The Comey Rule, which revolves around FBI director James Comey in the run-up to the 2016 US election and the early months of Donald Trump’s presidency, drops on Neon this week. Here’s a rundown of the cast of characters in the political mire of the US, and who’s playing who.

Jeff Daniels as James Comey

Who is he? Jeff Daniels has been a high-tier “hey, it’s that guy!” for decades now, with a variety of serious roles across drama and comedy, film and TV. The dramas you might recognise him from are The Hours, The Squid and the Whale, Steve Jobs and The Martian. The comedies you’ll recognise him from are Dumb & Dumber and Dumb & Dumber 2. He’s got the range, you guys.

Who’s he playing? James Comey was the director of the FBI from 2013 until he was (spoiler alert for recent history) dismissed some months into Trump’s presidency. He’s a figure of some controversy, with some pundits claiming that his reopening of the investigation into Hilary Clinton’s emails two weeks before the election was what cost her it. He is also, as you might expect, the subject of The Comey Rule.

Holly Hunter as Sally Yates

Who is she? Holly Hunter is one of the most acclaimed actors of her generation, with an Oscar and two Emmys under her belt and more nominations to her name than words in this article. While her most recognisable role would be The Piano, she’s recently appeared in Succession as a cutthroat CEO, because is there any other kind of CEO in Succession?

Who is she playing? Sally Yates was, at the time of Trump’s election, the United States attorney general, having been appointed by Obama. She served for 10 days as the acting attorney general, but was dismissed by Trump for insubordination when she stated that the “Muslim ban” of 2017 was not defensible in court.

Michael Kelly as Andrew McCabe

Who is he? Michael Kelly is another “hey it’s that guy!”. If you watched House of Cards, you’ll recognise him as Doug Stamper, a role that netted him a few Emmy nominations, but he’s had plum roles in Black Mirror, Jack Ryan, and The Sopranos.

Who is he playing? McCabe was the deputy director of the FBI from 2016 until – and if you’re sensing a theme here, you might well be Sue Nicholson – he was dismissed by Jeff Sessions, the country’s attorney general at the time. You know that story about the dog who died the day before he retires from the police force? McCabe was literally 26 hours away from retirement when he was unceremoniously removed from the post. So that was basically his experience, without the joy of being a dog, or the burden of, you know, dying.

Jennifer Ehle as Patrice Comey nee Failor

Who is she? According to me, Jennifer Ehle is one of the best, most underrated actors of her generation. According to most, she’s the best Elizabeth Bennet in the Colin Firth-starring BBC adaptation of Pride of Prejudice. She’s also the best thing about pretty much every film she’s in, including A Quiet Passion, Zero Dark Thirty and Contagion.

Who is she playing? Patrice Comey is James Comey’s wife! She was apparently kept out of the loop for most of Comey’s work, which sounds like a wise choice. If my husband’s work was dramatic enough to make for a two-part miniseries, I’d keep my headphones in too.

Scott McNairy as Rod Rosenstein

Who is he? Another trend is emerging here: Scott McNairy is a quintessential “hey, it’s that guy!”. He’s largely been on the fringes in bigger projects like Argo, 12 Years a Slave, Gone Girl, Batman v Superman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. However, he’s really made his mark in TV, with meaty roles in Halt and Catch Fire, True Detective and Godless.

Who is he playing? Rod Rosenstein, who is mostly famous for his support of the Trump administration family separation policy, saying that the government “should not be categorically declining immigration prosecutions of adults in family units because of the age of a child”. He is, uh, probably a villain in this show, as in life.

Steven Pasquale as Peter Strzok

Who is he? Steven Pasquale is largely a musical theatre actor, which I won’t bore you with (but he’s worth checking out on Spotify). His biggest TV roles to date have been in Rescue Me, The Good Wife and The People v O.J Simpson: American Crime Story.

Who is he playing? Peter Strzok (said like “struck”, somehow) led the FBI investigation into Hilary Clinton’s emails, and later worked on Robert Mueller’s investigation into any shenanigans between Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government. He was removed from this investigation when Mueller became aware of criticisms shared in text messages exchanged between him and FBI lawyer Lisa Page. These text messages, numbering in the thousands, became a huge media story for about a week, and lord, let’s pour one out for the journalists who had to read over all those.

Oona Chaplin as Lisa Page

Who is she? Here’s a twist: Oona Chaplin is a “hey, it’s that gal!”. Her biggest role is as Talisa Maegyr in Game of Thrones, but she’s also been in Spooks, The Hour (not to be mistaken for The Hours) and will appear in the long-gestating Avatar sequels. 

And some trivia for you: she is the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin!

Who is she playing? The aforementioned Lisa Page. She does not have her own Wikipedia page, which she is probably thankful for.

Peter Coyote as Robert Mueller

Who is he? Peter Coyote has had a long and storied career, and you’ve probably seen him in the likes of E.T, Patch Adams, or Erin Brockovich. You’ll probably recognise his voice more than his face, as he’s a popular narrator for the likes of Ken Burns work and countless other documentaries. More hilariously, to me, he is a founder of a troupe called The Diggers, who called themselves an “anarchist improv group”, which has to be the coolest kind of improv.

Who is he playing? Robert Mueller was the Director of the FBI between 2001 and 2013, but he’s most famous/infamous for being special counsel for the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election. His report was submitted last year and it changed the world forever. Just kidding! Nothing happened. The world is a mess.

William Sadler as Michael Flynn

Who is he? When does one age from a “hey, it’s that guy!” into “hello, it’s you sir”. Because William Sadler is definitely the latter. He’s appeared in countless things, but if you’ve any taste, you’ll recognise him in his iconic role as the Grim Reaper in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. 

Who is he playing? Michael Flynn was a senior adviser for Trump during his campaign, and was the national security adviser for less than a month. His tenure is the shortest in the history of the position. He later plead guilty to falsely testifying to the FBI, but later withdrew his guilty plea. He co-authored a book called The Field of Fight: How We Can We Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies, which I’m sure isn’t racist at all.

TR Knight as Reince Priebus

Who is he? I’m going to level with you here: TR Knight is George from Grey’s Anatomy. That’s where you know him from.

Who is he playing? Reince Priebus served as the White House chief of staff for six months in 2017, having the shortest tenure of any White House chief of staff in history. His full name is Reinhold Richard Priebus, which makes you wonder where the hell he got “Reince” from.

Joe Lo Truglio as Jeff Sessions

Who is he? While we’re on the level, you know Joe Lo Truglio from playing Boyle on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Let’s not pretend otherwise.

Who is he playing? Jeff Sessions was one of Trump’s earliest supporters, and coincidentally, was one of the people that James Comey investigated in 2017. To use a political term, he was kind of a dick during these proceedings, which is covered in The Comey Rule. He resigned from the Trump administration in 2018, and lost his bid to be re-elected as a senator in 2020.

Being played by Joe Lu Truglio is a kind fate for him.

Brendan Gleeson as President Donald Trump

Who is he? Brendan Gleeson is one of Ireland’s most accomplished actors, who you probably recognise from his role as Professor Moody in the Harry Potter film series. However, I’d really recommend you check him out in his collaborations with Martin and John Michael McDonagh: In Bruges and Calvary, two black-as-tar comedies that are excellent. 

Who is he playing? If you don’t know, then I would like the address of the rock you’re living under so I can join you there. I am house-trained.

Kingsley Ben-Adir as President Barack Obama

Who is he? British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir is a relative unknown, with a few roles dotted across various limited series, but 2020 looks to be a good year for him playing Black icons. Not only does he play Barack Obama, he’s set to star as Malcolm X in One Night in Miami.

Who is he playing? Again, if you don’t know, please email the location of your rock to sam@thespinoff.co.nz. You seem to be pleasantly hidden away from the world, and I would welcome the ignorance.

You can watch The Comey Rule on Neon this week.

Some of New Zealand’s best comedians unite in Golden Boy to bring us a fun, breezy sitcom that will brighten any bad day. 

I’m binge-watching Golden Boy after a morning at the dentist. My face is numb. I’m sliding mandarin pieces between the teeth I’m allowed to use. I want to be cheered up, and this show is exactly what I need.

Golden Boy is set in the small, rugby-obsessed town of Crawdon, and it’s that cheerful brand of sitcom: the group of oddballs in forced proximity. It stars Hayley Sproull as Mitch, living in the shadow of her famous All Black brother, as she self-sabotages her career and relationship with Aussie Dave, played by Dean O’Gorman. Season two of Golden Boy has drawn in Rose Matafeo and Brynley Stent to the already stacked cast. Just about every member of the current NZ comedy brat pack is there, including Madeleine Sami, Angella Dravid and Chris Parker, to name a few. In fact, Kiwi comedies are starting to feel like watching the same group of friends play different games of dress-up with each other. In between episodes I’ve also watched Taskmaster NZ and Baby Done and found I was watching aspects of the same ensemble at differently scheduled points in my week. It would be understandable to forget which show you’re watching. 

That being said, the frequency with which these performers have worked together shows. They play off each other like pros, creating chaotic ensemble scenes that build to Monty Python levels of absurdity. The season’s highlight is when the town gets a microwave and the resulting episode is a masterclass in ensemble comedy. As the characters shout ideas of what they can microwave, (a jandal, a bell, another microwave), the hysteria builds until Kura Forrester rips out a handful of her own hair.

As with Monty Python, I find myself imagining the conversation in the writing room, wondering how they could possibly have known that a gag where characters microwave different items would be funny. This is one of the strengths of New Zealand comedy: it doesn’t rely on quippy one-liners, but on physical comedy, situational humour, and subtle needling of Kiwi parochialism. The punchlines aren’t jokes, but characters bursting into tears or dry-heaving. This humour allows minor characters, like Simon Mead with his ever-present glass of milk, to steal every scene, despite having fewer lines than the other actors.

James Rolleston plays Tama, the titular Golden Boy. The townspeople obsess over Tama, idolising him to the point where his return warrants nose bleeds. Much of the plot of the first season was centred around this obsession, despite the fact that he very rarely appeared in the show. Having an absent character as the focal point worked so well that I was mildly disappointed to find he was actually going to be a regular in the second season, but he quickly won me over. Rolleston holds his own against the comedy heavyweights. His strength has always been a physical intelligence and sensitivity that he’s been able to use in instinctual and transformative ways, from Boy to The Dead Lands. In Golden Boy, he stamps his foot like a child, throwing his fists around, to show that the revered All Black is just a boy who was told he was special too many times. It’s a subtle and brilliantly executed character progression.

A subplot (though everything in this show is subplot) is the romance between Mitch and Aussie Dave. Finally together after dancing around each other in season one, we now watch Mitch’s jealousy, and their struggle to say “I love you”. Romance side-plots can often feel ham-fisted into comedies. There’s something about the sudden turn towards the serious and saccharine that feels cringey. I have to fast forward many scenes in Friends for this exact reason. I had concerns that this cringeyness would happen with Golden Boy, but the plotline was sweet and funny. Any more serious moments were understated and quietly devastating.

The plot of Golden Boy has a tendency to dip into implausibility or silliness, and this came out strongest in the romance storyline. There were moments when I could see the hand of the writers, chucking something in there simply to move the plot along. The focus is obviously on getting laughs, and the plotting feels more like a vehicle for those laughs, rather than a well-crafted thing in itself. An example of this is Mitch’s self sabotage, which is introduced almost immediately in season one when she runs away from a potential job offer.

This aspect of her character never gets an origin story, so it’s hard to buy at times. It felt like a trigger point implanted earlier purely to create tension and raise the stakes as the series progressed. But as the self-destructiveness erodes Mitch and Aussie Dave’s relationship, the plot point didn’t feel earned or strongly established. It was an easy throwaway, and felt less plausible than a moment earlier in the season where a townsperson is buried with his Lotto win because he didn’t have a bff to give the money to.

That being said, although Golden Boy will never be held up as the example of developed characters, and a flawless plot, that’s not what I’ve switched it on for. I’ve come to it because I have a toothache and I’m pissed off, and because I have a wee crush on Dean O’Gorman. The moments of implausibility are forgivable because it’s charming and joyful. You’ll laugh, and you’ll keep clicking “next episode”, and that’s all you need sometimes.

You can watch both seasons of Golden Boy on ThreeNow. The second season finale airs on Three at 9.05pm tonight.