If there is one new series fans are looking forward to, it’s “Line of Fire.” The drama brings Peter Krause back to the screen after his character, Bobby Nash, was killed off during “9-1-1” Season 8. The new NBC series is a family drama at its heart, but there’s a mystery element that will run throughout the first season.
Kat Cunning, Tommy O’Brien, and Taylor Bloom chatted with EntertainmentNow about the series and their characters. It was a chance to get to know the Hollingsworth family, as well as a tease of the murder and mayhem to come.
What Is ‘Line of Fire’ About?
“Line of Fire” follows a family of law enforcement agents. They cover various organizations, whether it involves the FBI, the Secret Service, or even the Department of Justice. That brings its own challenges, but things take a turn when a case becomes a conspiracy.
There’s a killer out there, and now the family needs to protect its own. Are they willing to go against their own codes to see it through?
The series is loosely based on the experiences of Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter of George W. Bush, who is also an executive producer on the series. She had direct experience with the Secret Service, adding a more personal element to the tale. “Line of Fire” may or may not include a relationship with the President’s daughter.
Meeting the Hollingsworth Family on ‘Line of Fire’
EntertainmentNow: Let’s start with getting into who you each play.
Kat Cunning: I’m Claire Hollingsworth, and I’m FBI. I’m the only one who’s really jettisoned out of the family business to be FBI. It’s a little rebellious of me, but in a very straight-laced way, and I care a lot. I think that’s what I relate to in Claire. She just cares a lot about the things she wants to achieve. Nothing can really stop her, whether it’s in love or at her job.
Tommy O’Brien: I play Micah Hollingsworth, and I’m with the Secret Service on the protective detail for the president’s daughter. As we open up into the episode, I’m excited that I might be working in that agency by myself, seeing as my dad also works in the agency, but it turns out that might not be the case.
Micah is very energetic, very rambunctious, and we get to see some of that behavior as the season kicks off. He has a pathway before him that is one of learning, growing, and overcoming some of the expectations that are put on him by his profession and by his family.
NBCTaylor Bloom: I play Russell Hollingsworth. He’s a retired Marine who, when we find him in our pilot episode, is walking into his first day as an analyst at the DOJ and is immediately put in the hot seat by his father to try to work some back channels and get some information. Russ is lovable; he’s open, and he’s optimistic. And he’s bright.
He’s got a strong sense of right and wrong that he tries to stick to, but it’s very much informed by the lessons he’s learned watching all of his family — not just his mom and dad, but his older siblings. They’re sort of like superheroes, and he wants to live up to being a member of that team. I’m very excited for people to see where this season takes him, because he’s had such a great starting point to have a handle on some hard situations.
Can you tease the season-long storyline, because this is more of a thriller than a family drama.
Cunning: It’s so exciting. I think one of the coolest things about our show is that there are so many different layers and so many different courses of plots. We have a procedural element, which our GOAT of a fake father, Peter Krause, defined that genre in “Six Feet Under.”
There’s a procedural thing as you go through every episode, but there’s also this long arc of things that people are going through, and it is a thriller. It’s very “Clue”-esque in every episode. We also go through this long arc of what we go through as people, and for these interrelationships, things feel so emotional and special and family-driven and human-driven. That’s been my anchor in having any business playing someone of this ilk.
NBCIt’s what I love about so many NBC procedurals. What you think it’s all about is definitely not the case. I love the family dynamic in the pilot episode. What’s it been like for the three of you to bring this family to life? It feels like a family on set as well, from what I’ve seen behind the scenes.
Bloom: That’s very much the case. I think, since Day One, I have to give a lot of credit to Peter Krause and Hope Davis, our illustrious parents, because they are No. 1 and No. 2 on the call sheet. In many ways, they are setting the tone on set, and they are two of the most grounded, kind, genuine, earnest parental figures.
When you’ve spent as much of your life in the business as they have, it’s not unusual for you to be a little jaded, but they are both so happy to be at work every day. They are tremendously supportive of the three of us, and I think they opened the door for everyone on set to walk through and say, “Let’s all be happy to be here and have a great time working together.” It really set the tone.
Every single person on the set is happy to be there, and they work long hours. The crew is just total badasses. They are warm, and it’s familiar when you walk on set. It’s a big happy family, and I hope it translates on screen.
I live where “The Handmaid’s Tale” was filmed, and I saw just how long days the crew put in. It’s amazing.
Cunning: There’s just this amazing common respect. You’d be surprised how many places this doesn’t come about, that there’s an amazing culture of people expressing gratitude to be there, supporting each other, and lifting each other up.
There are unfortunately a lot of places where one bad egg brings the whole group down, and I have never done a procedural of this length, nor have I ever had this amount of responsibility in a cast of a procedural. I want to set the tone for guests on our show, or just for anyone that I interact with, to feel like they can do their best work.
I am echoed in that same mentality by everyone around me, down to the people driving us to and from work. You could not be luckier.
Speaking of lucky. Not only do you have Peter Krause and Hope Davis, but you also have Sam Waterston as a guest star. There are so many other legends as well. What was that like for you?
O’Brien: It’s incredibly surreal. Every single person that they’ve brought on — like the names that have been announced — we were just blown away that they were willing to spend time on our show. I think every day we’re pinching ourselves. Sam Waterston is a man of old magic. He has this beautiful, grounded presence and is also full of whimsy and spontaneity and just a brilliant mind. What a treat and an honor.
Cunning: I had the pleasure of having my biological father come to set, and he’s nearing 70. I told him, “Dad, you’ve got a lot of years before you get to complain, because look at that glorious angel of a human.” We were all geeking out while working with him.
NBCWe can’t get into spoilers, but can you tease the most surprising things about your characters or story?
Cunning: That’s tough. I like to describe Claire as being singularly focused, hypervigilant, and tenacious, but the surprise to me is seeing what kind of love life transpires for her, and the twists and turns of how love weaves its way in and out of a career.
Bloom: I don’t know if I can pick one single moment. Every script we get, I’ll be sitting at the stage in my chair between takes, reading it – all the parts. Everyone can attest. They’ve probably heard me go [shocked noise]. I’m constantly gasping at the twists and turns of our amazing show.
O’Brien: I can confirm that, for sure. I was doing the same. We had a full day together, and it was so fun! We match each other’s work ethic very well, and that’s why we get along and why we work together so well.
But yeah, Taylor is great at that, and it’s loved. We all have our own reasons why we’re so happy to be on this job. It’s contagious among different people.
In terms of surprises for the show, I think the surprise for me was how this family really does, when, no matter what happens, no matter what conflicts they have, they show up for one another, and they really love each other. A character can show up for others in a way we didn’t expect them to.
This show is full of surprises. Whatever you think based on the poster, the pilot, or what any of us look like, it’s going to surprise you every single episode.
To wrap up, how would you sum up the show in just three words?
Bloom: Family, love, murder!
Cunning: Glorious, grounded, gaggy.
O’Brien: Intrigue, mystery, and another word. I was going to say murder.
Let’s go with it!
O’Brien: There’s plenty of murder.
“Line of Fire” premieres on Monday, Sept. 21 at 10/9c on NBC and streams the following day on Peacock.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
