For two seasons, FX's legal thriller Damages has been at the forefront of quality television acting.  Five of the show's stars have earned Emmy nominations, and season 3 looks to increase that total.

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Len Cariou, Lily Tomlin, Martin Short, Campbell Scott, Reiko Aylesworth and Keith Carradine are just some of the stars who turn up for the latest case which takes aim at the Bernie Madoff financial disaster.  Cariou plays Louis Tobin, a fictionalized version of Madoff whose massive pyramid scheme is being investigated by both Patty Hewes and the district attorney.

The two sides struggle to find where all that money went by interrogating Louis' son (Scott) and mother (Tomlin), though the two are closely guarded by the shrewd family lawyer (Short).

Fans will certainly be surprised to find that Tomlin and Short, known for their comedic roles, are quite good at the darker material, stepping up to the challenge of Damages.  But the real star of the show is the writing.

Once again, season 3 tells the present-day story while also revealing glimpses of six months in the future, where the season will ultimately wrap up.  This year's flash forwards center around a car crash, but that's only the beginning of a much more horrifying outcome.

The season premiere ends with easily the most shocking moment in Damages history and will have long-time fans wondering exactly what happened.  It comes at the very end, so make sure your DVRs are set a little over just in case.

As always, Damages dares you not to continue watching with a premiere so engrossing and full of excellently mapped out mysteries that you can't turn away.  The fact that this season's story is topical and intriguing, full of an amazing family of actors, only helps solidify Damages' place as must-watch television.

And if Glenn Close keeps up her amazing work for the rest of the season, she might want to start dusting off a place on the mantle for a third consecutive Emmy Award.

Damages premieres its third season tonight at 10pm on FX.



(Image courtesy of FX)