''Last Resort'' is an American
military drama Military fiction is a genre of fiction, focusing on military activities, such as war, battles, combat, fighting; or military life.
Classes of military fiction
Types of military fiction include:
* War novels, including written military fiction
* ...
television series that aired on
ABC from September 27, 2012, to January 24, 2013. The series was created by
Shawn Ryan and
Karl Gajdusek
Karl Gajdusek is an American screenwriter, producer, and playwright. He was the showrunner for the first season of the Netflix series ''Stranger Things'' and the co-creator of the TV series '' Last Resort'' with Shawn Ryan. They were both also e ...
, and produced by
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...
. On November 16, 2012, ABC announced that the series would not be picked up for another season, and the show finished with its original 13 episodes.
Plot
When the crew of the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
''Ohio''-class ballistic missile submarine, the USS ''Colorado'' (SSBN-753), pick up a
U.S. Navy SEAL team off
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
's coast, the ''Colorado'' receives an order to launch nuclear
ballistic missiles at Pakistan.
''Colorado''s Commanding Officer, Captain Marcus Chaplin (
Andre Braugher
Andre Keith Braugher (; born July 1, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the police drama series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999), used car salesman Owen Thoreau Jr. in the com ...
), asks for confirmation of the firing order because the orders were received through a legacy
Cold War secondary communication channel, only to be used in the event that
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
has
already been destroyed. After confirming Washington's continued existence and refusing to fire the missiles until the command is sent through the proper system, Chaplin is relieved of command by the
Deputy Secretary of Defense
The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America.
The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the sec ...
William Curry, and the ''Colorado''s second in command, Lieutenant Commander Sam Kendal (
Scott Speedman
Robert Scott Speedman (born September 1, 1975) is a British-Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series '' Felicity'', Lycan–Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror–actio ...
), is given command instead. When Kendal also questions the orders and asks for confirmation, the vessel is fired upon by the
''Virginia''-class attack submarine USS ''Illinois'' (SSN-786). Two nuclear missile strikes are subsequently made on Pakistan by other U.S. submarines.
Realizing they have been declared enemies of their own country, the ''Colorado'' seeks refuge on the island of Sainte Marina (a fictional French island located in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
) and commandeer a
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
communications and
early missile warning facility. When a pair of
B-1 bombers is sent to attack the submarine and island, Chaplin launches a
Trident nuclear missile towards Washington, D.C. to impress upon the national leadership that he's serious. The B-1s turn away at the last minute, but Chaplin (who has altered the missile's final target coordinates) allows the missile to visibly overfly Washington, D.C. and explode beyond in the open
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, the explosion clearly visible from both Washington and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Via a television feed to the media, he then declares a 200-mile exclusion zone around Sainte Marina.
Now, the crew must find a way to prove their innocence and find out who in the U.S. government has set them up, so they can finally return home.
As the series progresses, Chaplin finds himself having to become a reluctant ally with
China, while trying to keep his own crew, led by
Chief of the Boat
The chief of the boat (COB) is an enlisted sailor on board a U.S. Navy submarine who serves as the senior enlisted advisor to both the Commanding Officer (CO) and Executive Officer (XO).
Overview
The COB assists with matters regarding the ...
Joseph Prosser (
Robert Patrick
Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations.
Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparke ...
), from rebelling against him. He must also combat the schemes of the local drug lord Julian Serrat (
Sahr Ngaujah). The series also follows the efforts of Kylie Sinclair (
Autumn Reeser
Autumn Reeser (born September 21, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Taylor Townsend on the Fox series '' The O.C.'', Lizzie Grant on HBO's '' Entourage'', Katie Andrews on ABC's ''No Ordinary Family'', and Leslie Bel ...
), a weapons designer back home who allies with Christine Kendal (
Jessy Schram
Jessica Schram (born January 15, 1986) is an American actress, model and singer. Her most notable roles include Hannah Griffith in ''Veronica Mars'', Rachel Seybolt in ''Life'', Karen Nadler in ''Falling Skies'' and Cinderella/Ashley Boyd in '' ...
), the wife of the ''Colorado''s
XO, to discern the truth behind the nuclear attack on Pakistan and the ''Colorado''s fugitive status. An ongoing subplot involves a Navy SEAL named James King (
Daniel Lissing) who, wracked with guilt over his role in the events leading to the nuking of Pakistan, cultivates a romance with one of the island's residents (
Dichen Lachman
Dichen Lachman (; born 22 February 1982) is an Australian actress. She earned recognition starring as Katya Kinski in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' (2005–2007) and as Sierra in Joss Whedon's science fiction drama series ''Dollhouse'' (2009â ...
) while surreptitiously aiding the XO.
The series concludes with a series of mutinies, ending with the ''Colorado'' destroyed with Chaplin still on board, the surviving crew returning home to the United States, the President assassinated, and the full story made public when Kylie Sinclair arranges for proof of the president and his administration's traitorous activities to be handed over to the press.
Cast and characters
Main
*
Andre Braugher
Andre Keith Braugher (; born July 1, 1962) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the police drama series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999), used car salesman Owen Thoreau Jr. in the com ...
as
Captain Marcus Chaplin
*
Scott Speedman
Robert Scott Speedman (born September 1, 1975) is a British-Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series '' Felicity'', Lycan–Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror–actio ...
as the
Executive Officer (XO),
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...
Sam Kendal
*
Daisy Betts as
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
Grace Shepard, boat's navigator and daughter of Rear Admiral Arthur Shepard (a longtime friend of Captain Chaplin)
*
Robert Patrick
Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations.
Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparke ...
as
Command Master Chief Petty Officer Joseph Prosser,
Chief of the Boat
The chief of the boat (COB) is an enlisted sailor on board a U.S. Navy submarine who serves as the senior enlisted advisor to both the Commanding Officer (CO) and Executive Officer (XO).
Overview
The COB assists with matters regarding the ...
(COB) of the USS ''Colorado''
*
Camille De Pazzis
Camille De Pazzis is a French actress most famous for starring in the French series ''La vie devant nous''. She is also a face of Lancôme.
She has co-starred in the American television series '' Last Resort'' and ''The Following''. In 2015 De ...
as Sophie Girard, French commander of the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Communications Facility
*
Dichen Lachman
Dichen Lachman (; born 22 February 1982) is an Australian actress. She earned recognition starring as Katya Kinski in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' (2005–2007) and as Sierra in Joss Whedon's science fiction drama series ''Dollhouse'' (2009â ...
as Tani Tumrenjack, owner of Sainte Marina Bar
*
Daniel Lissing as Petty Officer James King,
U.S. Navy SEAL
*
Sahr Ngaujah as Julian Serrat, the local despot on Sainte Marina
*
Autumn Reeser
Autumn Reeser (born September 21, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Taylor Townsend on the Fox series '' The O.C.'', Lizzie Grant on HBO's '' Entourage'', Katie Andrews on ABC's ''No Ordinary Family'', and Leslie Bel ...
as Kylie Sinclair, a Washington
lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
for her family's weapons manufacturing company
*
Jessy Schram
Jessica Schram (born January 15, 1986) is an American actress, model and singer. Her most notable roles include Hannah Griffith in ''Veronica Mars'', Rachel Seybolt in ''Life'', Karen Nadler in ''Falling Skies'' and Cinderella/Ashley Boyd in '' ...
as Christine Kendal, wife of Lieutenant Commander Sam Kendal
Recurring
* Michael Ng as
Sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...
Chief Petty Officer
A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards.
Canada
"Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi ...
Cameron Pitts
*
Jessica Camacho
Jessica Lisa Camacho (born November 26, 1982) is an American actress. She is known for her recurring role as Gypsy in The CW superhero series '' The Flash''. Camacho also starred on the second season of the NBC drama series '' Taken''.
Early ...
as
Petty Officer First Class
Petty officer first class (PO1) is a rank found in some navies and maritime organizations.
Canada
Petty officer, 1st class, PO1, is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. It is senior to the rank of petty officer 2nd-clas ...
Pilar Cortez
*
Will Rothhaar
William Edward Lamar "Will" Rothhaar (born January 12, 1987) is an American actor.
Early life
Rothlaar was born in New York City, the son of Michael Rothhaar and Nancy Linehan Charles, both of whom are playwrights, actors and directors.
He br ...
as
Petty Officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
Josh Brannan
*
Daniel Bess
Daniel Luke Bess (born October 8, 1977) is an American television and film actor.
Bess was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, and attended both high school and a school of the arts while living on the island. He later acted in New York t ...
as the Communications Officer, Lieutenant Chris Cahill
*
Michael Mosley as
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Senior Chief Petty Officer ''(SCPO)'' is an enlisted rank in the navies of some countries.
United States
U.S. Coast Guardsenior chiefpetty officercollar device
U.S. Coast Guardsenior chiefpetty officerinsignia
Senior chiefpetty officer ...
Hal Anders
* Michael King as
Petty Officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
Kevin Hawkes
*
Omid Abtahi
Omid Abtahi ( fa, امید ابطØÛŒ) is an Iranian-American actor. noorfilmfestival.com Accessed 2016-1-28 He is best known for his roles as Salim in Starz Original ''American Gods'', Doctor Pershing in ''The Mandalorian'' on Disney+, Saleem U ...
as
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
surveillance technician Nigel
*
Bruce Davison
Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor and director. Davison is well known for his starring role as Willard Stiles in the cult horror film '' Willard'' (1971) and his Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning perfor ...
as
Rear Admiral Arthur Shepard, Lieutenant Grace Shepard's father
*
Jay Karnes
Jay Karnes (born June 27, 1963) is an American actor, best known for his role as LAPD detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach on the FX television series ''The Shield'', Agent Josh Kohn on ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008) and Craig on '' The Crossing'' ( ...
as Deputy Secretary of Defense, later promoted to
Secretary of Defense William Curry
*
Ernie Hudson
Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. His roles include Winston Zeddemore in the '' Ghostbusters'' film series, Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in '' The Crow'' (1994), and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's '' Oz'' (1997–2003) ...
as
Speaker of the House Conrad Buell
*
Jay Hernandez
Javier Manuel Hernandez Jr. (born February 20, 1978), known professionally as Jay Hernandez, is an American actor and fashion model. After making his television debut in NBC's '' Hang Time'', Hernandez made his film debut opposite Kirsten Dunst ...
as U.S. government lawyer Paul Wells
*
Gideon Emery
Gideon Emery is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Deucalion in '' Teen Wolf'' and for providing voice-over work in video games, television series and films.
Early life and education
Emery was born to Pauline, a compe ...
as
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
operative Booth
*
David Rees Snell
David Rees Snell (born August 20, 1966) is an American actor known for his roles as Detective Ronnie Gardocki on the crime drama ''The Shield'', Detective John Burrows in '' S.W.A.T.'' (2018–present), and Paul in '' The Beacon'' (2009).
Caree ...
as
Petty Officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
Barry Hopper, U.S. Navy SEAL
*
Chin Han as Chinese envoy Zheng Min
*
Michael Gaston
Michael Gaston is an American film and television actor. He played agent Quinn on the show ''Prison Break'', Gray Anderson on the CBS drama series ''Jericho'', and appeared in the first episode of ''The Sopranos'' as Alex Mahaffey, a compulsive ga ...
as Bennett Sinclair, Kylie's industrialist father
* Tyler Tuione as Chief, Tani's father
* Kasim Saul as Seaman Lawrence
Development and production
ABC greenlit the pilot in January 2012, allowing filming to begin. The show was filmed in
Oahu
Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O†...
, Hawaii, and produced by
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...
. Thirteen episodes were ordered,
and on October 19, 2012, ABC ordered two additional scripts for the series.
On November 16, 2012,
ABC announced that they would not be taking on ''Last Resort'' for a full season, but would air the 13 episodes that had been produced. They also passed on producing the two additional scripts that had been ordered.
On November 21, 2012, the producers revealed they had been given sufficient notice of the network's cancellation plans so they could "tweak" the final episode to function as a series finale and give the fans some closure.
About the show’s cancellation, Andre Braugher said: "It ended abruptly and we had to scramble to create order where none existed before. But better to end like that than just simply to be told to go home and have it be incomplete. I had a lot of hopes for that series, but unfortunately, it never came together like it ought to have."
Episodes
International broadcast
In Canada, the show was
simsubbed on
Global
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
. Sony's
AXN
AXN is a pay television channel owned by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Funded th ...
channel aired the show in Asia from October 2, 2012. Within Oceania, Australia aired the series on the
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
from February 20, 2013, and debuted in New Zealand on
Four on May 14, 2014. ''Last Resort'' aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland by
Sky1 from October 30, 2012.
Home video release
Reception
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the series has an approval rating of 79% with an average score of 7.26 out of 10 based on 42 reviews. The website's critical consensus is, "''Last Resort'' is a top-notch conspiracy thriller, with cinema-quality production and riveting action sequences." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the series has a score of 74 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Accolades
Notes
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 2172103, Last Resort
2010s American drama television series
2012 American television series debuts
2013 American television series endings
American action television series
American Broadcasting Company original programming
English-language television shows
American military television series
Serial drama television series
Submarines in fiction
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Television shows set in Pakistan