Lights Out with Holt McCallany Lights Up Tuesday Nights

Lights Out premiered in January on FX Tuesday nights at 10 PM. Starring the very talented and gorgeous Holt McCallany, this show has received excellent reviews. I stop everything to watch Lights Out.

Holt McCallany plays Patrick "Lights" Leary, a 40 year old champion heavyweight boxer who is making a comeback after five years of retirement. Leary is not Rocky! He does not run through the streets with a hundred children at his heels or bloody his hands punching beef.

Patrick Leary is a father and husband doing his best to take care of his family under extremely stressful circumstances--debt, the IRS, pugilistic dementia, a wife (Catherine McCormack) who does not want him to fight, a brother (Pablo Schreiber) who is a former drug addict and a gambler, and anxiety filled teenage daughters. This guy is fighting for his life. How on earth does he keep his head above water?

That question keeps me tuning in every Tuesday. I have to see what "Lights" is going to do. During the week, my teenage son and I have conversations about the upcoming show. Who in his family is going to present the next obstacle? What will "Lights" do about it? We have the utmost confidence in Patrick Leary. Please excuse the boxing metaphor-- Leary always gets up! Still, he is no simple boxer, and this is not a story simply about boxing. Holt McCallany portrays an exceptionally resilient guy who maintains his balance in the most precarious of situations.

This week (March 1) informed by his father and trainer (Stacy Keach) that "Pops" will no longer train him, Leary seeks out Ed Romeo. Romeo was fired by Reynolds, the champion Leary is determined to take on next. Can "Lights" make any decision that does not come with a deluxe can of worms? The Leary trio of father, sister, brother team up to express their unhappiness about his choice, and Reynolds himself makes an appearance to warn him. There is no single person in this boxer's life who is not self interested in his success or failure. That is the story.

I thought that T.V. had gone the way of the reality show and would never recover. I had resigned myself to watching old movies and Iron Chef. For a while there I followed Mad Men, but soon I found myself not liking any of the main characters. Lights Out revived my Sunday night Disney soul. Scenes, scenes!

Check out those scenes on FX this week. Read a review or two to catch yourself up on the storyline. Then at ten next Tuesday be prepared to become engaged by the life struggles of boxer "Lights" Leary. I cannot help myself. I want him to win.