FOX Takes Risk With Excellent “Lonestar,” Series Premieres Monday

By now, television viewers have undoubtedly heard all of the hype–“Lonestar” is far and away the best new drama on network television. Of course, while the excess of praise it has received was intended as a compliment, being “the best” among the pack of 2010-11 dramas is hardly an achievement. The only other even remotely interesting new series are “The Event” and “No Ordinary Family,” and neither is a surefire winner. “The Event” is intriguing based on its potential (and based on television’s need for a suspenseful serialized drama), while “No Ordinary Family” is more “cute” than “good.”

But unlike on the comedy front, in which last year’s most buzzed-about series (“Modern Family” and “Glee”) were able to quickly find audiences, there is far less of a guarantee that new drama “Lonestar” will emerge as a ratings sensation. Yes, it has a lead-in from flagship FOX drama “House,” but it also goes head-to-head with CBS’ 9PM comedy hour, NBC’s “The Event” and ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” in one of the most competitive timeslots on television.

More importantly, for as good as the show is, its potential mass appeal as a network series is very difficult to gauge.

“Lonestar” stars James Wolk as Robert/Bob Allen, a charming, expert con man who is presently living a double life (both of which present financial opportunity). He spends some days married to Cat Thatcher (Adrianne Palicki), the sophisticated, beautiful daughter of his mark, oil tycoon Clint Thatcher (Jon Voight), who views Bob as a potentially-important player in the future of his company. When not with that family, Robert lives a modest life as the charming boyfriend of Lindsay (Eloise Mumford), a pretty, yet naive small town girl from Midland, Texas. Using his refined charm in that small town community, Robert is also able to successfully con her neighbors out of their live savings, promising investment opportunities that do not exist.

The premise, unfortunately, can give audiences the wrong idea about the show. The “double life” idea, especially given the focus of Robert’s romantic involvements, seems to suggest a cheesy nighttime soap opera. The con man character, similarly, can easily be a gimmicky network enhancement to an otherwise-generic drama. So much about the show, on paper, comes across as corny and cliched, and the result is a possibility that potential viewers will overlook “Lonestar” based on improper assumptions.

It is similarly unfair, however, to say that this is a deep, investigative character study in the precise vein of a drama on AMC. It is not that overly serious or dramatic, and it still retains the light-heartedness and accessibility needed to work on a broadcast network. The dialogue is more obvious, the characters are more predictable and the storytelling is more simplistic.

But from a quality standpoint, “Lonestar” is definitely more like the latter than the former. It does go far deeper than most network dramas in terms of crafting characters, and its pacing definitely assumes viewers have an attention span. Not everything is obvious and overdrawn, making for a series that will require a mental investment to gain full appreciation.

So much of that quality comes from James Wolk’s phenomenal turn as the lead character. This is not necessarily an Emmy-worthy performance based on the style and format of the show, but the portrayal is so well-executed and deep that after one episode, Robert Allen is established as more tangible, relatable and intriguing than many characters on veteran dramas, let alone the season’s new entries. Instead of playing the expectedly smooth, fast-talking, southern charmer, Wolk delivers a more nuanced take on the character, creating someone who is brilliant at conning people without drifting too far from the realm of believability.

Coming across nearly exactly like a younger version of “Friday Night Lights” star Kyle Chandler, Wolk has good looks and a strong presence without looking like he was blatantly designed for television (he’s someone women would say is “handsome” rather than “hot”). He thus projects an honest, “down home” charisma; he is someone whose likability dictates his line delivery (rather than vice versa). Despite the failure of their recent pilots, Alex O’Loughlin and Kelli Giddish managed to score new shows for this season based on their charismatic performances in those otherwise-disappointing series. Wolk is not only more authentically likable than O’Loughlin and Giddish; he also brings significantly more acting chops to the table.

So special about his delivery is that his natural tone and vibe is almost that of a “dork.” He knows how to work his smile and sell the cleverness of his character’s trickery, but his actual mannerisms are not always that of a showman. It is the same performance magic that works for Jon Hamm as “Mad Men”‘s Don Draper. Because everything about the performance is honest, viewers can easily respect, if not outright apprecaite, the character’s actions and thus find no qualms about showing symapthy when those actions become morally ambiguous.

Granted, part of the success of Robert Allen comes from the expert manner in which the character was created. This is, in no way, a stereotypical con artist, nor does the character develop in a particularly predictable manner. Yes, his conscience unsurprisingly starts to kick in, but it is not as if the motivation for his wanting to make things right stems purely from a burning, lifelong struggle to deal with bilking people out of money. Instead, his guilt comes from the value he places on his relationships, a far more candid and honest glimpse into the manner with which this type of individual would go about atoning for his sins.

Further underscoring Robert’s humanity is his relationship with his far more cynical and pragmatic father John (David Keith in a pitch-perfect turn). The dynamics of this relationship, in which Robert constantly plays host to a battle between the wishes of his heart and the demands of his overbearing but level-headed father, serve as fuel for the series, rooting much of Robert’s personal struggle in a simple, yet realistic family issue.

“Lonestar” uses this father-son dynamic to ensure viewers appreciate the lead character’s role as a protagnoist. Whether evidenced by his coming to the aid of a teenage convenience store clerk humiliated by his controlling father or by his breaking down in tears as he acknowledges that his father’s advice about Lindsay, while cold, is quite practical, the lifelong battle to help emotion prevail has become pivotal in defining Robert. Even as he makes the first stride towards escaping his father’s shackles in the episode’s closing moments, Robert’s history of contemplation between passion and pragmatism should make for an intriguing motif going forward.

As Clint Thatcher, an oil tycoon and Bob Allen’s stepfather, Jon Voight delivers yet another larger-than-life performance. The character, played expertly and authentically by Voight, carries a significant level of respect and trust for his son-in-law, and it is that relationship between Bob and Clint that promises compelling suspense and drama down the road. Clint’s trust might initially provide the vehicle for Bob to execute his scheming, but it also assures that vengeance will be fierce should the magnate learn of his son-in-law’s betrayal. During a gripping scene in which Clint, quite literally, hands Bob the “keys to the kingdom,” he hauntingly speaks of his inability to be played by anyone. Regardless of the person’s attachment to the family, if they cross Clint, they are going down.

Relegated to role players in the premiere, Clint’s two sons are nonetheless effective at bringing another layer of tension to Bob’s relationship with his wife’s family. With one brother that adores and trusts Bob and another whose skepticism is so strong that he shows his hand with a flaky accusation about impropriety, it is clear that the stakes are high for anything Bob tries to pull within the oil company. He nonetheless manages to smile through everything, showing little fear or paranoia that his scheme could collapse.

Not all the acting is fantastic, however. Particularly weak are the leading ladies; Adrianne Palicki looks the part of Cat, but she, at least in the premiere, lacks the poise and sophistication to convince in the role. Eloise Mumford, similarly, fits the part of Lindsay on the surface, but her acting is a bit too awkward and underdeveloped to make a discernable impact in her role. While a few bad apples in an otherwise stellar cast usually would not do much to damage a show, insofar as these women are a huge motivator in Robert going “off book” with this scheme, the actresses really need to improve in order to justly perform opposite Wolk. Palicki, for instance, completely strikes out with a charisma-free joke about her brother’s “shampoo” investigation in an otherwise-taut scene involving her husband and family members.

Unlike FOX’s current drama flagship “House,” “Lonestar” absolutely requires a commitment. It will take more than one scene to understand all that is needed about the characters and how the plot creates their dynamic; it takes nearly the entire premiere to establish the most rudimentary version of the show’s premise. As far as the characters go, the audience learns a little bit about the key players, but there is so much additional development to come.

That reality could endanger the show; will it be able to retain viewers who are used to the fast-paced, instant gratification of “House?” Will it offer as much initial bang as fellow new series “The Event” or the pop culture relevance of competition series “Dancing with the Stars?” The answer is undoubtedly no to each of those questions, but if those are the questions being posed regarding the search for the next great network drama, priorities are not in order.

Thanks in large part to shows like “Lost” and “24,” many recent (failed) serialized dramas have overloaded their premieres with twists, turns and action to provide a glimpse into how thrilling the show will be going forward. What almost none realize, however, is that the key to making surprises and shocks effective is a willingness to establish the characters and their environment. Episode one of “Lonestar” only provides a taste of where the show is going, featuring few overt questions and even fewer overt answers. But in instead focusing its time on creating a universe of multi-layered characters, “Lonestar” is working to assure that when the heavier, more riveting plot developments do fall into place, they will matter.

FOX did its part in greenlighting a cable-style drama that favors long-term character and storyline construction to initial shock value. It is now the audience’s job to invest in the series and demonstrate its commitment to good storytelling that promises significant long-term rewards at the expense of mild short-term ones.

“Lonestar” debuts Monday, September 20 at 9PM.