'The Comey Rule' Ending Explained: There should be more shows on Trump admin with Brendan Gleeson as POTUS
Spoilers for ‘The Comey Rule’
Showtime’s newest political drama limited series, ‘The Comey Rule’ is both good and bad. Based on the book ‘A Higher Loyalty’ by former FBI director James Comey, the two-episode, four-hour-long miniseries stars Jeff Daniels as the titular lead and Brendan Gleeson as President of the United States Donald Trump. The show takes a look at some of the bigger political scandals of the recent past -- Hillary Clinton’s emails, Russia’s interference in the U.S. elections, and Trump’s rise to power.
The show is good in terms of its pacing. In what feels like two movies, the limited series manages to tell this complex tale from the perspective of the FBI and Comey. We see the complicated political machinery in play as the bureau tries to remain partisan in a world where it’s impossible to remain so anymore. In the second part, we see the true horror of what the inside of the White House looks like under the Trump administration.
The show is also excellent with its casting. Sure, there are a few misses here and there. But Gleeson shines as Trump. Other actors too, such as Scoot McNairy as Rod Rosenstein, Michael Kelly as Andrew McCabe, Holly Hunter as Sally Yates, T. R. Knight as Reince Priebus, and more have only added to the praise that one show can receive for acting and portrayal alone.
But the show has obvious flaws as well. For starters, despite being about a topic as explosive as this, ‘The Comey Rule’ seldom has moments that would push you to the edge of your seat. In fact, not a single moment, even the quiet but powerful ones, come to mind when you think of the show’s highlights. But that does not make it a bad show. Just not the most interesting or compelling one out there.
The second part ends with the firing of Comey. But not just that. We see the FBI -- Comey’s core team -- planning to investigate Russian intrusion further. And while we know -- and not just because this was shown on the series, but also because these things really happened -- that much of that team was either fired by the Trump administration, or they resigned in protest; there is potential for this limited series to have more.
Sure, ‘The Comey Rule’ is a limited series. And by virtue of Comey being fired, there is no possible way to make a political drama series along the same route. But does that take away the possibility of a sequel altogether? And not even a fictionalized one. The Trump administration has been rife with scandals all across.
For showrunner Billy Ray and Showtime, this can be an interesting idea: why not expand ‘The Comey Rule’ to a show about the Trump administration overall. For anyone who has enjoyed the show, the one thing that is a guaranteed factor in that enjoyment is Gleeson’s masterful portrayal of the president. So, why not make him the running antagonist in a slew of limited series dramas?
‘The Comey Rule’ in one way is not a success. But in others, it can do well to usher in an era of shows based on the current U.S. government that takes a hard look at what went wrong and how.
‘The Comey Rule’ is available for viewing on Showtime.