Justified (season 1)

The first season of the American neo-Western[1] television series Justified premiered on March 16, 2010, on FX, and concluded on June 8, 2010, consisting of 13 episodes.[2][3] The series was developed by Graham Yost based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole".[2] Its main character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. Timothy Olyphant portrays Givens, a tough federal lawman, enforcing his own brand of justice in his Kentucky hometown.[2] The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky, and the hill country of eastern Kentucky, specifically in and around Harlan.[4]

Justified
Season 1
Season 1 DVD cover
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes13
Release
Original networkFX
Original releaseMarch 16 (2010-03-16) –
June 8, 2010 (2010-06-08)
Season chronology

Cast and characters
Main article: List of Justified characters

Main

Recurring

Guest
  • Steven Flynn as Emmitt Arnett, a Dixie Mafia higher-up who Gary owes money to.
  • Kevin Rankin as Derek "Devil" Lennox, Boyd's henchman.
  • Matt Craven as Dan Grant, a chief deputy U.S. marshal stationed in Miami and Raylan's superior.
  • Stephen Root as Mike Reardon, an eccentric and harsh judge who unknowingly provokes the ire of an old associate.

Production

Filming

While the pilot was shot in Pittsburgh and suburban Kittanning, Pennsylvania and Washington, Pennsylvania, the subsequent episodes were shot in California. The small town of Green Valley, California often doubles for Harlan, Kentucky. In the pilot, Pittsburgh's David L. Lawrence Convention Center appears on film as the small town "airport" and the construction of the new Consol Energy Center serves as the "new courthouse".[5]

Episodes
See also: List of Justified episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
11"Fire in the Hole"Michael DinnerTeleplay by : Graham YostMarch 16, 2010 (2010-03-16)4.16[6]
Deputy U.S. marshal Raylan Givens is removed from his post in Miami and reassigned to Lexington, Kentucky after killing cartel associate Tommy Bucks. Chief deputy marshal and his former FLETC associate Art Mullen asks him to go to his home county of Harlan to look into white supremacist Boyd Crowder, who Raylan worked in a coal mine with when they were young men. Boyd's brother Bowman is killed by his abused wife Ava, so he sends his man Dewey Crowe to collect her, who Raylan fends off. Wanting Raylan dead, Boyd breaks into Ava's house and holds her hostage, and she calls him for help. As the men face off, Ava pulls a gun on Boyd and Raylan shoots him while he is distracted. He visits his court reporter ex-wife Winona Hawkins and wonders if he would've shot Bucks no matter what, remarking that he never thought of himself as angry. She claims he is "the angriest man I've ever known."
22"Riverbrook"Michael DinnerGraham YostMarch 23, 2010 (2010-03-23)3.53[7]
Raylan visits Boyd in a county prison hospital, who dedicates himself to God. Ava tries to seduce Raylan, but he turns her down so as not to compromise her as a witness against Boyd. Inmate Douglas Cooper escapes from prison to recover a stash of money, agreeing to give a cut of it to his ex-wife Shirley Kelso and her cousin Dupree in exchange for their help. Dupree shoots him when he accidentally leads them to the wrong house, and he points Raylan to the correct house when he finds him. Dupree takes the house's residents hostage when he finds they spent all the money and asks Shirley to turn the lights off when Raylan confronts him. She does, but turns them back on because he shot Cooper, allowing him to be shot by deputy marshal Tim Gutterson. A week later, Raylan escorts Cooper to jail from a hospital, and he wonders if he still has a chance with Shirley.
33"Fixer"Fred KellerBenjamin CavellMarch 30, 2010 (2010-03-30)2.31[8]
Local informant and bookmaker Arnold Pinter sends his enforcer Curtis Mims to collect from debtor Travis Travers, who convinces Mims and Pinter's girlfriend to kidnap him and "torture" her until he gives up his money. Raylan arrives at Pinter's house to give him reward money for a fugitive he informed on, but Mims convinces him to come back and plans to kill him. Travers kills him when he annoys him and tries to kill Raylan when he returns, but Raylan outmaneuvers and kills him first. He later visits Ava and kisses her.
44"Long in the Tooth"Adam ArkinChris ProvenzanoApril 6, 2010 (2010-04-06)2.10[9]
Former Miami cartel accountant turned dentist Roland Pike puts himself on the cartel's radar when he attacks a rude client. Raylan is sent to Los Angeles to catch him, while cartel head Gio Reyes sends hitmen to kill Raylan as well as Roland for stealing from him. Roland and his girlfriend Mindy Springer try to get across the border with help from a coyote, but Roland kills him when he tries to rape Mindy. Raylan kills the hitmen when they confront him and tracks down Roland just as he is shot at by a cartel sniper. Knowing the sniper will kill them all if he has to come down, Roland stands up and allows himself to be shot.
55"The Lord of War and Thunder"Jon AvnetGary LennonApril 13, 2010 (2010-04-13)2.41[10]
Raylan infiltrates the home of a fugitive by posing as a landscaper, engaging in a tense standoff with the man's wife but convincing her to stand down. Raylan's criminal father Arlo vandalizes the home of debtor Stan Perkins, who sends his nephews to take back property Arlo stole, injuring Raylan's aunt and stepmother Helen in the process. While beating the nephews in retaliation, Arlo has a heart attack, forcing Raylan to step in. He learns from Boyd's cousin Johnny that Perkins is a drug smuggler, and also warns him that his uncle Bo is being released from prison soon and will want revenge on Ava for Bowman. He finds drugs in Perkins's house, but realizes that Arlo set them both up by stealing Perkins's drugs and planting a bit of them to get him arrested. Raylan confronts Arlo, who refuses to tell the truth, and promises to put him in jail after realizing Helen planted the drugs and lied to him.
66"The Collection"Rod HolcombGraham YostApril 20, 2010 (2010-04-20)2.06[11]
Raylan visits Boyd and asks for incriminating information about Arlo. Winona asks Raylan to look into her husband Gary's possibly illegal activities, and he warns Gary to keep her out of it when he finds something. Raylan is sent to Cincinnati when embezzler Owen Carnes tries to sell Adolf Hitler paintings to gallery owner Karl Hanselman, who reveals they are fake. When Carnes and his wife Caryn confront the seller, she suddenly has Greg Davis, a worker she is having an affair with, kill him to prevent him from going to trial and losing Caryn their assets. The death is staged as a suicide, but Raylan, suspecting foul play, confronts Greg and warns him that killing with witnesses always creates more death. Frightened, Greg refuses to kill the seller when Caryn orders him to and sells her out to the police. Hanselman explains to Raylan why he collects Hitler paintings: his father did as well, so in defiance, he made a hobby of buying and burning them. Moved by this, Raylan returns to Boyd and turns down his offer of discovered information.
77"Blind Spot"Michael WatkinsWendy CalhounApril 27, 2010 (2010-04-27)2.26[12]
After Johnny threatens Ava, hitman Red attacks her and Raylan that night. Raylan wounds him, but he escapes. He has Harlan sheriff Hunter Mosley help him interrogate Johnny, who insists he was just trying to scare Ava out of Kentucky to save her from Bo. He then visits Boyd, who points out that the target could have been Raylan himself. Red returns to his cartel handler, and they are visited by Hunter, also working for the cartel. He kills the handler when he gets the order to kill them, then calls Raylan, having kidnapped Ava, and orders them to meet. He and Red take Raylan and Ava in separate cars, only for Ava to attack the latter, distracting Hunter and allowing Raylan to arrest him. Boyd is almost attacked in prison for talking to a marshal, but Bo steps in to protect him.
88"Blowback"Jon AvnetBenjamin CavellMay 4, 2010 (2010-05-04)2.46[13]
Bo is released after Hunter's arrests are reviewed. "Security consultant" Wynn Duffy visits Gary's house and makes veiled threats towards Winona, though Gary denies knowing him. Assistant U.S. attorney David Vasquez comes to the Lexington office to interview Raylan about Boyd's shooting, but is interrupted by an inmate taking a pair of guards hostage. Needing to avoid more scrutiny by killing him in front of Vasquez, Raylan earns his trust with fried chicken, eventually talking the man into surrendering. Vasquez reveals that Boyd's lawyer will use Raylan and Ava's relationship to claim that Bowman's murder and Boyd's shooting were premeditated, allowing Boyd to released early. Raylan greets him upon release and promises to put him back in jail, though Boyd remains pious.
99"Hatless"Peter WernerDave AndronMay 11, 2010 (2010-05-11)2.09[14]
Art has Raylan take time off following Boyd's release, and he gets into a fight with a pair of bar patrons that take his hat. As Winona tends to his injuries, she tells him about Duffy. Pinter explains that Duffy works under a man named Emmitt Arnett that Gary is in debt to, and both men are part of the Dixie Mafia. Gary asks a friend of his for help intimidating Duffy, but Duffy brutalizes the man. Raylan stops Gary before he can kill himself to void the debt, accompanying him to his meeting with Arnett and appeasing him by handing over Gary's lucrative property. Enraged that he is not being paid with money, Duffy pulls a gun, resulting in a gunfight that ends with him detained. Raylan goes back to the bar and forces the patrons to return his hat.
1010"The Hammer"John DahlFred Golan & Chris ProvenzanoMay 18, 2010 (2010-05-18)2.08[15]
Boyd establishes a camp of ex-convicts that he claims to be reforming through religion. After multiple attempts on the life of eccentric and harsh judge Mike Reardon, Raylan is assigned to protect him. Reardon is cornered outside a bar by an armed man he unfairly sentenced, but Raylan finds him and distracts the man, allowing Reardon to shoot him. As thanks, Reardon agrees to renegotiate Ava's parole and allow her to leave Kentucky, but she refuses to go. Boyd, now morally opposed to the production of meth, burns a lab when local cooks refuse to stop, unwittingly killing one in the process. When Raylan learns the cook was an informant, he tracks down a man Boyd attacked and tries to strong-arm him into testifying, only to give up when he realizes the man does not know what Boyd looks like.
1111"Veterans"Tony GoldwynBenjamin Daniel LobatoMay 25, 2010 (2010-05-25)1.81[16]
The marshals arrest Boyd and his men for parole violations, but they refuse to implicate him for burning the lab. Raylan visits an imprisoned Hunter to ask for information on Bo, who reveals that Arlo was tasked with running Bo's business while in prison and he lost Bo money. Arlo refuses Raylan's protection despite Bo's men shooting up his house. Raylan goes looking for the remaining cooks, only for Bo to have them killed for selling on his territory. Believing Boyd killed them, Raylan goes to confront him only to find Dewey hitchhiking, having been kicked out of the camp for masturbating. He presses Dewey into revealing one of Boyd's men was a meth cook, giving him an excuse to search the camp again. Dewey discreetly calls ahead, and Boyd's men hide the cook until the marshals leave. The cook turns himself in and testifies to burning the lab alone, while Boyd spares Dewey's life and lets him go. Raylan finds Arlo waiting for him in his motel room.
1212"Fathers and Sons"Michael KatlemanDave AndronJune 1, 2010 (2010-06-01)2.13[17]
Arlo agrees to inform on Bo for immunity, but refuses to wear a wire. Reyes agrees to ship ephedrine to Bo and asks him to kill Raylan. Bo's men occupy Bowman's house on his orders and harass Ava, who witnesses Winona leave Raylan's motel room after having sex with him. Ava enters Bo's club armed and threatens him to leave her alone. After Arlo defuses a veteran's plan to blow up a VFW building, he decides to wear the wire and the marshals give him money to appease Bo with. He silently communicates to Bo that he is bugged and arranges a meeting, giving him a fake envelope instead of the money. He mentions Ava threatening him, and when Raylan confronts her, she reveals she knows about Winona and refuses to leave the state. Boyd intercepts and destroys Reyes's ephedrine shipment.
1313"Bulletville"Adam ArkinFred GolanJune 8, 2010 (2010-06-08)2.03[18]
Bo disowns Boyd and massacres his men, leaving Boyd to renounce his faith. Bo orders Arlo to bring Raylan to him, so he lures Raylan to his hotel room. Raylan notices Arlo reaching for his gun, shoots him, and kills Bo's men that burst into the room. Bo kidnaps Ava and shoots Johnny after realizing he conspired with Boyd to get him killed by the cartel so they could take over. He calls Raylan and demands they meet at his hunting cabin, and Boyd joins him to help rescue Ava. They kill Bo's men, but Reyes's niece and nephew arrive and kill Bo. Boyd and Raylan kill the nephew, and Raylan tries to stop Boyd from pursuing the niece. Boyd points out that Raylan's gun is empty and calls him "the only friend I have left in this world" before driving away. Raylan points his gun at him and mimes firing it.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 93% with an average score of 8.3 out of 10 based on 43 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "A coolly violent drama, Justified benefits from a seductive look and a note-perfect Timothy Olyphant performance."[19] On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "universal acclaim.[20]

TV Guide critic Matt Roush praised the show, particularly the acting of Olyphant, stating: "The show is grounded in Olyphant's low-key but high-impact star-making performance, the work of a confident and cunning leading man who's always good company."[20] Chicago Tribune critic Maureen Ryan also praised the series, writing: "The shaggily delightful dialogue, the deft pacing, the authentic sense of place, the rock-solid supporting cast and the feeling that you are in the hands of writers, actors and directors who really know what they're doing—all of these are worthy reasons to watch Justified."[21] Mike Hale of The New York Times praised the shows "modest virtues", but was critical of the first season's pace and characterisation, writing: "Justified can feel so low-key that even the crisis points drift past without making much of an impression... It feels as if the attention that should have gone to the storytelling all went to the atmosphere and the repartee."[22]

Awards

Justified received a 2010 Peabody Award.[23] For the first season, the series received a single Primetime Emmy Award nomination, for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.[24]

Ratings

The first season averaged 2.417 million viewers and a 0.9 rating in the 18–49 demographic.[25]

Home media release

The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD in region 1 on January 18, 2011,[26] in region 2 on November 29, 2010,[27] and in region 4 on June 7, 2012.[28] Special features on the season one set include four audio commentaries by cast and crew, five behind-the-scenes featurettes, a music video, and a season two trailer.[29]

References
  2. Zogbi, Marina (December 1, 2009). "'Justified' on FX Premiering in March". AOL. Archived from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  3. Poniewozik, James (December 1, 2009). "FX's Former Lawman Gets Justified". Time. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  4. "Justified Official Website". FX. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  5. Owen, Rob (April 6, 2009). "TV Notes: FX 'Fire in the Hole' pilot on hold". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  6. Seidman, Robert (March 17, 2010). ""Justified" Scores Second-Highest Series Premiere Ever for FX". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  7. Seidman, Robert (March 24, 2010). ""Justified" Drops 15% from Premiere, Still Tops Tuesday Night Cable". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  8. Gorman, Bill (March 31, 2010). "Updated: "Justified" Falls Hard; "Law & Order: CI" returns, Plus More..." TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  9. Seidman, Robert (April 7, 2010). ""Southland" Finishes Flat; "Justified" Falls Again; "Law & Order: CI" Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
  10. Gorman, Bill (April 14, 2010). "Cable Ratings: Post-Goren/Eames Law & Order: Criminal Intent Down Slightly; Deadliest Catch Series Best, Justified & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  11. Gorman, Bill (April 21, 2010). "Cable Ratings: Deadliest Catch Comes Off Highs; Law & Order: CI Up; Justified Slips". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  12. Gorman, Bill (April 28, 2010). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: The Hills Debut; Deadliest Catch, Law & Order: CI, Justified & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  13. Gorman, Bill (May 5, 2010). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: The Hills Slips From Premiere; Deadliest Catch, Law & Order: CI, Justified & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  14. Gorman, Bill (May 12, 2010). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: Cavs/Celtics Game Tops Night; Deadliest Catch, Law & Order: CI Both Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  15. Seidman, Robert (May 19, 2010). "NBA Playoffs, NBA Draft Lottery Lead Tuesday Cable; Law & Order: Criminal Intent Falls". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 14, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  16. Seidman, Robert (May 26, 2010). "Tuesday Cable: Lakers/Suns Dominate + "Law & Order: CI," "Justified" and others". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 15, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  17. Seidman, Robert (June 3, 2010). "Tuesday Cable: "Justified" Rebounds a Bit, While "Law & Order: CI" Dips 20% With Adults 18-49". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 25, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  18. Gorman, Bill (June 9, 2010). "Tuesday Cable: Justified Finale & Law & Order: CI Flat, Plus Deadliest Catch, The Hills, WWE NXT & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  19. "Justified: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  20. "Justified: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  21. Ryan, Maureen (March 15, 2010). "Timothy Olyphant and 'Justified' are just terrific". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 21, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  22. Hale, Mike (March 15, 2010). "Lawman Returns to Kentucky, Facing Bad Guys and Skeletons". The New York Times. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  23. "Peabody Award Winners 2010: NPR, PBS, CNN, C-SPAN, 'Good Wife,' HBO And More Win Prestigious Awards". The Huffington Post. March 31, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  24. "Justified". Emmys.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  25. "2010 Year in Review/2011 Year in Preview: FX". The Futon Critic. January 25, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  26. Lambert, David (December 7, 2010). "Justified - 'The Complete 1st Season' on DVD and Blu-ray Gets One Week Closer!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
  27. "Justified - Season 1 (DVD)". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  28. "Justified: Season 1". EzyDVD. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  29. Liebman, Martin (January 17, 2011). "Justified: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
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