Hulu Dramedy Starring Comedy Legend Was Way Ahead Of Its Time
These days, the television landscape is jam-packed with complex dramas led by morally ambiguous anti-heroes, often facing serious subject matter and serialized stories spread out over entire seasons. While this has become the norm in today’s era of streaming and binge viewing, producing a show with these traits would once have been considered career suicide, especially on a standard network such as Fox, NBC, or CBS. One series that managed to not only pull off this feat, but perfect it as a blueprint for future shows, is FX’s Rescue Me, which aired 7 seasons from 2004 through 2011.
Rescue Me Was A Total Game Changer
Rescue Me is one of the most influential and overlooked television shows of all time, having essentially paved the way for projects like Breaking Bad, Ozark, and Sons of Anarchy. While the series took in great ratings and achieved major critical acclaim during its day, I rarely see it referenced in the general pop culture zeitgeist, even though I’d personally put it on the same level as The Sopranos or The Wire. Rescue Me was co-created by legendary stand-up comedian Denis Leary and Larry Sanders Show writer Peter Tolan.
A Hero Dealing With His Demons
Leary stars in Rescue Me as Tommy Gavin, a New York City firefighter who served as a first responder during the events of September 11, 2001. Wrought with guilt and self loathing, Tommy is constantly self-medicating to deal with his anxiety, depression, and PTSD brought on by the loss of several of his friends and family members who died in the line of duty. Leary is joined in the cast by Michael Lombardi, Steven Pasquale, Daniel Sunjata, Lenny Clarke, John Scurti, and The Sopranos‘ Jerry Adler.
Tasteful Doses Of Realism
Though the series tackles some incredibly heavy themes such as loss, grief, alcoholism, and generational trauma, Rescue Me also has many moments of lighthearted comedy, offering a surprisingly well-rounded look into the lives and work of actual firefighters.
Several cast members actually served as firemen before joining Rescue Me, and Denis Leary famously has family members who work in fire departments in his home state of Massachusetts.
This industry knowledge and compassion for real first responders helps the series to address 9/11 and other tragedies with the respect and dignity that they deserve, without ever feeling preachy or obnoxious.
A Modern Classic By All Conventional Standards
If it wasn’t already obvious, Rescue Me is one of my all-time favorite shows, and I truly can’t recommend it enough. It is worth noting, however, that not every scene holds up by modern standards, and there are a few plot lines in the later seasons which seem designed to frustrate the audience. Still, I consider Rescue Me to be a modern classic of dramatic television programming, with one of the most well-crafted finale episodes of all time.
Streaming Rescue Me On Hulu
GFR SCORE
The series currently touts a nearly-perfect 88 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 90 percent general audience score to match. If you’re interested in sitting down and binge-watching Rescue Me today, be sure to stream the series on Hulu. The show definitely isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you’re looking for some big laughs, major plot twists, and tear-jerking moments, Rescue Me is among the best you can do, even in 2024 and beyond.
