
Scripted series · FX
Damages
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Damages actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Damages reads strongest on Tension, Character Depth and Cliffhanger Intensity.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
Damages is an American legal thriller television series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler. The plot revolves around the brilliant, ruthless lawyer Patty Hewes and her protégée, recent law school graduate Ellen Parsons. Each season features a major case that Hewes and her firm take on, while also examining a chapter of the complicated relationship between Ellen and Patty. The first two seasons center around the law firm Hewes & Associates. Later seasons center more on Patty and Ellen's relationship as Ellen begins to distance herself from Hewes & Associates and begins an independent career.
The run
Seasons
5 seasons · 59 episodes.

Season 0 · Complete
Specials
200885 episodes

Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
200713 episodes
7.8IMDbMost of the season follows two different timelines. The primary timeline begins with Ellen Parsons' recruitment by Patty Hewes to "Hewes & Associates" and follows proceedings of a class action lawsuit against Arthur Frobisher by his former employees, whom Patty represents. The initial episodes follow Patty's attempts to capture potential witness Gregory Malina through Katie Connor. The arc further details Malina's involvement with Frobisher's lawyer Ray Fiske and the pressure Patty brings to bear on Fiske on Malina's subsequent death. The narrative includes multiple flashforwards of the alternative timeline, set approximately six months after Ellen's appointment, until both timelines converge in the penultimate episode of the season. The alternative timeline details the attack on Ellen, her arrest for the murder of her fiancé David Connor, and the subsequent murder investigation.
Best episode · S01E12 There's No 'We' Anymore

Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
200913 episodes
7.9IMDbThe second season, like the first, follows two different timelines. The primary timeline follows Patty, Ellen, and Tom as the firm goes up against an energy company who have engaged in unethical practices. A former lover of Patty's, Daniel Purcell, brings the matter to her attention, but then inexplicably backs out, leaving Patty up against UNR CEO Walter Kendrick and his fierce lawyer Claire Maddox. Meanwhile, Ellen works with the FBI to bring down Patty, while also seeking revenge on Arthur Frobisher for his presumed role in her fiance's death. Ellen is unaware that Patty is suspicious of her, and that Frobisher's criminal connections appear to extend to her new friend Wes. A second timeline takes place six months later, when Ellen meets with an unknown person in a hotel room, and subsequently appears to shoot them.
Best episode · S02E13 Trust Me

Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
201013 episodes
7.3IMDbSet a year after season two, Patty's focus now rests on Louis Tobin, the patriarch of a wealthy family, who has just confessed to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in Wall Street history. The government has tasked Hewes and Shayes with finding the Tobins' hidden money and uncovering any evidence that other family members had knowledge of the fraud. Ellen Parsons has taken a job at the New York District Attorney's office, but she finds herself being pulled further and further back into Patty's orbit. Tom, who had invested with Tobin, has lost 70% of his net worth, as have numerous others he helped invest. He struggles to keep his involvement from interfering with the case and secret from Patty.
Best episode · S03E13 The Next One's Gonna Go in Your Throat

Season 4 · Complete
Season 4
201110 episodes
6.8IMDbThe fourth season takes place two years after the Tobin case. Ellen has moved on with her life. Now an attorney at her old mentor's firm, she's content with her cases and colleagues. Deep down, however, she wants a bigger challenge. When she discovers her friend has been through a traumatic experience while working for High Star, a private security firm hired by the U.S. government to carry out special missions in Afghanistan, she suspects foul play and asks Patty for help. Patty knows that trying a case against High Star can make Ellen's career. Or ruin it. It was inspired by recent events and controversies surrounding Blackwater Security Consulting.
Best episode · S04E10 Failure Is Lonely

Season 5 · Complete
Season 5
201210 episodes
7.7IMDbIn the final season of Damages, Patty and Ellen are pitted against one another in two separate cases. The first involves a wrongful-death suit brought against Channing McClaren, the founder of a whistleblowing web site, who's implicated in the death of a trader for an investment firm. In the other case, Ellen is called as a witness to testify against Patty in the custody battle with Patty's son, Michael.
Best episode · S05E10 But You Don't Do That Anymore
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.

S05E10
But You Don't Do That Anymore
Series Finale: While looking to use Michael Hewes' custody hearing to bring down Patty (Glenn Close), Ellen (Rose Byrne) is double-crossed by a key witness in the McClaren trial.
- Directed by Glenn Kessler
- Written by Daniel Zelman, Todd A. Kessler

S02E13
Trust Me
Patty goes to extremes to win her case against UNR, as Ellen's season long quest for revenge builds to an explosive conclusion.
- Written by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler

S02E04
Hey! Mr. Pibb!
Patty works to clear Daniel in his wife's murder; Ellen and Tom go to West Virginia to gather vital information in the case against Ultima National Resources.
- Directed by Mario Van Peebles
- Written by Aaron Zelman

S01E12
There's No 'We' Anymore
Patty finally posts bail for Ellen as Frobisher learns about a tape made by Gregory Malina that could ruin him.
- Directed by Mario Van Peebles
- Written by Daniel Zelman, Todd A. Kessler

S01E11
I Hate These People
Patty offers Ellen her job back, however, Ellen declines but volunteers to keep helping Patty with the Frobisher case. Lila is back, and bringing more havoc into David and Ellen's lives. Patty uses the newly acquired evidence to blackmail Ray, and offers him an ultimatum.
- Directed by Ed Bianchi
- Written by Adam Stein

S02E12
Look What He Dug Up This Time
Ellen convinces the FBI to radically change their approach in the investigation. Meanwhile, Daniel Purcell reenters Patty's life and becomes critical to her case against UNR.
- Directed by Matthew Penn
- Written by Daniel Zelman, Glenn Kessler
Recently aired
Latest Episodes

S05E10
But You Don't Do That Anymore
- Directed by Glenn Kessler
- Written by Daniel Zelman, Todd A. Kessler

S05E09
I Like Your Chair
- Directed by Steve Shill
- Written by Daniel Zelman, Todd A. Kessler

S05E08
I'm Afraid of What I'll Find
- Directed by Ken Girotti
- Written by Hans Tobeason

S05E07
The Storm's Moving In
- Directed by Tate Donovan
- Written by Daniel Zelman, Todd A. Kessler

S05E06
I Need to Win

S05E05
There's Something Wrong with Me
- Directed by Tate Donovan
- Written by Hans Tobeason
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.

Allen Coulter
Showrunner

Todd A. Kessler
Creator

Glenn Kessler
Creator

Daniel Zelman
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Davey Holmes
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Willie Reale
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Hans Tobeason
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Jennifer Hoppe
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Arthur Phillips
Writer

Jeremy Doner
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Adam Stein
Writer

Mark Fish
Writer

Nancy Fichman
Writer

Aaron Zelman
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Daniel ZelmanExecutive Producer
- Allen CoulterProducer
- Mark A. BakerProducer
- Todd A. KesslerExecutive Producer
- Lori Jo NemhauserProducer
- Glenn KesslerExecutive Producer
Writing
- Davey HolmesWriter
- Willie RealeWriter
- Hans TobeasonWriter
- Daniel ZelmanWriter
- Jennifer HoppeWriter
- Arthur PhillipsWriter
Direction
- Constantine MakrisDirector
- Matthew PennDirector
- Timothy BusfieldDirector
- Guy FerlandDirector
- Dan AttiasDirector
- Jean de SegonzacDirector
Cinematography
- David S. TuttmanDirector of Photography
- Jonathan FreemanDirector of Photography
Music
- James S. LevineOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon Prime VideoStreaming
- HuluStreaming
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- Amazon Prime Video with AdsStreaming
If you liked this
Similar Series
Series that share this one's texture, not just its genre tags.
Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
Never stop watching
Related Collections
No related collections yet
This title isn't in a published Nutevio collection yet. It will appear here automatically as soon as it is.
Join the conversation






























































