, though at times berserk, military thriller Last Resort is the only failed freshman series from this season's underwhelming fall crop that I would argue deserved more of a chance — or at least a tryout in a more appropriate time period — to catch on as it figured out its sprawling narrative. With the great Andre Braugher and the appealing Scott Speedman leading a strong and (on the island at least) exotic cast, this action drama about a rogue nuclear sub standing up against a homeland gone haywire is unlike anything else on network TV. Which made it a risk, though one well worth taking, and at least ABC let the producers complete the initial 13-episode order, which now comes to a too-early, but let's hope satisfying, end (Thursday, 8/7c).
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Scott Speedman, Rachael Taylor
ABC has canceled Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue, TVGuide.com has learned.
The network will...
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Dennis Quaid
Send questions and comments to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!
Question: I was wondering whether your affection for Last Resort had waned since the pilot. I've seen comments that the show has been uneven, but I've been absolutely hooked. I'm not trying to play the comparison game with some of Shawn Ryan's other excellent series (The Shield, Terriers) because maybe it isn't quite up to that incredible level, but I still think it's the best new show of the season
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Scott Speedman
The characters of ABC's Last Resort have constantly had to ask themselves how far they will go to defend their actions and prove their innocence. But have they reached their limit?
Fall TV Popularity Contest: And the winner is...
In Thursday's episode (8/7c, ABC), Capt. Chaplin (Andre Braugher) and executive officer Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman) may find out, as they fend off an attack unlike anything they've faced before...
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Andre Braugher and Scott Speedman
Last Resort co-creator Shawn Ryan knows he could stand to gain more viewers. Thus far, the show has averaged just 7.8 million viewers and a 1.9 in the demo. Fortunately, he thinks Thursday's episode (8/7c, ABC) is an engaging hour, both for fans who have already sampled the show and newcomers who are curious about diving in.
Last Resort Creators promise more than bombs and submarines
"I think it's a perfect time for people who haven't seen the show to come and check it out. It's a great entry point," Ryan tells TVGuide.com...
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Andre Braugher
ABC's Last Resort is undoubtedly one of this TV season's boldest shows. But that also makes it one of the riskiest.
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Co-created by The Shield's Shawn Ryan and screenwriter Karl Gajdusek, Last Resort tells the story of Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher), the captain of the nuclear submarine the USS Colorado. When Chaplin and his executive officer Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman) question an order to fire warheads into Pakistan, their sub is fired upon by another American vessel, forcing them to take up residence on the French Polynesian island of Sainte Marina until they can piece together what happened and prove that they aren't traitors.
But can the show sustain its high-action, serialized premise on a female-skewing network like ABC? The creators certainly think so....
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Daisy Betts
On a night that's hardly starved for appealing programming, two of the season's most enjoyable and intriguing pilots make their bow.
First, the underdog: ABC's Last Resort (8/7c), an electrifying military-gone-amok thriller that bridges the macho hardware of Tom Clancy with the suspense of paranoid Cold War classics from the '60s like Fail Safe and Seven Days in May. (Look them up if you've never seen them.) This series is like nothing else on network TV, which is why one's first impulse is to pray for its survival. It's also airing in what has become one of ABC's more treacherous time periods, and beyond the fact that there are very attractive people in the cast (starting with Felicity alum Scott Speedman) and the story is heavily serialized, it has nearly nothing in common tonally with the night's sudsy anchor, Grey's Anatomy.
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Andre Braugher and Daisy Betts
In this age of ambiguous TV heroes, it's clear in ABC's new thriller Last Resort that Submarine Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) and executive officer Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman) — forced into exile after demanding confirmation of orders to fire their weapons — are the good guys. The show's real intrigue comes from trying to figure out who the bad guys are. Co-creators and executive producers Shawn Ryan (The Shield) and Karl Gajdusek (Dead Like Me) answered our showrunner survey to explain why we should book a trip to the Last Resort (which launches Thursday, September 27, at 8/7c).
TV Guide Magazine: I've got room in my life to watch one more show. Why should it be yours?
Shawn Ryan and Karl Gajdusek: It will be the show that...
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Michael Mosley
Pan Am alum Michael Mosley has joined the cast of ABC's upcoming submarine thriller Last Resort, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively.
Last Resort follows a renegade crew of a nuclear submarine, led by Men of a Certain Age's Andre Braugher, who goes on the run after defying an order to fire nuclear missiles. They find sanctuary at a NATO base, where they declare themselves the world's smallest nuclear nation.
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Signed on as a recurring guest star, Mosley will play...
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Robert Patrick
ABC is handing out both good and bad news this week.
Robert Patrick has been promoted to series regular on the new Shawn Ryan drama Last Resort, TVGuide.com has confirmed. TVLine.com first reported the news.
VIDEO: Get your first look at ABC's new series Nashville, Last Resort and more
In the new thriller...
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