HBO will introduce the new half-hour comedy The Brink on June 21, 2015 at 10:30pm ET/PT starring Jack Black, Tim Robbins, and Pablo Schreiber. The new series was created by Roberto Benabib and Kim Benabib, with Benabib, Jerry Weintraub, and Jay Roach executive producing. Roach, director of Meet the Parents and The Campaign, directed episode one of season one.
The cast also includes Aasif Mandvi, Maribeth Monroe, Eric Ladin, Esai Morales, Geoff Pierson, and Carla Gugino.
The Plot: When a rogue general seizes control of Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal, the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of three improbable Americans: Secretary of State Walter Larson, lowly Foreign Service officer Alex Talbot and ace Navy fighter pilot Zeke Tilson. From the turbulent streets of the Middle East, to the White House situation room, to an aircraft carrier on the Red Sea, these three compromised souls must pull through the chaos around them to save the planet from World War Three.
With the series set to premiere soon, HBO’s released details on the June 2015 episodes:
Episode #1: “Pilot”
Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE 21 (10:30-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Other HBO playdates: June 21 (12:30 a.m., 3:30 a.m.), 22 (11:30 p.m.), 23 (11:30 p.m., 3:30 a.m.), 24 (7:30 p.m.), 25 (8:00 p.m.) and 26 (1:00 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: June 22 (10:00 p.m.), 26 (4:35 a.m.), 27 (1:30 p.m.) and 28 (5:25 p.m.)
In Islamabad, Pakistan, low-level State Department bureaucrat Alex Talbot (Jack Black) asks his driver Rafiq (Aasif Mandvi) to take him to a bazaar to score some weed. Encountering a mass protest that turns violent, they flee their car and take refuge in the house Rafiq shares with his parents and sister. In Washington, D.C., Secretary of State Walter Larson (Tim Robbins) is fetched from a hotel tryst by his seen-it-all aide, Kendra Peterson (Maribeth Monroe), to attend an emergency White House meeting on the growing unrest in Pakistan. After learning that paranoid General Umair Zaman (Iqbal Theba) is threatening the region with destruction, President Navarro (Esai Morales) and ultra-hawkish Secretary of Defense Grey (Geoff Pierson) put a plan in motion to remove Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, against Larson’s advice that such an operation is risky and reckless.
The group soon discovers that Alex is their only source of hard information on the ground in Pakistan. Meanwhile, onboard an aircraft carrier in the region, ace pilot Zeke “Z-Pak” Tilson (Pablo Schreiber) calls his ex-wife, Ashley (Mary Faber), in Florida, urging her to send more “product” for his lucrative side business selling drugs. Later, Zeke’s mounting troubles are put on hold when he and his co-pilot, Glenn (Eric Ladin), are ordered to take off on a mission he knows could lead to catastrophe.
Written by Roberto Benabib & Kim Benabib; directed by Jay Roach.
Episode #2: “Half-Cocked”
Debut date: SUNDAY, JUNE 28 (10:30-11:00 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: June 28 (12:30 a.m., 3:30 a.m.), 29 (1:45 a.m.) and 30 (10:30 p.m., 2:55 a.m.), and July 1 (7:30 p.m.), 2 (8:00 p.m.) and 3 (11:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdate: June 29 (10:00 p.m.)
With President Navarro and Defense Secretary Grey ordering a military response to General Zaman’s threats, Walter argues that an air strike could unleash a world war. He and Kendra must track down a moderate contact inside the Pakistan government to defuse the crisis. Meanwhile, after learning that classified information has been sent from Rafiq’s house, Zaman’s men storm the place, threaten Rafiq’s family, and drag Alex to an undisclosed location for interrogation of the worst kind. In the skies over Pakistan, with Walter and the president looking on via an airborne camera, Zeke tries to sober up a drug-addled Glenn, but his partner accidentally launches a missile that creates high anxiety in three world capitals.
Written by Roberto Benabib & Kim Benabib; directed by Tim Robbins.
-By Rebecca Murray
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