The Brink

Trailer (HBO)

The Brink Featurette (HBO)

Synopsis:

A political comedy centered on US government manipulation of events in the Middle East and South Asia. The story is told from the perspectives of a US secretary of state, a low level diplomatic functionary and a naval fighter pilot.

Star Power:

• Golden Globe nominee Jack Black ("Kung Fu Panda", "King Kong").
• Academy Award winner Tim Robbins ("Shawshank Redemption", "Mystic River", "War of the Worlds").
• Tony Award and Emmy nominee Pablo Schreiber ("The Manchurian Candidate", "Orange is the New Black").
• Five time Emmy winner and Golden Globe nominee John Larroquette ("Night Court", "The Practice").

Ratings:

IMDB: 77%
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% (4.2/5 based on average rating as of Aug 2015, season 1).

Length:

season 1: (current) 10 episodes.
season 2: Show has been renewed

Notes:

This show takes the same approach as an old Tom Cruise movie "Lions for lambs", and gives you three distinct but overlapping perspectives on foreign relations and war. However it is definitely a comedy, not a serious look at the subject matter. The three main characters are very good, and the supporting cast is pretty funny. The Brink is somewhat vanilla and lacks the edginess possessed by many other high powered entries on cable recently. Fun show to watch, but there's nothing groundbreaking about it, which probably explains why critics are hard on it even though general audiences seem to like it.

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