''Perpetual Grace, LTD'' is an American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

thriller television series that premiered on

Epix MGM+ (formerly known as Epix; pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as eᴘix), is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the MGMPlus Entertainment subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which is itself a subsidiary ...

on June 2, 2019. The series is produced by

MGM Television Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, formerly known as MGM/UA Television, is the television studio arm of the American film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), specializing in broadcast syndication and the production and distribution of television sh ...

and

FX Productions FX Productions, LLC (FXP) is an American television and in-house production company owned by FX Networks, a division of the Disney Entertainment unit of The Walt Disney Company. It was also known in copyright as Bluebush Productions from 2007 ...

, with co-creators Steven Conrad and Bruce Terris writing each episode. The main cast features

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...

, Jimmi Simpson,

Luis Guzmán Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Rican actor. His career spans over 40 years and includes a number of films and television series. He has appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson's films ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Magnolia (film), Magn ...

Damon Herriman Damon Herriman (born 31 March 1970) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Dewey Crowe on the FX neo-western crime series '' Justified'' (2010–15), and Romeo on the Starz drama miniseries '' Flesh and Bone'' (2015). He is ...

, Chris Conrad, and

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film, and television actress. Her accolades include five AACTA Awards (including the Longford Lyell Award) and a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations ...

; with

Terry O'Quinn Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance as John Locke on the TV series '' Lost'' (2004–2010). In film, he also played the title role i ...

Kurtwood Smith Kurtwood Larson Smith (born July 3, 1943) is an American actor. He is known for playing Clarence Boddicker in ''RoboCop'' (1987), Robert Griggs in '' Rambo III'' (1988), and Red Forman in ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) and '' That '90s Show' ...

Timothy Spall Timothy Leonard Spall ( ; born 27 February 1957) is an English actor. He gained recognition for his character actor roles on stage and screen. In 2000, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. S ...

, and

Michael Chernus Michael Louis Chernus (born August 8, 1977) is an American actor who has acted on film, television, and the stage. He is best known for his role as Cal Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019) ...

in recurring roles. On January 30, 2020, it was announced by Epix that the series was not renewed for a second season, but was planned to conclude with a limited run. However, Conrad stated, "under these terms, never going to happen".

Premise

''Perpetual Grace, LTD'' follows "James, a young grifter, as he attempts to prey upon Pastor Byron Brown, who turns out to be far more dangerous than he suspects."

Cast and characters

Main

as Byron "Pa" Brown – A dangerous and manipulative

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

who runs a rehabilitation center, which he uses to steal from those he helps * Jimmi Simpson as James Schaeler – A disturbed ex-

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

who is roped into Paul's scheme *

as Hector Contreras – A

Hermosillo Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the state's ...

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

who is tasked with imprisoning Ma and Pa *

as Paul Allen Brown – Ma and Pa's delinquent magician son who schemes to steal their money * Chris Conrad as Tracy "New Leaf" Connelly – One of Ma and Pa's former victims who believes that Paul is responsible for his misery *

as Lillian "Ma" Brown – Pa's less violent but equally cunning wife

Recurring

as Wesley Walker, a Texas Ranger who suspects Paul of murder *

as Dave Lesser, Lillian's falsely convicted

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

foster brother *

as Donald DeLoash, a former criminal associate of Pa's *

as Everly Pirdoo, the town

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

and Glenn's father * Efren Ramirez as Felipe Guillermo Usted, a Mexican

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

who aids in Paul's scheme *

Hana Mae Lee Hana Mae Lee (born September 28, 1988) is an American actress, model, comedian, and fashion designer. She portrayed Lilly Onakurama in the musical comedy ''Pitch Perfect'' film series (2012–2017) and Sonya in the horror comedy film '' The Baby ...

as Scotty Sholes, Pa's church's sardonic

parishioner A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

* Dana DeLorenzo as Valerie Spoonts, a crude car saleswoman who recruits Hector to be part of Paul's scheme * Veronica Falcón as Clara, a

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...

woman who seeks to kill Pa * Dash Williams as Glenn Pirdoo, a fifteen-year-old boy forced to work in his father's

pawn shop A pawnbroker is an individual that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. A pawnbrokering business is called a pawnshop, and while many items can be pawned, pawnshops typically accept jewelry, ...

* Eliana Alexander as Marisol Contreras, Hector's loving wife * Alonso Alvarez as Emile Contreras, Hector's lazy son * Calvin Benuto as Matthias Contreras, Hector's lazy son

Episodes

Production

Development

On August 28, 2018, it was announced that

had given the production, then titled ''Our Lady, LTD'', a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes set to premiere in 2019. The series is written and showrun by Steven Conrad and Bruce Terris both of whom also executive produce alongside Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, and Steve Tisch. Conrad directed six episodes of the series as well. The series is produced by

. On February 10, 2019, it was announced during the

Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 American and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts appli ...

's annual winter press tour that the series had been renamed ''Perpetual Grace, LTD''.

Casting

Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that

would star in the series. On August 30, 2018, it was announced that Jimmi Simpson had been cast in a leading role. On September 4, 2018, it was reported that

had been cast in a starring role. In November 2018, it was announced that

, and Chris Conrad had been cast in series regular roles, that

and

would appear in a recurring capacity, and that

would appear in a guest role. On February 4, 2019, it was reported that

had been cast in a recurring role.

Filming

Principal photography for the series commenced in November 2018 in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

. Filming occurred in locations that month near Santa Fe including Los Cerrillos. In December 2018, shooting took place in Los Alamos with film sites including

Los Alamos County Airport Los Alamos Airport , also known as Los Alamos County Airport, is a county-owned, public-use airport in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States. It is located one nautical mile (2 kilometre, km) east of the central business distric ...

, Main Gate Park, Los Alamos National Bank, and DP Road. Filming was scheduled to last until March 2019.

Music

The original music for the series was created by The Jones Sisters, a band composed of series creator Steven Conrad,

Guided by Voices Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted o ...

' Bobby Bare Jr., Iron & Wine guitarist Jim Becker and

The Autumn Defense The Autumn Defense is an American band composed of multi-instrumentalists John Stirratt and Pat Sansone. History The Autumn Defense began as a side project for John Stirratt, best known for his work as bassist for alt-country bands Wilco and ...

bassist Brad Jones. The soundtrack was released on August 2, 2019, by

Fat Possum Records Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists (typically from Oxford or Holly Sprin ...

. Alex Wurman composed the series' musical score.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

, the first season has an approval rating of 88% with an average score of 9.5 out of 10 based on 16 reviews. The site's critical consensus is, "Singularly strange, ''Perpetual Grace, LTD'' boasts a brilliant cast (led by a hypnotic turn from Ben Kingsley), impressive panoramas, and no shortage of twisty delights."

References

External links

* on

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perpetual Grace, LTD 2010s American drama television series 2019 American television series debuts American thriller television series American English-language television shows Television series created by Steven Conrad MGM+ original programming Neo-noir television series Nonlinear narrative television series Television series by MGM Television Television shows filmed in New Mexico Television shows set in Mexico Television shows set in New Mexico