I didn't hate this, but I didn't love it either. It had great potential if it was picked up for more seasons, but the first season just didn't cut it. Good acting and good performances. Sebastian Stan is playing his usual role of bad, brooding, woe is me addict, ashamed of who he is and feeling pity for himself and honestly, that's why I watch his movies. It's completely adorable and sexy and if he played other characters, I doubt I would like him as much. Sigourney Weaver is amazing as always. It's interesting to get a glimpse into political life though this show and I think it would have been good if allowed to continue.

Let's see what happened with this one -- a good start for a strong female lead. Sigourney Weaver is a great choice for the lead. Plays to some stereotypes but otherwise is a good addition to the line-up. Kieran is a good choice for the Bill Clintonesque former husband of the president. Any comparisons to Hillary Clinton is intentional, but what's wrong with that? Taking a real-life figure and creating a character for entertainment is a long-accepted trope. Ellen Burstyn is a great choice, too. Keep your eye on this one. If you let the characters develop beyond their stereotypes, you may actually enjoy the series.

POLITICAL ANIMALS is being advertised as a limited series so it is doubtful it will be around for more than a few episodes. Maybe that is why it tries to cram so many subplots and shaky character definitions into the space of 1 1/2 hours. The series lists four writers - Greg Berlanti, Geoffrey Nauffts, Molly Newman, and Speed Weed - and perhaps this committee approach is part of the rough result of a script that simply doesn't hang together enough to even whet our interest.Much has been written about this series being a parody of the Clintons: not only is that an unfair evaluation but it is also an insult to the Clintons. But whatever the reason for building this series, the story SEEMS to be the following: Bud Hammond (Ciaran Hinds in a deplorable and false Southern accent) is an ex-president, a man whose affairs and sexual liaisons have been fodder for the press more than coverage of important data. His ex-wife Elaine Barrish (Sigourney Weaver) is the current Secretary of State to Pop art president Paul Garcetti (Adrian Pasdar). Elaine and Bud have two adult boy children - Thomas (Sebastian Stan) a drug addicted gay loser and Doug (James Wolk) who is about to be married to a Japanese girl with bulimia. Elaine is being followed by a journalist (Carla Guigino) who is more interested in gossip than fact. In the midst of all the parties to meet the bride-to-be's parents, Thomas' attempt to get financing to create a new night club, and Bud's constant parade of busty women, and Elaine's mother (Ellen Burstyn, the best thing about this series) making caustic comments about Bud's girlfriends and the status quo of the nation, along comes an Iran crisis where three American journalists have been captured, tried and are threatened with execution unless someone acts. The President and his numbskull vice president (Dylan Baker) do nothing so of course Elaine as Secretary of State must act with her journalist tagging along, now a bit more understanding because her boyfriend/editor is cheating on her da da da da da. And all of this is delivered with as much profanity as can be stuffed into a show.Sigourney Weaver looks great but doesn't seem convinced about the character she is portraying. Ciaran Hinds doesn't have a chance with the absurd dialogue he barfs out, and the rest of the cast - with the sole exception of Ellen Burstyn who is brilliant and has (who knows why/) all of the dialogue that is intelligently written. Perhaps with the next installments there will be some improvement in dialogue and subplot ideas and less on screen emesis and coke snorting. If not the series will remain as titled - a brief series. Oh, David Petrarca 'directs'. Grady Harp, July 12

At one point Sigourney Weaver's character tells another, "The American people aren't idiots." From what I observed in the opening episode of this miniseries, its creators and "writers" must believe otherwise. There is absolutely no valid reason for such vile language or explicit depictions of drug use and sex. While the actors seem to be giving it their best efforts, and the sets and production values are top-notch, there were almost no scenes that didn't beg unfortunate comparisons to "West Wing" or the movies "Dave" (which also co-starred Ms. Weaver as a disillusioned former first lady) or "American President." On the whole, I couldn't help but find it very disappointing.