TV Shows you should be watching: The Philanthropist

Honestly, the Philanthropist is a show I usually wouldn't look twice it.

It had "typical TV bullshit drama" written all over it. You know, like Grey's Anatomy.

Then I heard it was by Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson, guys who produced a little show called Homicide, and starring James Purefoy, the amazing British actor who played Marc Anthony in Rome.

Before you know it, I was watching the show religiously.

It's about Teddy Rist, an incredibly wealthy financier who makes his money from "natural resources", basically raping countries in Africa. He's a drunk, a womanizer and he likes to spend his money on cars and flashy paintings.

Then he has an epiphany and begins to use his money to help people.

For the comics fans out there, if you think Tony Stark minus the battlesuit, you'd have a really good sense of who this guy is, complete with a Rhodey-esque black bodyguard, played to perfection by Michael K. Williams, who fans of The Wire will recognize as Omar Little (maybe my favorite character of that entire series).

The show is the type of modern campaign I'd never run, but maybe it's the kind I should run, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, if you liked Homicide, Rome and/or the Wire, you should definitely check this show out.

Chuck