Amid all the new recruits of the fall 2012 season, ABC's "Last
Resort" has been getting a lot of buzz. With a stellar cast led by Andre Braugher and Scott Speedman, the military thriller promises
intrigue of nuclear proportions and action split between Washington, D.C.,
and a rogue submarine parked at a tropical island. It's not an easy series
to describe, so MSN TV hit the set in Hawaii to get the story straight from the
cast.
"It's about a nuclear submarine that gets orders to fire on Pakistan," said a
uniformed Speedman. "The crew refuses the orders, and, subsequently, they get
fired on by another American sub, so they hijack the sub and bring it to an
island."
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"This is not a whim on the part of these submariners," Braugher chimed in.
"They don't refuse these orders because it's Tuesday. They refuse them because
they're suspect. The right thing to do is confirm these orders, because not only
are millions of civilians going to die, but, ultimately, we're also going to be
judged by history.
"Someone is attempting to use the men and women of the Colorado as tools to
destroy a sovereign nation and then bury the evidence at the bottom of the sea."
Sitting with Braugher and Speedman on a gorgeous beach any "Lost" fan would recognize, with a view of an American flag
waving, it was clear how Capt. Marcus Chaplin (Braugher) earns the support of
his crew in deciding to question his orders.
When we sat down with co-star Robert Patrick outside the high-tech submarine
set, however, we were offered another side of the story.
"My friends in the Navy who hear about this show go, 'There's not a Navy
captain out there that's not going to follow orders,'" Patrick shared. "There's
a problem here, and that problem is Capt. Marcus Chaplin, his XO [executive
officer] Sam Kendal (Speedman) and Lt. Grace Shepard (Daisy Betts) -- it's treason! My
character, Chief of Boat Joe Prosser, is an old-school American and he'll stand
up for what's right."
Needless to say, the powers that be in Washington, D.C., are also talking
treason. They aren't happy to hear the most powerful nuclear submarine on the
planet has gone AWOL.
As Chaplin's crew commandeers a NATO communications facility on beautiful
Sainte Marina, they must find a way to prove their innocence to America, find
out who set them up and stay alive.
"My most important job is getting all 150 of these men and women home safely,
so I have to do some extreme things," Braugher warned. "My job is to keep my
crew on its toes and my enemies off balance. Right now, it's important that they
think I'm a nuclear madman."
With all this maneuvering afoot, the interpersonal relationships remain key
in this story, with Chaplin and Kendal front and center.
"Take away all the nuclear missiles and everything else, that relationship is
the heart of the show," Speedman said. "The crux of the pilot is setting up an
authentic father-son feel. What's going to be interesting is having them
challenge each other in big ways."
"Every son has to grow up, and part of growing up is defying your father,"
Braugher added. "But the captain's job is thinking four steps ahead and the XO's
job is to deeply execute what we're doing, right now. Every choice is going to
be fraught with pain and sacrifice and the potential for betrayal."
"Last Resort" is already sounding pretty intense, but this only the half it.
"It's a complex, moving story with lots of moving parts," said Speedman.
And while Washington, D.C., doesn't get much play in the pilot, it's an
integral part of that story, as is the show's glamour girl, Kylie Sinclair (Autumn Reeser). A lobbyist for her family's
weapons manufacturing company, Kylie finds her wild night of sex and her easy
life interrupted by the news that her baby, aka the submarine, has been
stolen.
"My role this season is to be the center of the investigation in D.C.,"
previewed Reeser. "Kylie has been a self-serving person, up to this point. It
would be very easy for her to flee to the Hamptons, but she suddenly finds
herself in this position of being one of the only people with the access to
unravel this conspiracy. It will become very dangerous for her, because there
are people who are very invested in keeping the truth a secret. People around
her will die."
It bares mention that Kylie is not the only powerful woman in this story.
With the action set a few years into the future, the aforementioned
Lt. Shepard has a lot to prove as both a woman on the submarine and the
admiral's daughter.
"She's totally a badass," Betts previewed. "She's very intense and stands up
to Prosser. We have a great love-hate thing going on. Lots of stare-downs!"
While on board the Colorado set, Betts admitted she's sometimes overwhelmed
by the testosterone, but she does have backup. Her character won't be running
into Kylie or Kendal's wife, Christine (Jessy Schram), this season, but the
island is home to bar owner Tani (Dichen Lachman) and NATO scientist
Sophie Girard (Camille de Pazzis).
"The other female actresses are awesome, and the characters are so
different," Betts raved. "They're all very strong women, but they all stand for
very different things."
Tough as they are, they can each expect a bit of romance. "The show is on
ABC!" laughed Betts.
"Felicity" fans tuning in to see their beloved Ben, however,
should be prepared to see a different side of Speedman in XO Kendal.
"He's got a heart and there's always going to be a romantic element if you're
playing a leading man, but he's different in that he'll go to great lengths to
do what's right, no matter the consequences," Speedman said. "He's a man of
action, for sure. That's exciting. Just the nature of what the show is lends
itself to such different acting opportunities to 'Felicity' or anything else
I've got done."
If you think you're now armed with the full story, don't get ahead of
yourself. MSN TV hasn't even broached how hunky but tormented Navy SEAL James
King (Daniel Lissing) and dangerous island boss Julian Serrat (Sahr Ngaujah) play into "Last
Resort." You'll have to watch the pilot to see what that's all about.
"Last Resort" premieres Thursday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on
ABC.
