'The Old Man' Season 1 Recap: What You Need To Remember Before Season 2 (2024)

The Old Man is about to return to FX for its sophomore season, with reviews hinting that it maintains the same mix of intrigue and action that made Season 1 a standout piece of television. It's also another solid entry into the action sub-genre, where actors including Liam Neeson, Denzel Washington, and Aaron Eckhart have taken their careers into a new phase...and that phase mostly consists of killing the crap out of criminals who are dumb enough to cross their paths.

The Old Man finds its lead in Jeff Bridges, who plays Dan Chase, a man content to live his life on the outskirts of civilization with two dogs to keep him company. But one night, someone breaks into his house... and Chase quickly, yet brutally, dispatches them. Over the course of The Old Man Season 1, Chase's past as a CIA agent is revealed, along with a few old friends (and enemies) hellbent on bringing him in.

'The Old Man' Season 1 Is a Cat-and-Mouse Game

One of the recurring threads in The Old Man Season 1 is that Chase is being hunted by his old friend, Harold Harper (John Lithgow), who is now the FBI's Assistant Director for Counterintelligence. Over the course of Season 1, it's revealed that Chase and Harper worked together in the CIA, specifically on a mission in Afghanistan — and the fallout of that mission is reverberating through the present day. Harper is helped by a team including his protégé Angela Adams (Alia Shakwat), CIA officer Raymond Waters (E.J. Bonilla), and assassin Julian Carson (Gbenga Akinnagbe). What Harper doesn't know is that Waters and Carson, along with another agent, Mike (Echo Kellum), are working for Morgan Bote (Joel Grey) — another figure who has past connections to Chase and Harper.

Overseeing the operation to capture Chase is Faraz Hamzad (Navid Negahban), a former Afghan warlord. Hamzad encountered Chase during the latter's mission in Afghanistan back in his youth, but it turns out that things are personal between the two, as Chase fled to the U.S. with Hamzad's wife, Belour (Leem Lubany). Years ago, Hamzad had learned that Belour was feeding information to Russian operatives that he was at war with; her refusal to give up the location of an ore deposit that could tip power in Hamzad's failure led to his cold declaration that she either give it up or die — resulting in Chase and Belour absconding to the U.S. with Harper's help.

Angela Adams' Identity Leads to a Major Revelation in 'The Old Man' Season 1

The Old Man establishes a connection between Chase and Adams early on, as it's initially revealed that she's his daughter, Emily. Waters, Carson, and Mike attempt to take advantage of this connection by holding Adams hostage and striking a deal with Chase; if he turns himself over to Hamzad's custody, Adams will go free. Chase decides to go through with the deal... until Carson notices that shadowy figures are approaching his location and contacts Harper.

Chase and Harper rush to Carson's location to find Carson and Adams missing, and Waters and Mike dead. It's here that Chase reveals the real reason for Hamzad's obsession with hunting him down: Belour was pregnant with Hamzad's child, who Chase raised as his own. The entire crux of The Old Man was about Chase going to insane lengths to protect his family from the past, but the past won out in the end. Making matters worse is the fact that Harper is implicated in his own men's murders, forcing him to go on the run with Chase.

‘The Old Man’ Season 1 Sees Dan Chase Finding Love Again (Sort of)

In addition to outracing Harper and Hamzad, Chase spends most of The Old Man in the company of Zoe McDonald (Amy Brenneman), a recently single mother. The two have some immense chemistry together (helped in no small part by Bridges and Brenneman's performances), but soon Zoe gets wrapped up in the cat-and-mouse game between Chase and Harper. Eventually, he gives her his dogs and bids her farewell.

Though Zoe's status was up in the air following the conclusion of The Old Man Season 1, executive producer Dan Shotz revealed that she will return for Season 2. "Zoe will definitely be back. She’s a key piece of this story, a key connection for Dan. And Amy is such a brilliant actress and partner in this. We’re very excited about Zoe’s story going forward," he told Deadline.

'The Old Man' Season 1 Weathered Behind-the-Scenes Turmoil To Come to Life

Bringing The Old Man to screens wasn't an easy task, according to showrunner Jonathan Steinberg. Season 1 was slated for ten episodes, but was cut down to 7 due to a COVID-19 shutdown on set. Then, Bridges was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins' lymphoma and contracted COVID while undergoing treatment. But eventually, he returned to set and finished Season 1. "Everybody showed such dedication and hung in. We finished it. I appreciate that," Bridges told AARP when discussing his health.

Indeed, The Old Man plays out like a well-crafted spy thriller, with each episode delivering its own set of revelations and occasional fight scenes. Bridges throws himself into the action, dishing out brutal blows and absorbing them, while moving with the speed and ferocity of a man half his age. The Old Man had a set of talented directors for Season 1, including Jon Watts, who directed the first two episodes and serves as an executive producer on the show, Greg Yaitanes (House of the Dragon), Jet Wilkinson (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), and Zetna Fuentes (This Is Us).

With the immense amount of talent in front of and behind the camera and solid source material in a novel by Thomas Perry, The Old Man set the bar high in its debut season. Time will tell if Season 2 manages to reach those same heights, given where it picks up.

Season 1 of The Old Man is available to stream on Hulu. Season 2 premieres on FX on September 12.

The Old Man

Thriller

Premiering on FX in 2022, The Old Man is a Thriller and Drama series starring Jeff Bridges. The film sees Bridges playing Dan Chase, an ex-CIA operative and war veteran that kills an intruder that enters his home and then goes into hiding to avoid the law.

Release Date

September 19, 2024

Cast

Jeff Bridges , John Lithgow , Bill Heck , Alia Shawkat , E.J. Bonilla , Leem Lubany , Pej Vahdat , Gbenga Akinnagbe , Amy Brenneman , Hiam Abbass , Echo Kellum , Moneer Yaqubi , Navid Negahban , Jessica Harper , Artur Zai Barrera , Michael Sifain , Jacqueline Antaramian , Kenneth Mitchell , Joel Grey , Noor Razooky , Milo Stein , Andrew Perez , Sara Seyed , Rowena King

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu , Prime Video

Watch on Hulu