Graves

It’s a big step up from Amazon’s “Alpha House.” Plus, through three episodes, the well-performed, warmly funny tale is also fair to both sides of the aisle. And it’s got some big ideas to boot.

The political comedy, starring Nick Nolte and Sela Ward, is both genuinely funny and genuinely moving, displaying a kind of rigor in its storytelling that is frequently lost on networks new to original programming.

Don’t scrutinize this series too closely; just enjoy the performances.

Graves is a lumpy blob of satire--witless and unadventurous in its targets. ... Nothing more than a Veep for Dummies. [Oct 14, 2016, p.53]

It’s an interesting spree--strewn with cameos from Jake Tapper, Rudy Giuliani, Bill Richardson and more--and Nolte seems to make more of the role than the scripts offer. But Graves is also somewhat leaden and obvious in its first two episodes, replete with a rebellious former first daughter (Helene Yorke) and a first son (Chris Lowell) who never felt loved.

Graves aims for Bulworth, but ends up Guarding Tess.

Graves is unquestionably politically aware, but it's neither politically smart nor, despite the hero's arc, all that politically reflective. Nolte has moments of grounded sadness that are nearly effective, but there's no way for those moments to stick when the show keeps undermining both his dignity and whatever dignity Graves once had.