‘Line of Fire’ Boss Explains Major Premiere Family Twist & Death

Line of Fire feels like NBC took what works for it — the family drama of shows like Parenthood and This Is Us and the procedural aspects of Dick Wolf shows like One Chicago and Law & Order — and combined them in one engaging, must-watch show. The series premiere introduces the Hollingsworth family, whose members work for the Secret Service (Peter Krause‘s Mike and Tommy O’Brien‘s Micah), FBI (Kat Cunning‘s Clare), U.S. Marshals (Hope Davis‘ Jane), and Department of Justice (Taylor Bloom’s Russ), and ends with a twist that reveals something that only a couple of them know and have gone to great lengths to keep from the rest. TV Insider spoke with showrunner Joshua Safran about that, the shocking death, and more. Warning: Spoilers for the Line of Fire series premiere ahead!

The premiere sees Mike readying for retirement but unable to let an attempt on the life of the former president go, to the point that he asks Russ to help him out. Jane brings in Clare to work a case involving what ends up being a dirty DEA agent — and uses their time together to push her to introduce the family to her boyfriend, civilian(?) Logan (Pico Alexander). She does, bringing him to a family dinner that’s awkward but makes for, from the moment they first step foot into Jane’s house, one of the most entertaining pilot scenes in recent years. The meal goes poorly, especially once Logan finds out that Clare has a brother, Jack (from Mike’s first marriage), who died …

That’s where the twist comes in. Logan later returns to the house and does a bit of snooping, unfolding a family photo that shows that Jack is Joel (Charlie Barnett), his neighbor — who then kills him but also notes before doing so that while he may not be who he says he is, neither is Logan. Mike and Jane then, as the house becomes a crime scene, sidebar and hide an origami exactly like the one found at the scene of the DEA agent’s murder. If it’s Jack, they agree, they have to get to him first and figure out what’s going on.

Below, showrunner Joshua Safran breaks down those premiere twists.

The premiere ends with that twist involving Jack. The kids think he’s dead. Mike and Jane know differently. What can you say about Jack, what he’s doing, and why you want to have this be the twist to kick off the series, this huge secret that the parents know and the kids don’t?

Joshua Safran: In the nature of creating the show, the secret was always a part of the creation of the show. So, it was never like a, “Hey, I have this show I want to do about a family of law enforcement. What could a twist be that fits into that show?” I knew I wanted to do a show about a family of law enforcement agents, and one of them may or may not be a killer. And how do you deal with that? Weirdly, the tagline of the poster is every case hits home is really what the show is, but you don’t really know that until you watch it.

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And so I can’t say too much about it. It’s an ongoing mystery, but I think one of the reasons why Pete and Hope attached to this project was because they were interested in the more complex idea of parents who know something — they truly told their children that this person, their brother died, and they watched their children grieve, and they knew that it was a lie. And that’s a really bad thing. I’d say more than even the twist of Jack potentially being the bad guy is the twist of what the parents have done to this family.

We often talk in the room about what’s the worst thing? Is it the kids finding out Jack’s alive or is it the kids finding out that Jack’s bad? And it’s always the kids finding out that Jack’s alive. Because in the line of work they do, no one is bad, everyone has their reasons. Sure, I mean, bad actions happen, and things have to be made accountable, but no one is ever good or bad.

So, Logan’s dead. Why kill him off, and how is this going to affect Clare going forward? Because they were in a terrible place when this happened.

Yes. Well, it’s very hard for Clare. It’s so sad for me to kill Pico. I love Pico. He was on Gossip Girl for me. I’ve loved Pico for a very long time. Having Pico’s energy on set is so wonderful, and nobody wanted Pico to die, and I didn’t want Pico to die, and Pico didn’t want to die. And yet he knew he was dead, and it was just really sad. So, it didn’t just affect Clare; it’s affected us as well because we love him.

But I feel like the show is trying to be more real and not pull punches. People aren’t going to come back from the dead ever on the show. It isn’t a thing where Chuck Bass’ mother turns out to be alive or maybe is not his mother, but it was very important for us in this show to make sure that it feels real. It’s not Alias. I love Alias, all respect to Alias. So, he has to die for the story to begin, and he can’t be not dead.

Scott Gries/NBC

Jack says that Logan isn’t who he says he is. Can you say if he attacked him because of that — because he was his neighbor after all, and that could have been about watching him — or because he found that photo, or both?

I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that Jack knew what he was doing when he was pretending to be Joel. So, I’ll put it that way.

Mike is looking into the alleged shooter of former President Barnes, and Sam Waterston is coming on as a character, which I love that casting, by the way. What can you say about that dynamic and that investigation?

The President Barnes story and what may or may not have happened during this assassination attempt is a story that we are telling all through the first half of Season 1. And there will be a resolution, but it’s not a straight line. And a lot of things transpire between now and the resolution of that story. And it’s great having Sam Waterson on set. I’m very close friends with one of Sam’s daughters. And so it’s also not for me, it’s not just having Sam, who I’ve always wanted to work with, but also I know Sam, so it’s great to have him around. And watching him and Pete have scenes together is really wonderful.

Also, we wanted the show to look not just at the current presidency, but also, the Secret Service works over a multitude of presidents potentially. Our advisor worked under three different presidents. And so we also wanted to show that for the audience, that it’s not just about the current day story, it’s also about the relationships that they formed from the past.

Mike and Jane aren’t as separated as the kids think, but she also has a boyfriend, Terry, who is moving in. Why do they have this arrangement, and why can’t they let it go despite her new relationship?

Good questions. And the audience will see that. I think that’s an ongoing question that Mike has. I think Mike believes clearly we should get back together, and Jane has reasons for not ever wanting it to go that far. I think that is another thing I love about having actors like Pete and Hope. You just want to write such wonderful scenes about their conflict with each other. And I’d say every episode deals with that issue. It’s not a thing where they’re going to have a conversation in Episode 3, and it’s going to resolve that issue. That is an ongoing issue that you hear about in multiple episodes, how they feel about it, why it’s the way it is, how one wants it more than the other, and that can sometimes shift what that does for them. And also Terry, played by Campbell Scott, is a real formidable — you kind of wonder maybe she should be with Terry, so there’s also that, even though she’s cheating on him, which also we deal with.

Line of Fire, Mondays, 10/9c, NBC