I was told about this show by my cousin. It sounded good but my oh my I didn't expect it to be this good. You most likely already know the premise of the show so I won't spend time on that for now. But the writing is superb. Holt McCallany as the main character Patrick "Lights" Leary is a fine performance.The beauty of this show is that it doesn't just focus on the boxing but on the boxer's personal life and the ins and outs of the murky world of professional boxing.The makers of this show must have researched well since it feels like the real deal.The scripting is excellent and unpredictable yet always believable.My only one gripe with the show is that the boxers don't really look big enough to be heavyweights, they look more like middleweights.I only sat down to watch one or two episodes but finished the entire season off in two nights after work, compelling stuff.Looking forward to season two.

Sorry for the cliché. Yes, it's dark, and sure, it can be depressing. And for those approaching it with a video game mentality it's not exactly action-packed. But from a psychological standpoint, for insight into a man and a family cornered by bad luck and scummy people, this is some of the richest, truest material I've yet to see on the little screen.Start - and really end - with Holt McCallany. As Patrick Leary this man gives one of the most layered, convincing performances I've ever had the pleasure to watch. Every gesture, every fleeting facial snapshot, exposes the hurt of a proud man who has to beg for a break, for things to work out just one more time. Watch him have to deal with his children, with his wife, and see the uncertainty of a hard man who hates what he's doing. Except that it's for them, and for himself, and the conflict eats him away like acid. I've never seen him in anything else, but I'd literally pay to watch McCallany as Lights Leary. The supporting cast falls short. Catherine McCormack as his wife Theresa is a perpetual nervous breakdown in waiting. Her only emotion is quivering, moist-eyed brittleness. Stacy Keach has either lost his chops or, more likely, been hamstrung by his one-dimensional role as old-school hard ass. Reg Cathey as the Don King stand-in is such a leering caricature of cartoon villainy you can't take him seriously. Leary's brother Johnny - Pablo Schreiber - has the odd handicap of a face that seems stuck in a slightly goofy, what-me-worry expression that flattens most of his scenes. The one exception to this surrounding blandness, for me, is Eamonn Walker as the renegade trainer. As an oddball paranoid who's either been born or beaten out of round, he plays the role with an understated, slightly loony intensity that rings weird and true.McCallany, not truly a physical heavyweight, has learned to spar and train convincingly. The buildup to his fights is slow, excruciating, and wracked with the fear and tension of real battle. The fight scenes grip, not for their verisimilitude but because of the psychological freight they pack. But, oh - Holt McCallany. Whether you like family drama, boxing, or just studying the technique of a man immersed in character, he alone is worth the price of a ticket. You cannot afford to miss him in this.

I am a loyal fan of FX programming since tuning into Rescue Me and NIP/TUCK several years ago. I found this channel to be one of the best for the kind of shows I liked. You might say guy shows, but I think I liked their originality and edge. I have also loved SOA and Justified. But "Lights Out" was so boring and slow it put me to sleep. From the pilot the show was cliché and full of predictable story lines. The most important story would be the lead actor's, "Lights" himself but his is the most boring and predictable. A has been athlete goes back to the ring one last time. A comeback story. The trouble is this story has been done to death. It has even been done this season with "The Fighter". I could not get into this show at all. I thought Warren Leight's writing was terrible and unnatural. He has lost his touch from "In Treatment".The actress who portrays the wife, Catherine Mccormick, has impressed me in her film work but does a terrible job on the show. Her accent is all over the map with some kind of bastardized American accent that changes every line.The kids are cute but also very predictable. They are stereotypes and remind me of the daughters you'd see in a sitcom. The eldest:boy crazy teenager. The middle daughter: nerdy and quick witted. The youngest: annoying and cutesy.All in all I did not like this show at all. It is nothing like other programs FX put out. It's watered down and depressing. The show is dark. Dementia? I don't want to watch it every week when I've worked all day and put my kids to sleep.I'm not watching this show. FX needs to do better to hold my interest. It's not a great show.

I watched this show hoping witness the next great FX show and was sadly disappointed. FX normally does well when they make great "guy dramas" (The Shield, Rescue Me, and Justified being among the best) but "Lights Out" is one of the worst shows ever made by FX. Okay, it's not that terrible but the characters are generic and the plot is played out. Holt McCallany is capable, as are Stacy Keach and Pablo Schreiber but I hope they haven't ruined their careers with this show. The fault lies entirely with the writing team who obviously Netflixed "On the Waterfront", "Raging Bull", "Rocky", "The Wrestler", and "Million Dollar Baby" before trying their hands at writing a t.v. show. The daughters are the worst as they simply are blonde versions of the daughters on "Modern Family". The only entertainment I got out from the show was playing a drinking game the second half hour in which I had to take a shot every time the show introduced another stereotype. By the time they showed the previews for the next episode, I was "on the canvas". If I ever watch the show again, which I won't, I will take a shot every time poor Catherine McCormack's accent trembles like a punch drunk pugilist. I have been a member of IMDb since 2005 and this is the first review I have ever written because I am so disappointed by FX programming decision, hype, and ultimate letdown.