This deliciously soapy miniseries (or canceled "limited series event") certainly deserved a second season. As it stands at six episodes, it seems half-finished. Powerhouse Sigourney Weaver surely had so much more planned for her character, but her work here is staggeringly human regardless of runtime. She's crafted a complex former First Lady and current Secretary of State that borrows nothing from inspiration Hillary Clinton, inviting no unfavorable comparisons and showing Weaver as competent a leading lady as ever.
Sebastian Stan and the dashing James Wolk are the other cast standouts, though Vanessa Redgrave makes quite an impression in a cameo. Ellen Burstyn chews the scenery nicely while Ciarán Hinds tries to do the same. Carla Gugino and Brittany Ishibashi are window dressing compared to everyone else.
Some storylines fall flat. A plot about a Chinese submarine sunk off the California coast is a bit lame and some of the relationship drama is unconvincing. But Stan portrays one of the more interesting gay characters on television in quite some time, even if he has a cliché drug problem. Scenes involving his suicide attempt are moving, as is his affair with a married Republican Congressman.
Ultimately, it's Weaver and Wolk who have the most interesting dynamic opposite one another. In a just world, they'd both pick up easy Emmys for their work. But at this point I'd settle for them to just get another series.
