FX is taking a risk with Tyrant.
The ambitious prime-time soap debuts at 9 p.m. today. Is America ready for a family drama set in the Middle East? At least it's not another series in Los Angeles or New York.
Director and executive producer Michael Lehmann (Big Love, True Blood) says, "Part of what this show is trying to do is to humanize these people who have not been humanized in American entertainment -- but not apologize for them either."
FX says, "Tyrant tells the story of an ordinary, unassuming American family drawn into the inner workings of a fictional, turbulent Middle Eastern nation."
Our hero is Bassam "Barry" Al-Fayeed (Adam Rayner in his first starring role), the youngest son of a dictator. Barry, a pediatrician, returns to his homeland for his nephew's wedding after a self-imposed 20-year exile in America.
It doesn't take long for Barry to be thrown back into the family turmoil and national politics he knew as a kid.
Barry's father and older brother (and heir apparent) Jamal (Ashraf Barhom) believe in ruling with an iron fist. As does Jamal's wife, Leila (Moran Atias). That makes Barry uncomfortable.
Barry's blond, all-American wife, Molly (Jennifer Finnigan), struggles to understand her husband's apprehension, and Barry is unable -- maybe unwilling -- to make his American family understand his unease about returning home.
Emma (Anne Winters) is their 17-year-old daughter. She shares her father's disgust for the opulence and extravagance of her Middle Eastern relatives.
However, 16-year-old Sammy (Noah Silver) is dazzled by the lavish lifestyle his new favored status brings. But this is the Middle East and Sammy "dangerously tests cultural taboos with his thinly disguised interest in handsome family bodyguard Abdul (Mehdi Dehbi)."
Barry's father dies and names him his successor instead of Jamal. Now what? It sounds at this point exactly like a Middle Eastern version of The Godfather with Barry as Michael Corleone.
"Initially, it's very seductive and beguiling," Rayner says of Barry's new circumstances, "because it's so beautiful. But as the story starts to unfold, you realize how complicated and damaged -- and damaging -- that world is.
"Showing that the world is not black and white is, in a sense, what the show is about. It will be a thriller, both in terms of action and political intrigue."
The series was developed by Homeland producers Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff, along with Lost writer Craig Wright.
"History is really being made in this part of the world," Gordon tells The Hollywood Reporter, "and I think for a lot of people, particularly an American audience, it's confusing. This just felt like a great way ... to put faces and a family saga there."
Will America watch? That remains to be seen.
• Covert Affairs. There's no question that Covert Affairs is working. Piper Perabo and her USA Network hit return for Season 5 at 9 p.m. today, taking on Tyrant head to head.
Fans take note: Perabo's Annie Walker is blond again. And she's fresh off an entire season where she faked her own death, went brunette and disappeared.
Her season-long goal was to take down the evil, evil Henry Wilcox, played by Greory Itzin. In my book, Itzin is the most brilliant sinister villain on TV today. Another prime example was his President Charles Logan on 24.
Last season, Annie finally fulfilled her quest. When we last saw her, she cornered Wilcox in an alley and gunned him down. Fans cheered.
In the new season, we can expect Annie to be easing back into her real life and work with the CIA. Will she and Auggie (Christopher Gorham) get back together? We'll see.
The new arc for this season will be Annie working with Ryan McQuaid (Nic Bishop, Body of Proof), a billionaire private contractor and former Navy SEAL.
One problem. McQuaid may have a secret agenda. Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Remains to be seen.
• Disappointing news. I liked Chyler Leigh as Dr. Lexie Grey on Grey's Anatomy (she was killed off in the Season 8 finale). I liked Jacky Ido in Inglourious Basterds. But together they have little chemistry and their acting is stiff in the new NBC action adventure Taxi Brooklyn.
At least that was the case for the pilot where the style (car chases, explosions) overshadowed substance.
Taxi Brooklyn debuts at 9 p.m. Wednesday. Hopefully, it improves.
Leigh plays tough homicide detective Cat Sullivan searching for her father's killer. Ido plays Leo Romba, a French-African taxi driver dodging deportation with whom she teams after she's busted to foot patrol.
Along for the ride are veteran actors Jose Zuniga (CSI), Jennifer Esposito (Blue Bloods) and Ally Walker (Profiler).
• And nobody noticed. Fox has yanked the low-rated I Wanna Marry 'Harry ' and the improv series Riot from the schedule.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 06/24/2014