American conspiracy thriller television series
Rubicon is an American conspiracy thriller television series created by Jason Horwitch and produced by Henry Bromell that was broadcast on the AMC television network in 2010. The series centers on an intelligence analyst working for the American Policy Institute (API) in New York City. The series stars James Badge Dale, Jessie Collins, Lauren Hodges, Miranda Richardson, Dallas Roberts, Christopher Evan Welch, Arliss Howard, and Michael Cristofer.
The original focus of the series was influenced by conspiracy films of the 1970s such as "Three Days of the Condor" and "The Parallax View", in which an innocent character is caught up in, and slowly unravels, a major conspiracy. Creative differences with the network, however, caused Horwitch to leave the series, after which Bromell focused the episodes more on the workers at API, which was changed from a think tank to a private intelligence agency.
"Rubicon" debuted on AMC on August 1, 2010, as a two-hour, two episode block. With two million viewers, the August 1 premiere set a record as the most watched debut of an AMC original series at that time. However, due to low viewing figures, AMC canceled "Rubicon" on November 11, 2010, stating that the show had been "an opportunity to tell a rich and compelling story, and we're proud of the series. This was not an easy decision, but we are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a phenomenally talented and dedicated team."
Production.
Concept.
The show's title references Caesar's 49 BC crossing of the Rubicon in northeastern Italy, an act of war against the Roman Republic. A press release by Bromell noted that the Roman senators "were always afraid that the Roman army would someday take over, which is exactly what happened. And that's when the republic ended and the empire—which is a dictatorship—began." The river's history was also mentioned in episode 12, when Kale Ingram compares Katherine Rhumor's late husband to Cato the Younger, whose suicide permitted his family to "make peace with Caesar and a life of their own".
The narrative of the show involves the main protagonist, an intelligence analyst, during his investigation into the mysterious death of his mentor, which is later revealed to be an act of a larger conspiracy committed by a secret society of war profiteers in corporate America, whose members may include his employer.
Creator Jason Horwitch conceived the show based on conspiracy films of the 1970s such as "All the President's Men", "Three Days of the Condor", and "The Parallax View" inspired by their slow-paced action and complex stories. After writing and producing the pilot, Horwitch left the show due to "creative disagreements" with the network. Producer Henry Bromell then took over the role as showrunner, making numerous changes including shifting the workplace from a civilian think tank similar to RAND to an intelligence consulting firm similar to STRATFOR. With Horwitch off-board, further production began on March 29, 2010, in New York City. Subsequent episodes shifted much of the series's focus to workplace dynamics instead of the original conspiracy.
Episodes.
The series debuted on AMC on August 1, 2010, with a two-hour broadcast of the pilot followed by episode 2. The pilot episode was given two preview showings; once after the season 3 finale of "Breaking Bad" on June 13, 2010, and again after the season 4 premiere of "Mad Men" on July 25, 2010. The first sneak preview was viewed by 2 million viewers, making it the most watched debut of an AMC original series at that time. The second received 818,000 viewers. The series was cancelled on November 11, 2010, owing to its low ratings.
Reception.
"Rubicon" received generally favorable reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it received a 69% approval rating with an average score of 7.75 out of 10 based on 29 reviews and a critical consensus of, ""Rubicon" creates an intellectual puzzle for the mind that is pieced together with skillful writing, acting, and carefully-crafted storytelling." On Metacritic, it scored 69 out of 100 based on 28 critic reviews. Most of the critics praised the show's cast and atmosphere, but many have criticized the lack of action and the slow development of the central mystery. The show has often been compared to AMC's other shows, "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad", because of their success and originality, "Entertainment Weekly"'s Ken Tucker ended his review with such a comparison saying ""Rubicon" doesn't have the glossy panache of "Mad Men" or the in-your-face confrontations of "Breaking Bad", but I think that's a good thing. It establishes "Rubicon" as its own distinct creation from AMC." About the lack of action on the show, Scott D. Pierce for the "Deseret News" wrote, "For a show that's supposed to be a spy thriller, there aren't a whole lot of thrills in "Rubicon"." Maureen Ryan from the "Chicago Tribune" commented, "This pleasantly low-key drama has little trouble creating an atmosphere, but the pace is sometimes slack in the first four episodes." However, some critics found the lack of action as smart and creative, as Tucker wrote: "Rubicon does it by creating an eerily quiet world in which small moments can generate great suspense. The discovery of a spy's clues planted in crossword puzzles, or Will's insistence that a guy is following him while we are shown that two different men are tailing him—these carry more dramatic weight than a score of car chases or martial-arts fight scenes."
After the last episode had been aired, Adam Kirsch in "The New Republic" highlighted that the series had two parallel stories that seemed 40 years apart: Will's unraveling of the conspiracy, which so much tries to recreate the 1970s conspiracy films in which nobody seems to know that emails, databases and USB sticks have been invented; and the work of the analysts, which is definitely set in our post 9/11 world.
"Rubicon" made appearances in several 2010 top ten lists. Therese Odell, of the "Houston Chronicle", listed "Rubicon" as the third best TV show of 2010, while "Time" magazine's James Poniewozik called "Rubicon" the ninth best show of the year. "Rubicon" also appears in Robert Lloyd's list, published in the "Los Angeles Times", of the 10 shows that "made TV worth watching" in 2010, as well as in Maureen Ryan's list for "TV Squad" of the best TV of 2010.
In a 2010 article entitled "Whither Intelligence? Where Espionage Goes Wrong", David A. Andelman, writing for the "World Policy Journal", described "Rubicon" as "perhaps the single most realistic interpretation of intelligence analysis".
Online promotion.
Promotion on AMC's "Rubicon" website included the "Intelligence Team Aptitude Test", a personality quiz that told users which job they'd be best suited for at the American Policy Institute (the fictional intelligence agency featured on the show). Inspired by Will's discovery of a code hidden within newspaper crossword puzzles in episode 1, "The New York Times" created an original "Rubicon"-themed crossword puzzle prior to Rubicon's premiere which eventually became exclusively available on AMC's Rubicon website. Promotion also included "Maggie’s Blog", a personal blog authored by one of the show's characters, Maggie Young. AMC's "Rubicon" website also featured exclusive sneak peek and behind the scenes videos, trivia games, numerous photo galleries, episode and character guides, a blog, and a community forum.
Awards and nominations.
In 2011, "Rubicon" received a Creative Arts Emmy nomination for Outstanding Main Title Design for Theo Daley (designer), Cara McKenney (producer/art director), Jeremy Cox (designer/animator) and Karin Fong (creative director).
References.
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