'The Affair': A look at the second season and the show's success
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
The acclaimed Showtime drama 鈥淭he Affair鈥� recently returned for a second season and has slightly tweaked its format of telling its story from two points of view.
鈥淭he Affair鈥� stars Dominic West and Ruth Wilson as two people, both of whom are married, who embark on an affair. The show co-stars Maura Tierney and Joshua Jackson as their respective spouses. 鈥淎ffair鈥� quickly became critically acclaimed 鈥� despite only being in its first season, the program won the Golden Globe for best drama over such awards season favorites as 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� and 鈥淗ouse of Cards.鈥� Wilson also won the best actress in a drama Golden Globe over category veterans like 鈥淗omeland鈥� actress Claire Danes and 鈥淭he Good Wife鈥� actress Julianna Margulies.聽
The episodes in the first season included the retelling of events from the points of view of both Noah (West) and Alison (Wilson). With the debut of season two, which aired on Oct. 4, the show adds a new wrinkle 鈥� viewers now also see events from the points of view of Helen (Tierney) and Cole (Jackson) as well as Noah and Alison.
"The Affair" is the newest high-profile TV program from Showtime. The cable TV channel is also the home of well-reviewed original programming such as 鈥淗omeland,鈥� 鈥淢asters of Sex,鈥� 鈥淧enny Dreadful,鈥� and 鈥淓pisodes.鈥� The highly-anticipated new episodes of the TV show 鈥淭win Peaks鈥� will also air on Showtime.
Because it airs on Showtime, 鈥淭he Affair鈥� thus got the attention of critics from its debut because the network鈥檚 track record has shown that new programs airing there could be the next big hit. However, the Golden Globe wins by 鈥淎ffair鈥� got the attention of even more people, with its win for best drama being widely viewed as a surprise.聽
Those behind the Golden Globes seem to recently be favoring giving top prizes to or nominating relatively new shows. Wins and nominations for the Golden Globe best comedy series prize gave similar boosts to the Fox show 鈥淏rooklyn Nine-Nine鈥� and the CW program 鈥淛ane the Virgin,鈥� respectively. 鈥淏rooklyn鈥� won the best comedy prize while it was airing its first season, taking the award over veterans like HBO鈥檚 鈥淕irls鈥� and ABC鈥檚 鈥淢odern Family,鈥� and "Brooklyn" actor Andy Samberg also won the Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy that year.聽
Last year, some were surprised when the CW show 鈥淛ane鈥� got a nomination for the best comedy or musical series prize. So when 鈥淛ane鈥� actress Gina Rodriguez won the Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy, beating contenders like 鈥淰eep鈥� actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus and 鈥淕irls鈥� actress Lena Dunham, it was even more of an upset. Its nominations and wins most likely put "Jane" on the radar of people who were not yet familiar with the program.
