John Powers

Ham plays our hero and narrator Andrew Cooper, known as Coop, who gets canned for a sexual indiscretion and finds his career in ruins. He's already lost his family, which happened when he caught his wife Mel, that's Amanda Peet, in bed with one of his friends, an ex-NBA player. Outwardly, Coop pretends that nothing has happened, but internally he's changed.

Where he once thought of his luxurious town of Westmont Village as paradise, he's now cynical about its values. He starts breaking into his friends' houses, stealing things like Patek Philippe watches worth $250,000, and in the process, discovering their secrets.

Where he once thought of his luxurious town of Westmont Village as paradise, he's now cynical about its values. He starts breaking into his friends' houses, stealing things like Patek Philippe watches worth $250,000, and in the process, discovering their secrets.

Where he once thought of his luxurious town of Westmont Village as paradise, he's now cynical about its values. He starts breaking into his friends' houses, stealing things like Patek Philippe watches worth $250,000, and in the process, discovering their secrets.

From there, the show expands outwards, introducing many other characters, such as Coop's sometime lover Sam, that's Olivia Munn, who's caught in a nasty divorce, his money manager Barney, played by Hoon Lee, his wife's Dominican house cleaner Elena, played by Aimee Carrero, and his musician sister Allie, that's Tony winner Lena Hall, whom Coop has taken in after her breakdown.

From there, the show expands outwards, introducing many other characters, such as Coop's sometime lover Sam, that's Olivia Munn, who's caught in a nasty divorce, his money manager Barney, played by Hoon Lee, his wife's Dominican house cleaner Elena, played by Aimee Carrero, and his musician sister Allie, that's Tony winner Lena Hall, whom Coop has taken in after her breakdown.

From there, the show expands outwards, introducing many other characters, such as Coop's sometime lover Sam, that's Olivia Munn, who's caught in a nasty divorce, his money manager Barney, played by Hoon Lee, his wife's Dominican house cleaner Elena, played by Aimee Carrero, and his musician sister Allie, that's Tony winner Lena Hall, whom Coop has taken in after her breakdown.

They all figure in a storyline chock-full of betrayal, theft, infidelity, and murder. Juicy stuff. Not to mention Koop's sardonic voiceover, mocking the country club fees and fetishized brands of scotch that define the suburban enclave he now disdains. The show's emotional center is Koop's struggle to cope with his ex-wife and disaffected teenage children.

They all figure in a storyline chock-full of betrayal, theft, infidelity, and murder. Juicy stuff. Not to mention Koop's sardonic voiceover, mocking the country club fees and fetishized brands of scotch that define the suburban enclave he now disdains. The show's emotional center is Koop's struggle to cope with his ex-wife and disaffected teenage children.

They all figure in a storyline chock-full of betrayal, theft, infidelity, and murder. Juicy stuff. Not to mention Koop's sardonic voiceover, mocking the country club fees and fetishized brands of scotch that define the suburban enclave he now disdains. The show's emotional center is Koop's struggle to cope with his ex-wife and disaffected teenage children.

Here he's just dropped his son off after school when Mill rebukes him because this isn't one of the days he's supposed to see the kids. What are you doing here?

Here he's just dropped his son off after school when Mill rebukes him because this isn't one of the days he's supposed to see the kids. What are you doing here?

Here he's just dropped his son off after school when Mill rebukes him because this isn't one of the days he's supposed to see the kids. What are you doing here?

In recent years, we've grown used to shows in which alpha males like Coop all but wear a tattoo that reads, Toxic Masculinity.

In recent years, we've grown used to shows in which alpha males like Coop all but wear a tattoo that reads, Toxic Masculinity.

In recent years, we've grown used to shows in which alpha males like Coop all but wear a tattoo that reads, Toxic Masculinity.

I'm pleased that Tropper takes the show someplace subtler, juggling the truth that his hero can be at once a wounded soul with whom one often identifies and a self-centered man who oozes entitlement from his Princeton degree in Maserati to his discovery that the world's unfair, only after it's been unfair to him.

I'm pleased that Tropper takes the show someplace subtler, juggling the truth that his hero can be at once a wounded soul with whom one often identifies and a self-centered man who oozes entitlement from his Princeton degree in Maserati to his discovery that the world's unfair, only after it's been unfair to him.

I'm pleased that Tropper takes the show someplace subtler, juggling the truth that his hero can be at once a wounded soul with whom one often identifies and a self-centered man who oozes entitlement from his Princeton degree in Maserati to his discovery that the world's unfair, only after it's been unfair to him.

It's a perfect role for Ham, who carries with him our memories of Don Draper's dark-souled charisma, then takes this sort of character in a new direction, funnier, sadder, and more sympathetic. He's never been better. Although his coup starts out as a self-described jerk, his character grows wiser and more self-aware as the episodes unfold.