Legends is an American crime drama television series that aired on TNT from August 13, 2014, to December 28, 2015.[1][2] Developed by Howard Gordon, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and Mark Bomback, the series is based on the 2005 book Legends: A Novel of Dissimulation written by Robert Littell.[3] On December 4, 2014, TNT renewed Legends for a 10-episode second season,[4] which premiered on November 2, 2015.[5] On December 15, 2015, TNT canceled the series after two seasons and 20 episodes.[6]

Legends
GenreCrime drama
Action
Thriller
Based onLegends: A Novel of Dissimulation
by Robert Littell
Developed by
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes20
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Sean Bean
  • Kelly A. Manners
  • Jamie Payne
Cinematography
  • Yasu Tanida
  • Sidney Sidell
  • Mathias Herndl
Editors
  • James Kilton
  • Scott Lerner
  • Tod Feuerman
  • Scott Boyd
  • Lise Johnson
  • David Lebowitz
  • Mark C. Baldwin
  • Stephen Mark
  • Scott Powell
  • Leonard Jordan
Running time60 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkTNT
ReleaseAugust 13, 2014 (2014-08-13) –
December 28, 2015 (2015-12-28)

Premise

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Martin Odum (Bean) is an undercover FBI agent who changes himself into a different person for each case. A "mysterious stranger" (played by Billy Brown) causes him to question his sanity.[7]

Cast

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Season 1

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  • Sean Bean as Martin Odum, an undercover agent working for the FBI's Division of Covert Operations (DCO) who struggles with his real identity outside of his legends.
  • Ali Larter as Crystal McGuire, a fellow operative who has a brief romantic history with Martin.[8]
  • Morris Chestnut as Tony Rice, an FBI agent who is trying to uncover secrets he believes Martin is hiding. He recently became part of the DCO team and now helps Martin.[8]
  • Tina Majorino as Maggie Harris, the rookie member of the DCO team and an expert data manipulator.[8]
  • Steve Harris as Nelson Gates, director of the DCO task force.[8]
  • Amber Valletta as Sonya Odum, Martin's estranged wife.[8]
  • Mason Cook as Aiden Odum, Martin's pre-teen son.[8]
  • Rob Mayes as Troy Quinn, a member of the DCO team.

Season 2

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Production

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Music

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The score of season 2 concludes with "Until We Go Down" by Ruelle, played during the climax of "The Legend of Alexei Volkov". Prior to this, the song was introduced to television as the opening theme of The Shannara Chronicles.

Episodes

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SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
110August 13, 2014 (2014-08-13)October 8, 2014 (2014-10-08)
210November 2, 2015 (2015-11-02)December 28, 2015 (2015-12-28)

Season 1 (2014)

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
11"Pilot"David SemelStory by : Howard Gordon & Mark Bomback and Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Teleplay by : Mark Bomback and Jeffrey Nachmanoff
August 13, 2014 (2014-08-13)2.58[12]
22"Chemistry"Brad TurnerDavid Wilcox and Ethan Reiff & Cyrus VorisAugust 20, 2014 (2014-08-20)1.73[13]
33"Lords of War"Brad TurnerStory by : Josh Pate and Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris
Teleplay by : Josh Pate
August 27, 2014 (2014-08-27)1.76[14]
44"Betrayal"Deran SarafianStory by : Josh Pate & David Wilcox and Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris
Teleplay by : Josh Pate & David Wilcox
September 3, 2014 (2014-09-03)1.74[15]
55"Rogue"Karen GaviolaAndrew WilderSeptember 10, 2014 (2014-09-10)1.43[16]
66"Gauntlet"Brad TurnerAndrew WilderSeptember 17, 2014 (2014-09-17)1.63[17]
77"Quicksand"Terrence O'HaraJosh PateSeptember 24, 2014 (2014-09-24)1.45[18]
88"Iconoclast"John BehringGeoff AullOctober 1, 2014 (2014-10-01)1.06[19]
99"Wilderness of Mirrors"Milan CheylovJosh PateOctober 8, 2014 (2014-10-08)1.08[20]
1010"Identity"Brad TurnerDavid WilcoxOctober 8, 2014 (2014-10-08)1.08[20]

Season 2 (2015)

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
111"The Legend of Dmitry Petrovich"Jamie PayneKen BillerNovember 2, 2015 (2015-11-02)0.68[21]
122"The Legend of Kate Crawford"Jamie PayneRaf GreenNovember 9, 2015 (2015-11-09)0.48[22]
133"The Legend of Curtis Ballard"Alrick RileyAaron AllenNovember 23, 2015 (2015-11-23)0.58[23]
144"The Legend of Ilyana Zakayeva"Alrick RileyAndrew ChapmanNovember 30, 2015 (2015-11-30)0.72[24]
155"The Legend of Terrence Graves"Jon JonesMatthew NewmanDecember 7, 2015 (2015-12-07)0.67[25]
166"The Legend of Tamir Zakayev"Jon JonesChris LevinsonDecember 14, 2015 (2015-12-14)0.51[26]
177"The Second Legend of Dmitry Petrovich"Jeff T. ThomasRaf GreenDecember 21, 2015 (2015-12-21)0.82[27]
188"The Legend of Doku Zakayev"Jeff T. ThomasAaron AllenDecember 28, 2015 (2015-12-28)0.51[28]
199"The Legend of Gabi Miskova"Ken BillerAndrew Chapman & Raf GreenDecember 28, 2015 (2015-12-28)0.40[28]
2010"The Legend of Alexei Volkov"Ken BillerMatthew Newman & Ken BillerDecember 28, 2015 (2015-12-28)0.32[28]

Broadcast

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Internationally, the series premiered in Australia on 11 November 2015 on FX.[29]

Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East & North Africa On the 4th of February 2016, BBC First HD started airing the first episode of the second season of the series on OSN (Orbit Showtime Network).

Critical reception

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Legends scored 59 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 27 "mixed or average" reviews.[30] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 56% critics rating with an average rating of 6/10 based on 32 reviews. The website consensus reads: "Legends lacks originality, but derives watchability from Sean Bean's fine central performance".[31]

Development

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With its second season, it was revealed Legends would be ‘’reimagined’’. The show would now focus on Bean's character's identity,[32] with most of the original cast being replaced and the initial California setting was replaced for London and continental Europe (Paris and Prague). British veteran TV-directors Jamie Payne [33] (Indian Summers, The White Queen, The Hour) and Alrick Riley (Hustle, Spooks/MI-5, CSI) [34] were added to the show. Ken Biller (Legend of the Seeker, Perception) became the new showrunner/executive producer/lead writer, and developed a brand new nonlinear storyline taking place in different countries and flashbacks to Bean's character's childhood at a British boarding school and scenes from Prague in 2001.[35]

Promotion

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To promote the series, TNT launched an intensive advertising campaign targeted at social media[36] beginning at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con.[37][38] Exploiting Sean Bean's reputation for varied and colorful on-screen deaths,[39] the campaign centered around the hashtag #DontKillSeanBean, and included Bean's image on airport machinery and pillars, a poster covering multiple floors of a hotel adjoining the SDCC site, and widely distributed black T-shirts emblazoned with the hashtag in white. Producer Howard Gordon tweeted images of celebrities, including Kiefer Sutherland, Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin[40] and Bean[38] himself wearing the T-shirt. The ad campaign quickly went viral on social media[41][42] and became the central focus of publicity done by Bean, including a parody by the website Funny or Die.[43]

DVD release

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Name Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 Discs
Legends: The Complete First Season October 13, 2015 TBA TBA 3

References

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  1. ^ Credited as Fox 21 for the first season
  1. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (8 May 2013). "Howard Gordon's TNT Drama 'Legends' Gets Series Pickup". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  2. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (March 14, 2014). "TNT to Roll Out 10 Original Series This Summer Including 'Falling Skies', 'The Last Ship', 'Legends' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  3. ^ "TNT Orders Three Scripted Pilots". The Futon Critic. September 7, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  4. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (December 4, 2014). "'Legends' Renewed for Second Season by TNT". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  5. ^ "Legends". TNTDrama.com. August 12, 2015. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (December 15, 2015). "'Public Morals', 'Legends' & 'Agent X' Canceled By TNT". Deadline. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  7. ^ Elavsky, Cindy (March 22, 2014). "Celebrity Extra". King Features. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Sean Bean Stars as an Undercover Agent with One Hell of an Identity Crisis In TNT's Suspenseful New Drama Series Legends". Turner Broadcasting System. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "Legends: Sean Bean Returns in Season Two of TNT Series". TVSeriesFinale. October 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  10. ^ "Legends". IMDb. 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  11. ^ "Igor Skvarica". IMDb. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  12. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (August 14, 2014). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Tops Night + 'Zombie Sharks', 'Spawn of Jaws', 'Teen Mom II' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  13. ^ Bibel, Sara (August 21, 2014). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Teen Mom 2' & Little League World Series Win Night, 'Suits', 'Franklin & Bash', 'Bring It!', 'The Bridge' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 23, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  14. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (August 28, 2014). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Teen Mom 2' Leads Night + 'American Pickers', 'The Daily Show', 'American Restoration' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  15. ^ Bibel, Sara (September 4, 2014). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Teen Mom 2' Wins Night, 'American Pickers', 'Graceland', 'The Bridge', 'Franklin & Bash' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  16. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 11, 2014). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals: 9.10.2014". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  17. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 11, 2014). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals: 9.17.2014". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  18. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 25, 2014). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals: 9.24.2014". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Archived from the original on September 27, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  19. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 1, 2014). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals: 10.1.2014". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  20. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (October 8, 2014). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 25 Wednesday Cable Originals: 10.8.2014". SHOWBUZZDAILY. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  21. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 3, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Monday Cable Originals & Network Update): 11.2.2015". Showbuzzdaily. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  22. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 10, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Monday Cable Originals & Network Update: 11.9.2015". Showbuzzdaily. Archived from the original on November 11, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  23. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (November 24, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Update: 11.23.2015". Showbuzzdaily. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  24. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 2, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Update: 11.30.2015". Showbuzzdaily. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  25. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 8, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.7.2015". Showbuzzdaily. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  26. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 15, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.14.2015". Showbuzzdaily. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  27. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (December 22, 2015). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.21.2015". Showbuzzdaily. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  28. ^ a b c Metcalf, Mitch (December 30, 2015). "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Update: 12.28.2015". Showbuzzdaily. Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  29. ^ Purcell, Charles (6 November 2015). "New This Week (Nov 9): Mr. Robot, Nashville, Legends, Rousey v Holm and live sport". The Green Room. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  30. ^ "Legends: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  31. ^ "Legends: Season 1 (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  32. ^ "'Legends' Showrunner Promises a Hard Reset for TNT Drama in Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter. 2 November 2015.
  33. ^ "Jamie Payne". Staff Me Up. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  34. ^ Jessica Evershed. "McKinney Macartney Management Ltd - Matthew Gant". Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  35. ^ Michael O'Connell (2 November 2015). "'Legends' Showrunner Promises a Hard Reset for TNT Drama in Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  36. ^ "#DontKillSeanBean Promotes New Show While Playing on Fan Expectations". Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  37. ^ McNamara, Mary (13 August 2014). "Review: TNT's 'Legends' finds Sean Bean keeping his head as master spy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  38. ^ a b Alter, Charlotte (28 July 2014). "Fans Want Sean Bean to Survive TNT's Legends With #DontKillSeanBean". Time. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  39. ^ Joest, Mike (23 December 2013). "The Many Deaths of Sean Bean". GeekTyrant.com. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  40. ^ LegendsTNT. "Even @GRRMspeaking doesn't". Twitter.com.
  41. ^ "Instagram". Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  42. ^ "Don't Kill Sean Bean". Facebook.com.
  43. ^ "Sean Bean Death Scene". Funny Or Die. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
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