THE TV COLUMN

Justified fans’ swoon-fest revives today on FX

Timothy Olyphant returns as Raylan Givens for Season 4 of Justified, 9 p.m. today on FX.
Timothy Olyphant returns as Raylan Givens for Season 4 of Justified, 9 p.m. today on FX.

— I have a co-worker who gets all dewy-eyed at the mere mention of Timothy Olyphant.

Seriously. Her knees get weak. She gazes off to some distant, unfocused place, and the slight hint of a smile crosses her lips.

I’ll have to take her word for it. The 44-year-old star of Justified seems a bit rangy to me - wiry and too taciturn. He was also that way in his role as Seth Bullock in HBO’s Deadwood.

But that sort of long, lean and laconic matinee idol has been turning the ladies’ heads at least since Gary Cooper and probably before.

Olyphant and company return to FX when Season 4 of Justified kicks off at 9 p.m. today. Legions of fans will be glued to one of the best, and smartest, adult dramas on television.

Adult? Yep, it’s rated TVMA for sexual stuff, graphic violence, adult language and situations. Don’t let the kiddies sit in on this one.

Regular FX viewers know the channel enjoys pushing the basic cable envelope with such series as Justified, American Horror Story, Sons of Anarchy, Rescue Me and the forthcoming The Americans (Jan. 30).

I’ve seen the first two episodes of the new Justified season and all of those TV-MA elements are in it. The highly anticipated new season hits the ground running.

Justified was created by screenwriter Graham Yost, who worked on Band of Brothers and The Pacific. He based the series on novelist Elmore Leonard’s short story “Fire in the Hole.”

The series centers on the anti-hero adventures of maverick Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Olyphant), who was born and reared in Harlan, Ky. After 20 years away, Givens’ Wild West tendencies got him reassigned to his home state.

Once back in eastern Kentucky, Givens hooked up with old friends, lovers and enemies as he battled the local criminal element - homegrown and imported.

Justified has always been blessed with a stellar supporting cast. Season 3 found Givens taking on dirty politics, hidden fortunes, a mysterious criminal ringleader named Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson), and Quarles (Neal McDonough), an ambitious gangster from Detroit.

This season Givens picks up a cold case from 30 years ago that takes us all the way back to his boyhood and the beginning of his father’s criminal dealings.

His father, Arlo (RaymondJ. Barry), by the way, is in prison again.

The cold case involves a pouch belonging to a diplomat found hidden in Arlo’s home and a decades-old grudge match with the Dixie Mafia.

Meanwhile, Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins, The Shield, Django Unchained) finds his criminal grip on Harlan loosening due to the influence of a Pentecostal preacher with a penchant for Bible-thumping theatrics and a knack for manipulation that rivals Boyd’s.

In case you’re new to Justified, know that Goggins is worth the price of admission all by himself. His performance each episode as Givens’ former friend and longtime nemesis is brilliant. His role earned the Alabama born, Georgia-reared actor a 2011 Emmy nomination for best supporting actor in a drama, alongside Olyphant for lead actor in a drama.

There is also an Arkansas connection with Goggins. He co-produced and starred in the 2001 dark comedy The Accountant, which won an Academy Award for best live action short film.

The film was written and directed by Ray McKinnon (Deadwood), who married Arkansas native Lisa Blount. Blount died in 2010. Goggins and McKinnon are co-owners of the independent production company Ginny Mule Pictures.

New to the Justified cast is comedian Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens) as Bob Sweeney, an old high school classmate of Givens’ who is now the local constable. Sweeney is there for some comic relief, not the least of which is his beat-up old AMC Gremlin with the cop lights on the roof.

Sweeney also has a “go bag” in his car just in case chaos and doom strike. In the season premiere, he and Givens team up to track down a fugitive.

Epic series: The documentary team behind the memorable natural history series Life returns with an equally “epic” Discovery Channel adventure in Africa. The seven part series debuts at 9 p.m. today and promises “species never filmed before, animal behaviors, and secret, natural wonders of the world.”

The series was compiled from 79 expeditions in 27 countries and 2,000 hours of footage.

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Style, Pages 28 on 01/08/2013

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