# Last Resort (TV series)
**Last Resort** is an American political thriller drama television series that aired on ABC from September 27, 2012, centering on the crew of a U.S. ballistic missile submarine that refuses a suspicious order to fire nuclear weapons at Pakistan and takes refuge on a remote island, becoming fugitives from its own government.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/last-resort) It was created by [Shawn Ryan](https://www.edgepedia.org/shawn-ryan), known for *The Shield*, and Karl Gajdusek, who together with Marney Hochman served as executive producers.[2](https://www.ksitetv.com/interviews-2/abc-fall-2012-preview-last-resort-thursdays-at-8/15429/) Despite strong early reviews, ABC canceled the series in November 2012 after 13 episodes, and the final episode was reworked to close the story.[3](https://www.thewrap.com/last-resort-666-park-avenue-not-picked-abc-65541/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | ABC, premiered September 27, 2012, Thursdays at 8 p.m.; canceled November 2012 after 13 episodes[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/last-resort) • [3](https://www.thewrap.com/last-resort-666-park-avenue-not-picked-abc-65541/) |
| Creators | Shawn Ryan (*The Shield*, *The Unit*, *The Chicago Code*) and Karl Gajdusek (*Trespass*, *Dead Like Me*); executive producers with Marney Hochman[2](https://www.ksitetv.com/interviews-2/abc-fall-2012-preview-last-resort-thursdays-at-8/15429/) |
| Premise | The USS Colorado receives launch orders over a channel reserved for use only when the homeland has been wiped out; the crew demands confirmation, is attacked, and is declared enemies of the United States[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/last-resort) |
| Lead cast | Andre Braugher as Captain Marcus Chaplin; Scott Speedman as XO Sam Kendal; also Daisy Betts, Dichen Lachman, Daniel Lissing, Sahr Ngaujah, Autumn Reeser, and Robert Patrick[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/last-resort) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/last-resort/) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 74 (Generally Favorable) on Metacritic from 31 reviews; 79% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/last-resort/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/last-resort) |
| Cancellation ratings | The episode before cancellation tied a series low of 5.8 million viewers with a 1.3 rating/4 share in the 18–49 demographic[3](https://www.thewrap.com/last-resort-666-park-avenue-not-picked-abc-65541/) |
| Production | Sony Pictures Television, with Big Sun Productions and MiddKid Productions; shot in Hawaii[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/last-resort/) • [5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-xpm-2012-sep-08-la-et-st-fall-tv-preview-last-resort-20120909-story.html) |
## Premise and story
The series opens with the USS Colorado, a fictional Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, on patrol when it receives orders, over a communications line designated for use only when the homeland has been wiped out, to fire nuclear weapons at Pakistan.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/last-resort) Captain Marcus Chaplin ([Andre Braugher](https://www.edgepedia.org/andre-braugher)) and executive officer Sam Kendal ([Scott Speedman](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-speedman)) request confirmation before launching, since the order would kill an estimated four million people; the Colorado is then fired upon, and those aboard are declared enemies of the United States.[6](https://www.salon.com/2012/09/26/no_man_is_an_island_unless_he_has_the_bomb/)
The crew takes refuge on the fictional island of Sainte Marina, where they commandeer a NATO communications and early missile warning facility.[7](https://www.militarydespatches.co.za/Vol%2061%20July%202022.pdf) When B-1 bombers are sent against the submarine and the island, Chaplin threatens to launch a nuclear strike on Washington unless the aircraft withdraw, and the crew must then prove they were set up and identify who inside the U.S. government framed them.[7](https://www.militarydespatches.co.za/Vol%2061%20July%202022.pdf) The story also follows political maneuvering in Washington, including Pentagon resignations and talk of impeachment, alongside life on the island among its residents, such as bartender Tani ([Dichen Lachman](https://www.edgepedia.org/dichen-lachman)) and local crime figure Julian Serrat (Sahr Ngaujah).[8](https://unaffiliatedcritic.com/2012/09/last-resort-tv-review/)
## Production and cast
Shawn Ryan described the project as the most ambitious he had attempted, crediting Gajdusek with the initial idea; he said his earlier work on *The Shield*, *The Chicago Code*, and *Terriers* gave him the skills to attempt it.[2](https://www.ksitetv.com/interviews-2/abc-fall-2012-preview-last-resort-thursdays-at-8/15429/) Gajdusek said the idea grew from a childhood fascination with submarines and from a political situation he saw growing in the United States.[9](https://www.salon.com/2012/09/27/last_resort_creators_we_can_be_better_than_homeland/) The pilot was directed by [Martin Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-campbell), director of *[Casino Royale](https://www.edgepedia.org/casino-royale-2006-film)*.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/last-resort/) The series was shot in Hawaii.[5](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-xpm-2012-sep-08-la-et-st-fall-tv-preview-last-resort-20120909-story.html)
The supporting cast included Daisy Betts as Lieutenant Grace Shepard, Camille De Pazzis as Sophie Girard, Autumn Reeser as Kylie Sinclair, Jessy Schram as Christine Kendal, and [Robert Patrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-patrick) as Master Chief Joseph Prosser.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/last-resort/) At the Television Critics Association press tour, the producers discussed the show's race-blind casting.[2](https://www.ksitetv.com/interviews-2/abc-fall-2012-preview-last-resort-thursdays-at-8/15429/)
## Cancellation and ending
On November 16, 2012, ABC declined to pick up *Last Resort* or its fellow freshman drama *666 Park Avenue* for additional episodes, though it said it would air the remaining episodes of both 13-episode initial orders.[3](https://www.thewrap.com/last-resort-666-park-avenue-not-picked-abc-65541/) The most recent episode had tied a series low of 5.8 million viewers with a 1.3 rating/4 share among adults 18–49.[3](https://www.thewrap.com/last-resort-666-park-avenue-not-picked-abc-65541/) Co-creator Shawn Ryan confirmed that the crew had time to close the story, saying the thirteenth episode would function as a series finale.[10](https://www.allocine.fr/article/fichearticle_gen_carticle%3D18618923.html) Columnist Matt Roush reported that the final act was written and filmed in response to the cancellation, since production schedules rarely allow filming contingency endings in advance; ABC's promotion of the episode as a "season" finale drew criticism for giving viewers false hope of renewal.[11](https://www.dailyregister.com/20130127/news/ask-matt-cancellations-last-resort-ben-and-kate-smash-switched-at-birth/)
## Reception
Critics received the pilot strongly. The show scored 74 on Metacritic, with 26 of 31 reviews positive, and holds 79% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, where the critics consensus calls it "a top-notch conspiracy thriller, with cinema-quality production and riveting action sequences."[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/last-resort/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/last-resort) TV Guide Magazine's review described it as "an electrifying military-gone-amok thriller" bridging [Tom Clancy's](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-clancys) hardware with the suspense of Cold War classics such as *[Fail Safe](https://www.edgepedia.org/fail-safe-1964-film)* and *Seven Days in May*.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/last-resort/) Reviewers also noted weaknesses: the Los Angeles Times and others observed that the landbound scenes on the island and in Washington were more scattered than the submarine sequences, and the [Boston Herald](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-herald) gave a sharply negative review.[12](https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/last-resort-season-one/) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/last-resort/)
The series received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, two Visual Effects Society Award nominations, and one NAACP Image Award nomination.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/last-resort/) A U.S. Navy submariner writing for the *Naval Institute's* USNI News judged the naval procedure on screen implausible, cataloguing an implausibly eventful first day for the crew, but the review treated the show as entertainment rather than documentary.[13](https://news.usni.org/2012/10/03/abcs-last-resort-submariner-critique)
## Other series of the same name
The title has been reused several times. *The Last Resort* was a reality series on ABC Family, debuting January 20, 2003 and ending March 31, 2003, in which dysfunctional couples were taken to a Hawaiian island to work on their relationships; it was produced by Buena Vista Productions and Fisher Entertainment.[14](https://d23.com/a-to-z/last-resort-the-television/) A 1979 CBS sitcom, also called *The Last Resort*, followed students working through their summer vacation in a mountain restaurant and was written by Gary David Goldberg, based on his experiences as a waiter.[15](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/MTM-Quality-Television-Feuer-Kerr-Vahimagi-1984.pdf) Neither is related to the 2012 ABC drama.
## References
1. [Last Resort (TV Series 2012–2013), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/last-resort)
2. [ABC Fall 2012 Preview: Last Resort (Thursdays At 8), KSiteTV](https://www.ksitetv.com/interviews-2/abc-fall-2012-preview-last-resort-thursdays-at-8/15429/)
3. ['Last Resort,' '666 Park Avenue' Dropped by ABC, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/last-resort-666-park-avenue-not-picked-abc-65541/)
4. [Last Resort, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/last-resort/)
5. ['Last Resort' surfaces dramatically on ABC, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-xpm-2012-sep-08-la-et-st-fall-tv-preview-last-resort-20120909-story.html)
6. [No man is an island, unless he has the bomb, Salon](https://www.salon.com/2012/09/26/no_man_is_an_island_unless_he_has_the_bomb/)
7. [Television Series, Military Despatches Vol. 61 (July 2022)](https://www.militarydespatches.co.za/Vol%2061%20July%202022.pdf)
8. [Last Resort (TV review), The Unaffiliated Critic](https://unaffiliatedcritic.com/2012/09/last-resort-tv-review/)
9. ["Last Resort": What if the U.S. Navy mutinied?, Salon](https://www.salon.com/2012/09/27/last_resort_creators_we_can_be_better_than_homeland/)
10. [Annulées, "666 Park Avenue" et "Last Resort" auront bien une conclusion !, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/article/fichearticle_gen_carticle%3D18618923.html)
11. [Ask Matt: Cancellations (Last Resort, Ben and Kate), Smash, Switched at Birth](https://www.dailyregister.com/20130127/news/ask-matt-cancellations-last-resort-ben-and-kate-smash-switched-at-birth/)
12. [Review: Last Resort: Season One, Slant Magazine](https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/last-resort-season-one/)
13. [ABC's 'Last Resort' – Submariner Critique, USNI News](https://news.usni.org/2012/10/03/abcs-last-resort-submariner-critique)
14. [Last Resort, The (television), D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/last-resort-the-television/)
15. [MTM Quality Television (Feuer, Kerr, Vahimagi, 1984), World Radio History](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/MTM-Quality-Television-Feuer-Kerr-Vahimagi-1984.pdf)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › War and military series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license