Meet the Hollingsworths, a family of law enforcement agents at the center of NBC’s newest show, Line of Fire.
There’s Tommy O’Brien’s character, Mike ‘Micah’ Hollingsworth Jr., a U.S. Secret Service Agent following in the footsteps of his father but also having a clandestine affair with his charge, aka the president’s daughter. There’s Kat Cunning’s character, Clare Hollingsworth, an FBI special agent who is amazing at her job but is struggling to balance her work life and a civilian one. And then there’s Taylor Bloom’s character Russ Hollingsworth, the one breaking tradition and going to work for the Department of Justice.
These three characters make up the Hollingsworth children to parents Mike and Jane Hollingsworth, respectively played by Peter Krause and Hope Davis. And after the events of the premiere episode of Season 1, Fangirlish sat down with all three of these actors to talk about that dinner scene almost feeling like a play, the surprising comedy on the show, and the shocking twist at the end of Episode 1.
MORE: Line of Fire Season 1 Episode 1 Review: The Best Procedural We’ve Watched in Years
First up, the whole dinner scene. Because when everyone comes together in their parents’ house, all of them are going through something or avoiding something. And that intricate dance they were bringing to life before our very eyes, it was the moment that Cunning really clocked how special this cast is.
“It totally felt like a stage production,” Cunning said, going into the filming of it, “I think we all just like really cherished it and clocked that it was a special cast that has a special chemistry. And also, we all really cherish the opportunity to feel kind of theatrical and do something that lives a little longer than your average, like 30 second four camera and a couple of lines. It’s like a challenge, and it is a dance.”
O’Brien agreed, adding a little more context on how that dinner scene took a village. “I’ve said it before, but I think that was the day that I realized we were making something special. […] And that’s from, you know, our fellow cast members, but also from the crew and the creative [team] that was there.” This sequence also set the tone of Line of Fire. “It set the tone for how I think we work on other scenes together, build dynamics in little moments that we carried on to other episodes. And it’s just so fun.”
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If you need any more proof, theater kid Bloom is here with a breakdown of that seven-minute sequence of absolute family chaos. Bloom said, “I’m a theater kid, born and raised. […] and to have a seven-minute sequence in the middle of a procedural network show that’s giving Noises Off, it’s giving 12 Chairs, it’s like old-fashioned farce almost.” Same thing goes for the dialogue. “The dialogue has this beautiful rhythm. The dialogue itself is musical.”
And if you liked this whole dinner sequence and the dynamics that came to life in it thanks to the Hollingsworth family, you’re in luck. There’s going to be more scenes like this in Season 1! Bloom revealed, “[The dinner sequence] kind of primes you to be absolutely run over by this runaway train. […] And I’m happy to report that our show will have many episodes with scenes like that in it.”
Personally, I’m ready and looking forward to more scenes like this. I’m also looking forward to more comedy. Because I don’t know about you guys, but I couldn’t get over the surprising amount of comedy in this show, especially during that dinner sequence. After all, we’re dealing with mysteries, murder, and family drama. I didn’t think there was room for comedy. But there was, especially in the Pilot episode.
Even the cast themselves were surprised by the amount of comedy in Line of Fire. O’Brien said, “I will say, I don’t think any of us really expected how elevated the comedy would be until we started going.” These comedic beats were between the parents and their children, the children themselves, and even between others on the show. And it elevated the show in a way that makes this procedural even more layered.
Cunning also loved how Line of Fire wasn’t just a super serious show about law enforcement agents. This is a family. And within family, there is always room for teasing or just commiserating about your parents. They said, “The whole choice of focusing on a family and all of our inner workings is literally… it gives us permission as actors to be these candid, messy humans in relationship to each other, as well as these superheroes that show up and are capable of their jobs.”
They also gave us a little perspective on how this procedural, and the comedic beats in it, makes it different for Cunning as an actor. “That’s what I really loved about it. Like I’ve been perceived as funny or sexy or all these little tropes that are put on women throughout my life. But I’m also… the thing that’s been the most slept on about me is that it takes being very, very serious to play any of these roles. So there’s just so much dimension and what we get to show as a family.”
Then there’s the end of Season 1 Episode 1 of Line of Fire. If you’re reading this, you already know. But if not, WALK AWAY NOW BECAUSE MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR LINE OF FIRE!
After the disaster that was the dinner sequence, we see… Logan returning to the Hollingsworth residence. But it looks less like he’s looking for Clare and more like he’s snooping. He then starts looking through photos, and it’s revealed that his neighbor is actually Jack, the brother that the Hollingsworth family thinks is dead. Or at least the siblings do. And oh wait. Jack is there and reveals that Logan is an agent, before Jack attacks him.
Basically, shocking reveal after shocking reveal that left me feeling like Joaquin Phoenix in Signs when the alien reveal was made on TV and he jumped back in terror. That was me watching this scene in Line of Fire. And I made sure to tell O’Brien, Cunning, and Bloom about my reaction while asking them what they thought about this twist.
Basically, they were also surprised by this turn of events, proving how much they’re on this ride with us.
“Some insider tea for you is that we’re all over here reading these scripts as they roll out as well,” Cunning shared. “So every time somebody dies, we’re like, are they dead? And every time somebody’s somebody, we’re like, “Are they who they say they are?” We are experiencing this mystery with you.”
And I can’t wait to see where this mystery leads in Season 1 of Line of Fire!
Line of Fire airs new episodes on Mondays at 10/9c on NBC, with episodes streaming the next day on Peacock.
