While Don Cheadle is widely known and loved for his role as James Rhodes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most recently seen in Secret Invasion, his non-Marvel work can’t be understated — particularly when it comes to television. Cheadle has been a part of many television series over his career including some ‘90s classics such as The Golden Palace and Picket Fences and, more recently, Showtime’s historical dark comedy Black Monday and the deeply underrated Quibi series Don’t Look Deeper. Now, one of Cheadle’s best television series is about to leave Netflix — and time is running out to binge it.
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Leaving Netflix on January 23rd is all five seasons of House of Lies. The 28-episode series originally aired on Showtime from 2012 to 2016 and is based on Martin Kihn’s book of the same name. The series follows a group of management consultants who stop at nothing to get business done, but don’t let the rather straightforward description fool you. House of Lies is a raunchy, hilarious comedy and is one of Cheadle’s most unpredictable and best roles yet.
Cheadle is Brilliant As a Manipulative and Charming Businessman in House of Lies
In House of Lies Cheadle plays Marty Kaan, a successful partner at a consultancy firm when he leaves his position there to head up his own firm, Kaan & Associates. Kaan and his team, on the surface, work with multi-million-dollar businesses but their real end game is to mind their own bottom line with a seven-figure salary and they’ll do whatever it takes — including blackmail and creating problems that aren’t really there at all — to make sure it happens. In addition to Cheadle, the series also stars Kristen Bell, Ben Schwartz, Josh Lawson, Don Olivieri, Donis Leonard Jr. and Glynn Turman.
While the entire cast of House of Lies does a great job, it’s Cheadle that really shines. As an actor, he’s very adept at comedy but it’s next level with House of Lies as he blends it with the more polished, smooth-talking aspects of Marty Kaan. The show’s structure also allows for Cheadle to stand out, with his character frequently breaking the fourth wall as he “pauses” the scene, explaining different terms or even explaining his plans before he carries them out. It’s a structure that makes House of Lies a somewhat intimate experience and adds a unique layer of depth to Cheadle’s overall performance. The whole series is very much worth watching despite having received mixed reviews when it was originally released and with just a few days left before it departs Netflix, now’s the time.
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