Dennis Leary snarls as naturally as most actors smile. Leary's trademark ferocity and fearlessness drive Rescue Me, a series about a team of firemen struggling with their wives and lovers in post-9/11 New York City. Tommy Gavin (Leary, No Cure for Cancer, The Ref) is the guy everyone confides in, the heart of the firehouse--but he's also an active alcoholic who rages about his wife Janet (Andrea Roth) leaving him, a man guilt-ridden and literally haunted by all the people he blames himself for failing to save. Surrounding him are a crew of vivid characters, played by a little-known but outstanding cast: Handsome lothario Franco Rivera (Daniel Sunjata) discovers he's fathered a daughter with a psychotic ex-girlfriend; Ken Shea (John Scurti) struggles to resolve his post-traumatic stress by writing poetry; Mike Siletti (Mike Lombardi), the newest guy on the team, finds love with a partner the rest of the crew finds unacceptable; Chief Jerry Reilly (Jack McGee) risks his career when he beats a gay firefighter in a bar; and several others, all multi-faceted and sharply written. Rescue Me's first season launches with a full head of steam, tackling divorce, homophobia, and male bonding in a pellmell rush. The core theme of the show, however, is how men react to stress--how anger, bragging, competition, sex, and booze pacify their jagged emotions, pulling the firefighters together and isolating them at the same time. The first eight or so episodes rip along, spiced with high-energy scenes of fires and obscene, scatological banter. The second half of the series grows a little repetitive (beatings and steamy sex lose their vigor after a while) and some storylines stretch credulity, but the characters never lose their engaging complexity. Leary, who co-created the show and co-wrote many of the episodes, barrels through each hour like a force of nature, even as Tommy's increasingly erratic behavior threatens to alienate his family and his team. This bilious fusion of vices and virtues guarantees compelling television. --Bret Fetzer

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