The steely blue eyes belie a warmth that Glenn Close effuses in person.
The fixed stare and clenched jaw of Patty Hewes are unlike the relaxed persona the surprisingly petite actress projects when not in character. Playing Hewes, ruthless queen of high-stakes litigation in the legal thriller "Damages" on FX, Close telegraphs a cold and calculating reserve.
A fashionable office suite, glorious duplex and upscale wardrobe situate the character in the top tier of Manhattan power brokers, but the essence of Hewes' character mostly is beamed through Close's eyes.
Close is only one asset in the sterling cast of this engrossing drama. "Damages" is the destination of choice for a gaggle of fine film actors this year.
When Season 2 of the Emmy Award-winning series begins Wednesday at 11 p.m. on FX, Rose Byrne returns as Ellen Parsons, Hewes' protigie-turned-vengeful antagonist.
"Six months ago she tried to kill me. Now she's acting like my best friend," Parsons says of Hewes. She's confiding her feelings about Hewes' deceit to the FBI agent with whom she's collaborating to take down Hewes and her firm.
The first-rate assemblage includes William Hurt (in his first onscreen reunion with Close since "The Big Chill"), Marcia Gay Harden ("Pollock," "Mystic River") and Timothy Olyphant ("Deadwood"). Zeljko Ivanek continues in flashbacks as Ray Fiske, the rival who killed himself in front of Hewes in her office last season.
Judging by the first two of the season's 13 new episodes, the tension is delicious, the intriguing relationships ever more strained and complicated, the secrets piling up in even more promising ways.
To allow newcomers to catch up on Season One, FX will repeat those episodes around the clock this weekend, starting Saturday night. Set the DVR.
Last season, Hewes (Close) scored an unprecedented victory over Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson), the billionaire CEO whom we last saw crawling on the ground after a near-fatal gunshot wound.
As this season opens, Hewes is celebrating her win by appearing on "Regis and Kelly," accepting kudos and announcing that she will take a break from the law in order to pour herself into creating a charitable foundation to feed New York's hungry. Such a selfless hero, that Hewes. Ellen watches from the wings, uncomfortably smiling on cue.
As the now wiser and more bitter Ellen Parsons, Byrne manages to convey multiple layers of conflicting emotions, wanting to stay close enough to Hewes to ultimately destroy her, barely concealing her rage, flirting with depression and still staying on top of her job in order to pull Hewes into the FBI's case.
The danger for "Damages," as it marches into its sophomore season is that the marquee names might overwhelm the story. Like the stunning sets, Close's wardrobe and, of course, those searing eyes, the amazing cast lineup can't carry the show alone. It's going to take another great narrative.
The first two episodes introduce a compelling sequence of unfolding secrets surrounding Daniel Purcell (Hurt), his relationship to Hewes and his reasons for coming to her now for help. Here's hoping creators Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman have mapped out another winning season as they continue to demonstrate how cable is rewriting the rules of scripted television.
Today on TV
Scrubs (7 and 7:30 p.m., Ch. 4): If you missed the two episodes that aired on Tuesday, ABC repeats them tonight.
Great Performances (7 p.m., Ch. 7): Kevin Kline stars in the first Broadway production of "Cyrano de Bergerac" in more than 20 years.
NBA (7 p.m., Ch. 14): Hornets at Jazz
13: Fear Is Real (7 p.m., Ch. 30): This new series tries to be sort of the TV reality/competition version of "The Blair Witch Project." Contestants encounter various creepy things in the Louisiana Bayou; one of them is "killed" (aka eliminated) in each episode; the eventual winner claims big bucks. It's trying to be scary, but it mostly fails. And it's sometimes unintentionally hilarious.
Women's college basketball (7:30 p.m., The mtn.): Utah at Wyoming
People's Choice Awards (8 p.m., Ch. 2): Queen Latifah hosts this meaningless awards, which are selected through polling.
Barbara Walters Special (9 p.m., Ch. 4): Babs interviews Patrick Swayze.
Law & Order (9 p.m., Ch. 5): Two divorce lawyers are murdered.
— Scott D. Pierce