Damages season 2
| Damages | |
|---|---|
| Season 2 | |
 Region 1 DVD artwork | |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Release | |
| Original network | FX |
| Original release | January 7 – April 1, 2009 |
| Season chronology | |
The second season of the FX legal drama series Damages premiered on January 7, 2009 and concluded on April 1, 2009. It consisted of thirteen episodes, bringing the series total to 26. Damages was created by brothers Todd and Glenn Kessler along with Daniel Zelman, each of whom served as executive producers and contributed seven scripts for the season, including the premiere and the finale.
The second season, like the first, follows two different timelines. The primary timeline follows Patty, Ellen, and Tom as the firm goes up against an energy company who have engaged in unethical practices. A former lover of Patty's, Daniel Purcell (William Hurt), brings the matter to her attention, but then inexplicably backs out, leaving Patty up against UNR CEO Walter Kendrick (John Doman) and his fierce lawyer Claire Maddox (Marcia Gay Harden). Meanwhile, Ellen works with the FBI to bring down Patty, while also seeking revenge on Arthur Frobisher for his presumed role in her fiance's death. Ellen is unaware that Patty is suspicious of her, and that Frobisher's criminal connections appear to extend to her new friend Wes (Timothy Olyphant).
A second timeline takes place six months later, when Ellen meets with an unknown person in a hotel room, and subsequently appears to shoot them.
Cast and characters
Main cast
- Glenn Close as Patty Hewes (13 episodes)
- Rose Byrne as Ellen Parsons (13 episodes)
- Tate Donovan as Thomas Shayes (12 episodes)
- Anastasia Griffith as Katie Connor (7 episodes)
- Marcia Gay Harden as Claire Maddox (7 episodes)
- Timothy Olyphant as Wes Krulik (9 episodes)
- Ted Danson as Arthur Frobisher (5 episodes)
- William Hurt as Daniel Purcell (10 episodes)
Recurring cast
- Glenn Kessler as Agent L.J. Werner (12 episodes)
- Zachary Booth as Michael Hewes (10 episodes)
- John Doman as Walter Kendrick (10 episodes)
- David Costabile as Bearded Man/Detective Rick Messer (9 episodes)
- Michael Nouri as Phil Grey (9 episodes)
- Mario Van Peebles as Agent Randall Harrison (9 episodes)
- Clarke Peters as Dave Pell (8 episodes)
- Darrell Hammond as The Deacon (7 episodes)
- Tom Aldredge as Uncle Pete (6 episodes)
- Brett Cullen as Wayne Sutry (6 episodes)
- Paige Turco as Christine Purcell (6 episodes)
- Kevin Corrigan as Finn Garrity (4 episodes)
- Michael Pemberton as Malcolm (4 episodes)
- Lynn Cohen as Stefania McKee (3 episodes)
- Wendy Moniz as Jill Burnham (3 episodes)
- Tom Noonan as Detective Victor Huntley (3 episodes)
- Željko Ivanek as Ray Fiske (2 episodes)
- Matthew Davis as Josh Reston (2 episodes)
- Noah Bean as David Connor (1 episode)
- Philip Bosco as Hollis Nye (1 episode)
- Michael Gaston as Roger Kastle (1 episode)
- Todd A. Kessler as Perry the Doorman (1 episode)
- Debra Monk as Denise Parsons (1 episode)
- Jennifer Roszell as Deb Shayes (1 episode)
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "I Lied, Too" | Todd A. Kessler | Todd A. Kessler & Glenn Kessler & Daniel Zelman | January 7, 2009 | 1.72[1] |
| 15 | 2 | "Burn It, Shred It, I Don't Care" | Jean de Segonzac | Todd A. Kessler & Glenn Kessler & Daniel Zelman | January 14, 2009 | 1.14[2] |
| 16 | 3 | "I Knew Your Pig" | Constantine Makris | Todd A. Kessler & Glenn Kessler & Daniel Zelman | January 21, 2009 | 0.76[3] |
| 17 | 4 | "Hey! Mr. Pibb!" | Mario Van Peebles | Aaron Zelman | January 28, 2009 | 1.03[4] |
| 18 | 5 | "I Agree, It Wasn't Funny" | Tate Donovan | Mark Fish | February 4, 2009 | 0.85[5] |
| 19 | 6 | "A Pretty Girl in a Leotard" | Greg Yaitanes | Adam Stein | February 11, 2009 | 0.94[6] |
| 20 | 7 | "New York Sucks" | Matthew Penn | Jeremy Doner | February 18, 2009 | 0.86[7] |
| 21 | 8 | "They Had to Tweeze That Out of My Kidney" | Michael Pressman | Aaron Zelman | February 25, 2009 | 0.89[8] |
| 22 | 9 | "You Got Your Prom Date Pregnant" | Ed Bianchi | Mark Fish | March 4, 2009 | 0.97[9] |
| 23 | 10 | "Uh Oh, Out Come the Skeletons" | Tate Donovan | Todd A. Kessler & Glenn Kessler & Daniel Zelman | March 11, 2009 | 0.70[10] |
| 24 | 11 | "London. Of Course" | Andy Wolk | Todd A. Kessler & Daniel Zelman | March 18, 2009 | 0.63[11] |
| 25 | 12 | "Look What He Dug Up This Time" | Matthew Penn | Daniel Zelman & Glenn Kessler | March 25, 2009 | 0.89[12] |
| 26 | 13 | "Trust Me" | Todd A. Kessler | Glenn Kessler & Todd A. Kessler | April 1, 2009 | 1.05[13] |
Production
FX renewed the series for a second season that began airing in January 2009.[14] It was originally scheduled to begin airing during summer 2008, but due to the Writer's Guild Strike, it was pushed back,[15] resulting with the production for season 2 starting exactly 11 months after the series premiered on FX.
Reception
Awards and nominations
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. The series again was nominated for direction and the show itself was nominated again 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.[16]
The series earned three nominations at the 67th Golden Globe Awards, including Close for Best Actress, and Byrne and Hurt for their supporting roles.[17]
Critical reviews
The second season of Damages was met with mostly high praise, and it earned 81 out of 100 based on 18 reviews on the aggregate review website Metacritic, which qualifies as "universal acclaim".[18]
References
- ^ Seidman, Robert (January 13, 2009). "Monk, WWE RAW, Secret Life and iCarly lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (January 21, 2009). "Updated:WWE RAW, Cinderella, iCarly and Monk lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (January 27, 2009). "Updated:Obama inauguration, WWE RAW and Burn Notice lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (February 3, 2009). "The Closer, Monk and Burn Notice lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (February 10, 2009). "Monk , WWE RAW , The Closer and Burn Notice lead cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (February 18, 2009). "Updated: NBA All-Star festivities, The Closer, WWE RAW, and Monk lead week, Damages to return despite ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (February 24, 2009). "WWE RAW, The Closer and Monk lead weekly cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 3, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (March 3, 2009). "WWE RAW, The Closer and President Obama lead cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (March 10, 2009). "iCarly, Burn Notice and WWE RAW top cable charts". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (March 17, 2009). "WWE RAW, Cars, Hannah Montana and SpongeBob Lead Weekly Cable Viewing". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (March 24, 2009). "WWE RAW, Hannah Montana and Northern Lights lead cable show rankings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 16, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (March 31, 2009). "Kids' Choice Awards, Penguins of Madagascar and WWE RAW lead cable". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 17, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (April 7, 2009). "Damages season finale draws few, WWE RAW, NCIS lead cable viewing". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ "FX Sets Return Dates for Nip/Tuck and Damages" (Press release). FX. November 12, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
- ^ Hale, Mike (January 5, 2009). "Better Than the Fall? A Host of TV Series, New and Not". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
- ^ "Damages". Emmys.com. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
- ^ "HFPA - Nominations and Winners". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on December 15, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
- ^ "Damages: Season 2". Metacritic. Retrieved June 15, 2012.