Joe Sarno, the grizzled enforcer played by James Caan in 2000’s Tarantino-esque The Way of the Gun, delivers a menacing promise about himself as he’s sent to clean up a mess about halfway through the movie: “The only thing you can assume about a broken down old man … is that he’s a survivor.” It’s a great line, and I’d argue it’s also as good an introduction as any to the kind of deceptively rumpled, aging ex-spy played by Jeff Bridges in FX’s The Old Man — a series in which Bridges’ Dan Chase lives off the grid and looks like he could be someone’s kindly grandfather. But who, even in his dotage, is a walking weapon of mass destruction. He’s the spy who never came in from the cold.
FX dropped a full trailer today for the show’s upcoming second season, which debuts on Sept. 12, and it promises a return to form for a series that adds yet another must-watch FX gem to a growing pile that also includes can’t-miss TV standouts like Shogun, The Bear, and Fargo, among others. In fact, that collection is expanding to such a degree that FX is actually starting to feel like the new HBO (at least to me).
Shows like The Old Man, especially, are the kind of TV dramas I live for. As far as the story goes, Bridges’ Chase is a former (but still extremely wily) CIA operative who’s been in hiding for years as a result of a mission gone wrong. An assassin flushes him out and forces him to go on the run, which turns The Old Man into, basically, Chasing The Old Man.
Whoever cast Bridges for this role deserves the heartfelt thanks of all of us who crave well-acted, tightly-paced, and addictive spy dramas. He gives a textured and compelling performance as a believable former CIA man, a multi-linguist and highly resourceful warrior who looks and acts the part even when he’s not saying anything at all — his bearded, craggy face a topography of pain both received and delivered.
Jonathan Lithgow plays Chase’s foil, FBI official Harold Harper, and while I don’t want to say too much about his character for those of you who haven’t tried the show yet, let me just say this: The scenes between the two of them are almost always spellbinding. Like this scene, when a team of special operators has been sent to retrieve Chase in Season 1, and Harper reaches out to warn him to prevent a bigger scandal from coming to light.
From the official synopsis for Season 2 of The Old Man:
“Former CIA agent “Dan Chase” (Jeff Bridges) and former FBI Assistant Director “Harold Harper” (John Lithgow) set off on their most important mission to date — to recover “Emily Chase” (Alia Shawkat) after she is kidnapped by “Faraz Hamzad” (Navid Negahban), a powerful Afghan tribal leader. With all three men claiming her as their daughter, Emily finds herself in an identity crisis that has dire implications.”