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The Brink
Promotional poster
Genre	Political satire
Created by	Roberto Benabib Kim Benabib
Starring	Jack Black Tim Robbins Pablo Schreiber Aasif Mandvi Maribeth Monroe Eric Ladin Geoff Pierson Esai Morales
Composer	David Robbins
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Roberto Benabib Jerry Weintraub Jay Roach
Producers	Dave Holstein Jack Black Tim Robbins
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Jerry Weintraub Productions Everyman Pictures Little City Iron Works
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	June 21 (2015-06-21) – August 23, 2015 (2015-08-23)

The Brink is an American comedy television series created by brothers Roberto Benabib and Kim Benabib. It focuses on a geopolitical crisis in Pakistan. Before cancellation, the show was conceived so that each season would follow a different crisis somewhere in the world involving the same main characters. The pilot episode was written by the Benabib brothers and directed by Jay Roach.

The series premiered on June 21, 2015 on the American cable television network HBO. The Brink was initially renewed for a second season while the first season was still airing. HBO later reversed its order and cancelled the series after just one season.

Cast

Main

• Jack Black as Alex Talbot, a lowly Foreign Service Officer assigned to the Embassy of the United States, Islamabad
• Tim Robbins as United States Secretary of State Walter Larson
• Pablo Schreiber as Lieutenant Commander Zeke "Z-Pak" Tilson, a drug-dealing United States Naval Aviator on the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Ulysses S. Grant
• Aasif Mandvi as Rafiq Massoud, a Pakistani employed by the U.S. Embassy.
• Maribeth Monroe as Kendra Peterson, Walter's assistant
• Eric Ladin as Lieutenant Glenn "Jammer" Taylor, Zeke's backseater
• Geoff Pierson as United States Secretary of Defense Pierce Gray
• Esai Morales as President of the United States Julian Navarro

Recurring

• Mimi Kennedy as CIA Director Susan Buckley
• Jaimie Alexander as Lieutenant Gail Sweet, a public affairs officer on the Grant whom Zeke has impregnated
• Melanie Chandra as Fareeda Massoud, Rafiq's younger sister
• Mary Faber as Ashley, Zeke's pharmacist ex-wife and drug supplier
• Meera Syal as Naeema, Rafiq's mother
• Joey Martin as Captain Stephens
• Carla Gugino as Joanne Larson, Walter's wife, United States Department of Defense general counsel and aspiring federal judge
• John Larroquette as Robert Kittredge, the evangelical United States Ambassador to Pakistan
• Rex Linn as Rear Admiral (upper half) McBride, commander of the Grant carrier battle group
• Iqbal Theba as General Umair Zaman, a Pakistani general who stages a military coup
• Rob Brydon as Martin
• Michelle Gomez as Vanessa
• Bernard White as General Haroon Raja, Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence and Umair's half brother
• Iris Bahr as Israeli Foreign Minister Talia Levy

Episodes

Reception

The Brink received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season a rating of 53%, based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Brink avoids disaster thanks to the game efforts of a talented cast, but they - and viewers - deserve political satire with a sharper bite." Metacritic gives the first season a score of 52 out of 100, based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

IGN reviewer Amber Dowling gave the entire first season an 8.0 out of 10 'Great' score, saying that "after a rough first couple of episodes the actors settled into their characters and viewers grew more comfortable with the tone. Quick and surprising plot twists coupled with strong on-screen pairings eventually resulted in a fun summer romp with plenty of potential."

International broadcast

In India, the series aired within 24 hours of the US premiere on June 22, 2015, on HBO Defined HD. In Australia, the series premiered on July 7, 2015, on Showcase. In Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East and North Africa, the series premiered on November 11, 2015, on Orbit Showtime Network (OSN).

References

1. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 11, 2014). "HBO Gives Series Order To Comedy Pilot 'The Brink' Starring Jack Black & Tim Robbins, From Jay Roach & Jerry Weintraub". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
2. Pedersen, Erik (April 9, 2015). "HBO Launching Comedies 'The Brink' & 'Ballers' With 'True Detective' In June". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
3. "'The Brink' Renewed for Season 2 by HBO". Variety. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
4. Andreeva, Nellie (October 27, 2015). "'The Brink' Not Going Forward With Season 2 At HBO". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
5. "Jack Black/Tim Robbins Comedy 'The Brink' Premieres on HBO This Summer". Splitsider.com. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
6. ship name revealed in episode "Half-Cocked," class determined by hull number of CVN-82
7. Andreeva, Marshall Manesh (5 December 2013). "Esai Morales Joins HBO Comedy Pilot 'The Brink' As Regular, Will Play POTUS". Deadline Hollywood.
8. The Deadline Team (August 13, 2014). "Carla Gugino Joins HBO's 'The Brink'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
9. ^ "HBO's Jack Black Comedy Series Adds 'Gavin and Stacey,' 'Doctor Who' Actors". The Hollywood Reporter. September 5, 2014.
10. Bibel, Sara (June 23, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Detective' Wins Night, 'Ballers', 'Naked and Afraid', 'The Last Ship' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
11. Kondolojy, Amanda (June 30, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: BET Awards Tops Night + 'True Detective', 'Ballers', 'Naked and Afraid' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
12. Bibel, Sara (July 8, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: Shark Week Wins Night, 'True Detective', ' Ballers', 'The Last Ship', 'Botched', 'Falling Skies' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
13. Bibel, Sara (July 14, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Naked and Afraid XL' Wins Night, 'True Detective', 'Basketball Wives', 'Ballers', 'The Strain' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
14. Bibel, Sara (July 21, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Naked and Afraid XL' Wins Night, 'True Detective', 'Ballers', 'The Strain', 'The Last Ship', 'Tut' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
15. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 28, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'I am Cait' Tops Night + 'Naked & Afraid XL', 'Rick & Morty', 'True Detective', NASCAR, 'Ballers' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 31, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
16. Bibel, Sara (August 4, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Rick and Morty' & 'Naked and Afraid XL', Win Night, 'True Detective', 'The Last Ship', 'Ballers', 'The Strain', 'Ray Donovan' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 6, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
17. Kondolojy, Amanda (August 11, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Detective' Tops Night + 'Naked and Afraid XL', 'Rick & Morty', 'Ballers', & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
18. Bibel, Sara (August 18, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Naked and Afraid XL' Wins Night, 'Rick & Morty', 'Ballers', 'The Last Ship', 'The Strain', 'Ray Donovan' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 20, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
19. Kondolojy, Amanda (August 25, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Fear the Walking Dead' Tops Night + 'Talking Dead', 'Naked & Afraid', 'Rick & Morty', & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 28, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
20. "The Brink (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
21. "The Brink: Season 1 reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
22. Amber Dowling (September 1, 2015). "The Brink: Season 1 Review". IGN. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
23. "HBO Defined brings two new comedy series". Indiantelevision.com. 18 June 2015.
24. "Duck Dynasty, The Brink, Finding Carter, A Place To Call Home and live sport". The Green Room. July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.

External links

• Official website
• The Brink at IMDb

• 2010s American black comedy television series
• 2010s American political comedy television series
• 2010s American satirical television series
• 2015 American television series debuts
• 2015 American television series endings
• American English-language television shows
• HBO original programming
• Television shows set in Pakistan
• Works about diplomats