There are some TV shows that stick with you forever (and others you completely forgot you’ve ever watched). For me, Damages, which originally aired for five seasons on FX, is seared in my brain since its first release in 2007. And it’s now available to stream for free on Tubi.
I was addicted from the series’ first episode, which opens with Rose Byrne’s character running out of an apartment building into the bustling streets of New York wearing nothing but a blood-soaked trench coat and high heels. As show openings go, this was one of the best.
Byrne starred in the series with Glenn Close, and they were an incredible, dysfunctionally codependent duo. Close played Patty Hewes, a powerful lawyer with zero scruples who hires Byrne’s Ellen Parsons to work at her law firm. Ellen is fresh out of law school and has multiple offers, but she chooses to work for Patty, even though a lawyer at a competing firm warns Ellen not to get involved with Patty. She’s told Patty will “own” her, a warning Ellen disregards at her own peril. From the moment Ellen arrives at Hewes and Associates, her life is a living hell.
While every season focuses on a lengthy trial that Patty, Ellen and their firm work on, the show centers on the pair’s relationship. Patty lives life like a chess game, and it turns out that hiring Ellen wasn’t just about retaining a smart, young lawyer. Ellen apparently has a family connection to Patty’s latest class-action lawsuit, and she and her relationships are assets Patty can manipulate and bend to her will to advance her case. Ellen starts out as a pawn in Patty’s game, but over the course of the show, it’s clear that she’s learned a thing or two from her mentor. And as for that opening scene? It’s a glimpse at Ellen’s future, six months later. That blood she’s covered in belongs to her boyfriend, who’s been bludgeoned to death, and Ellen is the primary suspect.
The show’s effective time jumps as we try to solve that murder, Patty’s narcissistic ability to manipulate people and all the courtroom drama all combine to create an incredible legal thriller. I’d go so far as to call Season 1 a perfect season of television. As with truly great shows, the quality tends to fluctuate over time — and I have a short list of series whose flawless first seasons gave way to diminishing returns: Broadchurch, The O.C. and Killing Eve top that list.
There’s an added bonus to rewatching the series now, though, and that’s the people-watching. The cast is a who’s who of recognizable talent. Ted Danson, Tate Donovan, William Hurt, Campbell Scott, John Goodman and Martin Short (in a dramatic role), along with other actors, were featured on the show. Part of the fun is not just watching the leads, but also spotting recognizable actors in smaller roles before they became big stars. And while Rose Byrne is now best known for comedies like Platonic, Neighbors and Bridesmaids, her turn in Damages — a complete 180 from goofball comedy — established her as a dramatic star.
All five seasons of Damages just arrived on Tubi. And while there’s a lot of new content to watch these days, this is one show that sets the bar high for a complex and gripping plot executed to perfection by actors at the top of their game.
