0
0
USA delivers its most layered and complex character study in the sexy soap SATISFACTION. Matt Passmore stars as Neil Truman, a successful money manager, husband and father. His world unravels when he discovers his wife Grace (Stephanie Szostak) is having an affair with talented male escort, Simon, played by Blair Redford. After Matt confronts Simon and inadvertently gets a hold of the escort’s cell phone, he decides to take a walk on the wild side and provide services to one of Simon’s clients. Matt wants to understand why a married woman would hire an escort and thinks this is his best course of action. It’s probably not the smartest move but it sets up the action and central conflict of the series.
SATISFACTION is about more than sex. It’s about reaching a point in your life when you realize that the life you’ve set up for yourself isn’t necessarily the life you wanted or needed. The show follows the characters on their quests as they search for answers about what truly makes a happy life. Theirs are all questions that we’ve all asked ourselves. Although Matt’s career as a money manager has allowed him to provide a comfortable life for his wife and daughter, he feels trapped in his job and hates being there. Grace loves all the trappings her life affords her, but put her dreams of becoming an interior designer on hold to be a wife and mother. Simon thinks he loves the freedom that he has as an escort but after meeting Grace realizes that a committed life might not be so bad after all. The only character who seems fully satisfied with their life is conniving madame Adriana (Katherine LaNassa).
My biggest criticism of SATISFACTION is the storyline of Grace and Matt’s teenage daughter Anika (Michelle DeShon). Grace is television’s typical sullen sixteen year old girl. Now granted, her parents are so wrapped up in their own lives that they have no idea what’s happening in her life, so she has a right to be angry. But, her story feels like a redux of a season one storyline for the teen daughter on Showtime’s RAY DONOVAN. DeShon gives a nice performance but the story just didn’t work for me. Hopefully, season two will give her a richer storyline, sans guitar.
Like other USA series, the drama of SATISFACTION takes place under a sunny backdrop, is slickly produced and has a sexy cast. Credit must be given to whoever is in charge of casting at USA because they’re able to find some of the best untapped talent around. This cast is particularly compelling. Matt Passmore especially stands out as a sexy, dynamic and charming leading man who also possesses a keen sense of humor.
Overall, season one of SATISFACTION was strongly constructed leading to a very strong season finale, making me want to know what happens next with these characters.
Season 2 of SATISFACTION premieres on Friday, October 16th at 10pm. Take a look at the season 1 trailer below:
Average Rating