'House of Lies' Premieres Tonight

I love Kristen Bell. I love Don Cheadle. Oh, and Ben Schwartz is pretty awesome too.

If you feel the same way I do, you'll definitely like 'House of Lies'.

It stars Don Cheadle as Marty, the leader of a team that is part of a large consulting firm. The team he oversees includes Jeannie (Kristen Bell), Clyde (Ben Schwartz) and Doug (Josh Lawson).

I recently watched the pilot episode (premiering tonight at 10/9C on Showtime) and was pleasantly surprised. The show is intelligent and fast-paced, despite the fact that it has some unusual editing techniques that take a bit to get used to. One such technique is the constant breaking of the fourth wall; Marty talks directly to the viewer, giving definitions of consulting terms, while all the action around him completely freezes.

The pilot episode is not particularly strong, and it doesn't come across as a comedy, despite the fact that it is advertised as such. Despite this, I believe that the characters are interesting and complex enough that 'House of Lies' shows great promise

Kristen Bell's character is an interesting addition. Jeannie is well-educated and as manipulative as the men on her team. Maybe we're finally getting a portrayal of a strong woman whose strength isn't made more 'reasonable' by some other flaw in her character. This is rare in television.

One of the most interesting aspects of the show is the chemistry between Marty (Cheadle) and Jeannie (Bell). Marty's states throughout the pilot that he will ultimately sleep with Jeannie. Of course, Marty sleeps with three different women in the first episode, so it's unclear how much sex with Jeannie would mean. The fact that he calls her to discuss actual issues in his life suggests that if he were to enter into a sexual relationship with her it would mean much more than meaningless sex. I think that the will they/won't they aspect of the Marty and Jeannie relationship will prove central to the plot (and the appeal) of the series.
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With Occupy Wall Street going on, the timing of a show examining the dirty work involved in corporate consulting couldn't be better.
'House of Lies' premieres tonight (Sunday, Jan 8th) at 10/9C.