As many of you will know, the much anticipated fourth season of Big Love, the critically acclaimed HBO polygamist drama series, kicks off this Sunday, January 10 on HBO. Entertainment news website Variety got a first look at the season’s first episodes, and reviewed the season opening overall on their website.
Although the website thought the season premiere left something to be desired, they were overall happy with the acting performances, and the second episode. No major spoilers, certainly none outside of the earlier two Season 4 trailers we’ve seen, are revealed in the review, so this should be a safe article to read for anyone interested in the series and its reception. From Variety.com:
Big Love crested creatively during its third season, but that serialized storyline entailed so many moving parts as to perhaps inevitably yield hiccups as the series begins its fourth flight. Although the plot about a secret suburban polygamist initially produced plenty of clever moments about marital politics, the program grew richer and more dense by widening its lens beyond suburban polygamy to the machinations of law enforcement, politicians and even Native-American gaming that now surround its thrice-married protagonist. All told, it’s a heady brew, despite the slightly flat start.
[...] there’s no shortage of diversions.
Perhaps too many, actually, in the first of these nine hours, which feels jumbled and hurried. The show settles down considerably in the second episode, and the cast (which credits a dizzying 30 characters) is almost uniformly superb — extracting memorable moments from what are ostensibly peripheral players, like Mary Kay Place as Roman’s ruthless wife and Nicki’s mother.
Don’t forget Chloë Sevigny is nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Drama, TV) at the 2010 Golden Globes for her portrayal of Nicolette “Nicki” Grant, Bill Henrickson’s second wife, on the show. Co-star Bill Paxton is also nominated for a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the aforementioned Bill Henrickson, while Big Love is nominated for Best Television Series (Drama). The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be broadcast live via NBC on January 17 2010 @ 5 PM PST / 8 PM EST.
