American psychological thriller TV series
Bloodline is an American psychological thriller television series created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman, and produced by Sony Pictures Television. The series premiered on February 9, 2015, in the Berlinale Special Galas section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival, and the 13-episode first season premiered in its entirety, on Netflix, on March 20, 2015. On March 31, 2015, "Bloodline" was renewed for a 10-episode second season that debuted on May 27, 2016. On July 13, 2016, Netflix renewed "Bloodline" for a 10-episode third season, later confirmed to be the final season. The third and final season was released on May 26, 2017.
The first season received positive reviews from many critics, with most praising its performances (particularly for Ben Mendelsohn and Kyle Chandler) and cinematography. However, the second and third seasons received mixed responses from critics.
Plot.
Season 1 (2015).
The series begins with narration by John Rayburn:
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;Sometimes you know something's coming. You feel it. In the air. In your gut. And you don't sleep at night. The voice in your head is telling you that something is going to go terribly wrong and there's nothing you can do to stop it. That's how I felt when my brother came home.
Danny Rayburn returns home to Islamorada, Florida, for the 45th anniversary of his parents' Robert and Sally Rayburn's seaside inn, the Rayburn House; a pier will be dedicated in their honor to mark the occasion. Danny is the black sheep of the family, among them his three younger siblings: John, Kevin, and Meg. John is a detective with the local sheriff's office, Kevin owns a local marina, and Meg is an attorney with a local law firm. Danny wants to make his return permanent as he wishes to stay to help his parents at their inn. Robert is reluctant to let Danny stay, but leaves it up to the three siblings to decide Danny's fate.
The siblings decide against Danny staying as they conclude that he will only break their mother's heart in the end. John breaks the news to Danny, but lies to him by telling him it was their father who ultimately wanted him gone, rather than the siblings. Even though he gets a ride to the bus station from John, in the end, Danny does not leave. Danny's confrontation with his father inadvertently causes Robert to have mini-strokes, which eventually cause his death.
The Rayburns' past is full of deep, dark secrets that are revealed throughout the season. Danny's dysfunctional relationship with his family primarily stems from the untimely death of his younger sister, Sarah, when he was a teenager. Danny took Sarah out on a boat. Her seahorse necklace fell into the water, and when she attempted to retrieve it, she drowned. Robert lost control and beat Danny severely, believing he was in some way responsible for her death. Sally covered up this abuse by pushing John, Kevin, and Meg to lie to the police about their brother's injuries, which they now claim were the result of Danny being hit by a drunk driver.
Robert's death now opens the door for Danny to have a permanent job at the inn. Danny appears to be changing his ways with hard work and dedication, which puts him in Sally's good graces. However, Danny's dark past is revealed via his connection with childhood friend and local troublemaker Eric O'Bannon. The two begin siphoning gasoline from local docks for drug dealer and human trafficker Wayne Lowry. As they gain Lowry's trust, they are given larger jobs to complete. Danny eventually uses his job at the Rayburn House as a front to smuggle cocaine for Lowry.
John and the sheriff's department collaborate with the DEA in an investigation into the deaths of unknown women and drug trafficking in Monroe County by Lowry and his men. The investigation leads John directly to Danny and his recent activities. While secretly investigating Danny, John discovers Danny's smuggled cocaine in a shed on the Rayburn House property. During a meeting between John, Kevin, and Meg, the three siblings conclude that the only way to fix the situation and not put the family's business at risk with the Feds is to move the drugs to Danny's condo in Miami without telling Danny. The loss of the drugs puts Danny in a bad situation with Lowry, who believes that Danny has stolen the cocaine from him. Lowry sends a hitman to assassinate Danny, but Danny kills the hitman instead.
Under pressure, Danny begins to act erratically. He tries to intimidate John by taking his daughter Jane out on a boat and giving her a seahorse necklace, similar to the one that belonged to their deceased sister, Sarah. John and his wife Diana take this as a threat against the family, so John sends his wife and children away for a few days. The seahorse necklace causes John to reach his breaking point. During a confrontation, John drowns Danny in the ocean. Distraught from murdering his brother, John has a heart problem (atrial fibrillation) and turns to Meg for help. Meg and Kevin decide to cover up the murder by moving Danny's body. John eventually sets a boat on fire to create an explosion that would frame Danny's death. Unsatisfied with what she is being told, Sally turns to long-time family friend and retired detective Lenny Potts to privately investigate the matter. In the aftermath of Danny's death, Meg moves to New York City to take a job with a large firm; Kevin reunites with his estranged wife, Belle, who is now pregnant with their child; and John reunites with Diana and his family. The season ends with the arrival of Danny's son, Nolan, at John's home to find out what happened to his father.
Season 2 (2016).
Danny's death continues to haunt the Rayburn family. Wayne Lowry confronts John, claiming to have a tape recorded by Danny that could be used as blackmail against John. John's deputy Marco Diaz continues to question people in relation to Danny's death, including Eric O'Bannon. Meg returns from New York, John runs for Sheriff, and Kevin continues to struggle with his failing business. Nolan and his mother Eve arrive at the Rayburn house and meet Sally to discuss Danny. Through Nolan and Eve, the Rayburns learn more about Danny's past, including his asking Robert to borrow some money for his restaurant. Robert made him choose between that or his continuing to send money to Eve for Nolan's support. Ozzy, an old friend of Danny's from Miami, has gotten involved with Eve and works with her to appeal Meg's cancellation after her father's death of the payments to Eve for child support of Nolan. John tries to get the tape from Lowry by telling him to turn himself in so that the DEA can arrest his contacts and his family will be protected. Lowry considers the offer, but backs down due to Kevin giving back some of the drugs Danny had. Lowry is killed by the father of one of the victims killed when he blew up a boat containing people they were trafficking. While John runs for Sheriff, Marco gets closer to finding Danny's killer. Marco, who used to have a relationship with Meg, grows to resent the Rayburn family for lying and telling contradictory stories. Eric O'Bannon tells Marco he has proof that John killed Danny. Kevin goes to see Marco to tell him that John killed Danny; Marco responds that John, Meg, and Kevin are all going to prison. Kevin tries to confess to Marco, and then murders him.
Season 3 (2017).
Following Marco's murder, Kevin seeks Roy Gilbert's help to cover up the murder. Gilbert engineers a plan that frames O'Bannon for the murder, but Kevin nearly loses his life in the process. The impending trial creates further rifts within the Rayburn clan; Meg vanishes, Kevin becomes further ensnared in Gilbert's shady machinations, and John is increasingly consumed by guilt for Danny's death. Meg goes and hides in Los Angeles. Ozzy kills himself after getting captured by Gilbert's men prior to Gilbert's apparent death from a heart attack. Sally reveals the truth about the Rayburns' past of hiding secrets. O'Bannon loses the trial and ends up in jail. Kevin gets arrested for smuggling drugs for Gilbert. Sally confesses to hating John and Kevin, and that Danny was her favorite. John is conflicted about whether to confess to Nolan about Danny; the series ends as their conversation is about to begin.
Production.
Conception.
"Bloodline" was announced in October 2014 as part of a partnership between Netflix and Sony Pictures Television, representing Netflix's first major deal with a major film studio for a television series. The series was created and executive produced by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman, who previously created the FX series "Damages". According to its official synopsis released by Netflix, "Bloodline" "centers on a close-knit family of four adult siblings whose secrets and scars are revealed when their black sheep brother returns home."
The writing trio settled on the theme of family as they tried to determine what their next project would look like. According to Zelman, "Over the years we've found ourselves talking a lot about family and how family dynamics have changed — or not changed — as we've gotten older." Glenn Kessler added, "As we've hit our 40s, our understanding of our family dynamics has begun to change. And because we all come from families with three sons, we recognize the roles we play. It's something we'd been talking about. So the thought was, why not try to mine some of that in our creative life?"
They settled on a family-thriller genre, set in the Florida Keys, which explored the ghost of the past in family role formation. The pitch was attractive to a number of outlets before Netflix landed the drama as a 13-hour season to launch all at once — a structural advantage very important to the show's creators.
Casting.
The creators were intrigued by the idea of casting Kyle Chandler, whose on-screen persona in "Friday Night Lights" was warm and inviting, to play the ostensibly noble but deeply flawed John Rayburn. They met with Chandler in Austin, Texas, and pitched the part: "This is like an experiment. We're not quite sure if this is going to work the way we're doing it, but we want to try to create this family dynamic we're aware of and create this family around it. And their hesitancy of whether it would work or not... made me, thinking back on it, realize they were into it 110% because they were trying to create something new. I didn't know what would happen with it or where it could go... But I was like, I'm in."
Ben Mendelsohn was the only actor whom the producers met with for the role of Danny Rayburn; they found his combination of intellect and acting ability perfectly suited to the part. Glenn Kessler was grateful for Netflix's hands-off approach to the decision, explaining, "They very much supported us finding the best actor that we thought could play the role."
In addition, as much of the show's dramatic tension comes from the relationship between John and Danny, a certain chemistry between the two actors was vital. According to Chandler, "[Mendelsohn]'s so easy to work with. And yet, he's tricky — when you're working with him, [psychologically] there's so much going on."
Linda Cardellini and Norbert Leo Butz secured their parts as siblings Meg and Kevin Rayburn, respectively, through meetings with the creators. According to Kessler, Sissy Spacek and Sam Shepard were described prior to casting as the "dream" actors they would want to play the Rayburn parents. A "Damages" fan, Spacek signed on after the cast started coming together, explaining, "There's so much good work coming out of television. I wanted to be a part of it."
The second season features the additions of John Leguizamo and Andrea Riseborough as series regulars, both playing characters from Danny's past. Ben Mendelsohn returns as a series regular for the second season, despite his character's having been killed off in season 1. Kessler said: "The DNA of the show is such that the past is always with us," and "We're going to learn more about Danny's effect on the family and more about his past, and also what his effects are