Showtime 2.1 - A New Chapter

Showtime - A New Chapter
Genre : Drama / Comedy / Sports
Showrunner: Steven Soderbergh
Writer : Chad Taylor & Mo Buck

Cast: Barry Keoghan, Joe Manganiello, Dacre Montgomery, Nick Offerman, Cooper Andrews, Paul Walter Hauser, Zoey Dutch, Anna Gunn, Clayne Crawford, Tom Hopper, Alan Ritchson, Paul Rust and Toby Huss

Plot: Diane Brown (Anna Gunn) puts the phone following her game-changing call with fellow promoter Paul Martin. She takes a deep breath and peeks out in the locker room. The wrestlers are still shocked by Santana’s departure and unsure how to react after Loto’s (Cooper Andrews) title win. She sees his manager “Loudmouth” Dicky Ray (Paul Rust) all smiles and taking in all the praise and applauses. She leaves her office and instantly gets the locker room attention. Brad Wolfe (Clayne Crawford) asks her what’s going on with TCW since Santana left and if she knew about it. Diane says she didn’t and gives a mean look to Dicky. She says she doesn’t know yet and perhaps she’ll know more tomorrow, she needs to process this. As she heads back to her office, she bites her lips, as she can’t believe she folded under the pressure and couldn’t tell the truth to her roster. Loto asks everyone to come with him to have a few drinks for Ricky. They probably despise him by now, but he was a loyal and respected member of this locker room and it would be a fitting end for his TCW career. The response is mixed, but everyone eventually agrees to go.

Ben Carr (Barry Keoghan) sits with veteran Bill Gundy (Nick Offerman) and asks him what Santana’s departure means for TCW and if he should try to find work elsewhere. Bill says he has been here a long time and this company has seen some dark times, but that was under the late Roy Browne’s leadership. The only thing worrying him is Diane. It’s a tough industry for women and it remains to be seen if she’s tough enough to dig TCW out of its hole. The Jackson brothers, Tom (Tom Hopper) and Don (Alan Ritchson) discuss with Wolfe about what’s next for them. While the Jacksons are sad to see Ricky go, Brad reminds them that TCW lost its figurehead and he can take that spot and they could climb in the ranks too. They say that’s a real possibility and it will be exciting to see what will happen. Thunderjack Haynes (Dacre Montgomery) and Sweet Tea (Zoey Deutch) debate whether they should go to Santana’s goodbye party or head home to celebrate his big win. Thunderjack desperately wants to go home as he thinks they’ll have more fun there, but Sweet Tea, who doesn’t have sex on mind, suggests to go to the bar with everyone else and perhaps he could get Santana’s blessing, allowing him to be his true successor. Avid of success, he accepts.

Everyone is at the bar, even Loto who doesn’t drink and Bill Gundy despite his bad experiences. Ricky (Joe Manganiello) tries to explain his decision, saying he’s sorry that he’s leaving them, but he saw the opportunity and he took it. He wants to be the best wrestler in the world and he’s not getting any younger. There’s no better way to do it than to go on the grandest stage of them all and that’s where he’s going. He jokes, saying he’ll think of them when he wins the APW Championship. Joking aside, he praises the incredible wrestlers in the locker rooms and recalls the matches he had with everyone of them, saying everyone made him better and helped him to achieve his dream. He’s leaving tomorrow and he doesn’t regret his decision. Dicky asks Ricky what does his wife think about the move and the look on Ricky’s face changes. He ends his speech abruptly and stays silent for a while.

As the get together is wrapping up, Ricky pulls Ben aside and congratulates him on his performance on the big stage. He tells him he sees big things in him. Looking on from afar, Thunderjack is seething in anger as he had been waiting for this moment all night. He complains to Tea, who tells him that at least the crowd thought he was the star. She looks affectionately from afar at Ben, who is clearly more humble than Thunderjack. Haynes says he is going grab that top spot, whether anyone else likes it or not. Wolfe overhears this and rolls his eyes.

24 Hours Later

Ricky's plane lands at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. He leaves first class to find Shirley (Sofia Black-D'Elia) seated further back in the plane. They leave the airport and take in the big city, the first time for the both of them. He says he better get to his meeting with Buck Gordon at the APW offices. She says she needs to start getting new sources for her newsletter so she'll be on her way as well. They kiss and part ways.

Ricky meets with Buck Gordon (Max Minghella), the hot-shot owner of APW. Buck gives his usual spiel about the company when welcoming new talent, talking about how his grandfather founded the company in the 30s and how it has been handed down to him. He's built it into the tri-state's most premiere wrestling promotion and America's as well. And now Ricky is on board. He tells him he has big plans in store for Santana. Ricky smiles and they shake hands.

Back in Houston, Diane tells the talent to meet at the arena early as she's got something big to tell them. At the meeting, everyone sits around nervously. Diane tells them not to be, these are exciting times (although her delivery isn't fully convincing).Before she can continue, the door slings open and Paul Martin (Toby Huss) enters. A lot of people are confused, while Ben knows his wrestling industry and whispers to the himself that that is Paul Martin, head of the Martin Wrestling Association out of Georgia. He apologizes for being late and he starts to make the announcement but she says that she wants to be the one who tells her roster. She announces that TCW has joined into an alliance with MWA and some other companies to fight back against the rising dominance of APW. The alliance will have one champion who will travel from territory to territory and to defend the belt. As such, the MWA's Heavyweight Champion will be arriving tomorrow along to join TCW and fight Loto in a unification match. Martin, a charismatic fella, makes a toast to bright days ahead. Meanwhile, everyone in the locker room are still unsure how to process this news. As they leave, Paul chides Diane for continuing to talk over him and tells him that that is not going to work in their new partnership. 

Showtime doesn't miss a beat as it picks up immediately where Season 2 left off. The season premiere is filled to the brim with conflict, effectively setting up the direction of the season.

Joe Manganiello's exit leaves a gaping hole in TCW's roster, but the dynamic world and environment writers Buck and Taylor were able to create is so interesting that you won't even know he's missing.

While the introductory episode of Showtime felt a little bland, the following episodes were amongst the best LRTV had to offer last season. This season premiere follows up on the previous season in a great way, setting up good things to come