Political Animals

From left to right: Douglas, T.J., Elaine, Susan, Bud

Title: Political Animals

Creator: Greg Berlanti

Distributer: USA Network

Years: 2012

Length: 6 episodes of approximately 45 mins each (mini-series)

Genre: Drama

Format and Source: on Netflix

Summary from Netflix: [This will be spoiler free, but the actual review below will not]. U.S. Secretary of State Elaine Barrish Hammond struggles to keep her family together while dealing with national crises and a ruthless journalist.

Review: [Reminder: Spoilers]. Before I start, I’ll admit that I starting watching this show because of Sebastian Stan, but oh man I didn’t expect for it to be as good as it was. Political Animals is definitely the best show I’ve seen in its genre, and it deserves the title I’ve given it. So what makes this show so good? Let me break it down for you;

The first reason I have to give is its strong female characters because that’s probably one of the first things I picked up and it made a great first impression on me. Elaine Barrish (former First Lady, played by Sigourney Weaver) and Susan Berg (journalist, played by Carla Gugino) are both perfect examples of what female characters should be written like. Both are strong women who are talented at what they do, but that doesn’t mean they’re men-haters. And they aren’t Mary Sues either – they’ve got so much going wrong in their lives (i.e. Susan’s boyfriend cheating on her, Elaine’s son nearly dying twice in six months) but what makes them so special is the fact that they deal with these problems like normal people while maintaining their careers. I have so much respect for shows that have strong, human, female characters and Political Animals is just the perfect example of all the things I love.

The pros don’t stop here though. The list goes on. Another thing I absolutely adored was how they dealt with addiction and suicide. T.J. Hammond (Elaine’s son, played by Sebastian Stan) is a drug addict who tried to kill himself twice (once by gassing himself, and the second time by overdosing). The issue that quite a lot of shows have with dealing with addiction and suicide is the risk of making it too dramatic and almost tacky. In real life, things are never like that. How is Political Animals any different to soap operas then? Simply put, Political Animals doesn’t try to glorify drugs, addiction and depression. When T.J. tries to kill himself the second time, it isn’t shown as a beautiful metaphor for him getting away from his worldly issues. They focus on the effect it had on him and the people around him. It may not make any sense in words but when you watch the show there’s a feeling of real human reactions when you watch it. Because so many people deal with issues like addiction and depression, it’s always important for me that a show deals with these plots with taste. Political Animals gets a big check for this.

I said this above, but I’ll reiterate it now. Political Animals is my favourite drama. I’m not a fan of most dramas because they feel too soap-operaish to me, but Political Animals doesn’t have a drop of soap opera in its plot. The show is so good at showing different types of human interactions and different relationships, but what makes it so brilliant is that it shows the love between a f***ed up family without seeming too cheesy. At the end of the day, while the show deals with important issues (i.e. feminism, addictions, suicide etc.), at its core it’s about a woman trying to balance her career with her family life which is also going through trouble. The closure at the end of the series made me feel so light. It was like a confirmation that no matter how rough stuff gets, it can be fixed. Anne and Douglas finally got their wedding and Elaine managed to fix things with her sons (and Bud and Anne but shhh).

Final Rating: A+. This rating is well deserved. I generally despise any dramas, but Political Animals was so good. It was so much more than a story about a woman wanting to be President. It was an affirmation that you can be both strong and assertive, while being a feminine, family-centred woman. While I wish the show could be extended beyond a mini-series because it was just that good, I don’t want to risk anyone ruining the delicate beauty of the show by dragging it on. If you are influenced by any of my reviews, let it be this one. Political Animals will be adored by all, I’m sure of it.