On the night House of Lies premiered on Showtime, Don Cheadle pulled off what many are calling an upset and took home a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy or Musical for his character Marty Kaan. He won over Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Louis C.K. (Louie), Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory) and Matt LeBlanc (Episodes). All are former winners of the award. Cheadle was the only person of color to win a Golden Globe statue last night.
Having won in 1999 as Sammy Davis Jr. for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture forThe Rat Pack, this is Cheadle's second Golden Globe. He also was nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for the gut wrenching Hotel Rwanda (2004).
It was an interesting night. After following Golden Globe winner Quentin Tarrantino's explanation for using the n-word so many times in his controversial movie Django Unchained by using the n-word, Cheadle responded: "Please no (n-word) questions. Black people questions are alright."
Sounds like something Marty Kaan would say? Yes, House of Lies is back. The series is in its second season and, judging by last night's premier, fans of the show are in for a season full of hyper-charged episodes.
Season One ended with a failed merger of Galweather-Stern and the straight to the point Julianne Hotschragar (Bess Armstrong) was brought in as interim CEO to shake things up and get the management consultant firm back on track. Jeannie (Kristen Bell) was "promoted" to engagement manager in the initial company meeting basically to shut her up so that she wouldn’t sue. Regarding the Pod (Marty Kaan's team), the premier starts off with Jeannie and Marty wondering if they had sexual relations during a night of drinking and letting loose in the fallout of the failed merger. It's a series of flashbacks that leaves you wondering if the two slept together…or not. Anything is possible, but, honestly, I don't think they did and Marty is smart enough not to upset Pod chemistry by not disclosing what did go down — if he in fact remembers at all.
One flashback in particular is Jeannie telling Marty she loves him. We all know Marty as the go-getter. He digs the chase without a chase, so having sex with the ambitious and beautiful Jeannie, though she is a Pod member, is something he would consider apropos in the management consulting world of constant power-moves, slipups, damage control and perversion. He wins because Jeannie is slow to remember anything and stalling her mind protects his money, if you will.
The team is blindsided at the onset by an unscheduled call by a casino owner, they don't know is a casino owner. After successfully navigating a subsequent face to face meeting, the team is successful in reeling in the business owner due to some Pod fast talking, on the spot research by Doug (Ben Schwartz) and Clyde (Josh Lawson) and Marty's quick wit to close. Off to Vegas they go.
On the personal front, Marty is still dealing with his son Roscoe (Donis Leonard Jr.) living with Monica (Dawn Olivieri) — his boozin' and pill poppin' ex wife that looks to be making positive changes in her life. The biggest difference is turning down Marty's advances — something she has never done — despite them having a hate/love relationship. HOL fans know that Marty does not do well with rejection. He's also trying to get a full grasp of his son's identity crisis and the perception his son has of him, without losing his son in a custody battle with Monica.
This is my favorite show. I can't wait to see what happens next week. Tune in to Showtime, Sundays at 9:00 p.m. (EST) and you’ll be hooked, too. Cheadle didn’t cop that Globe for nothing.
