I didn't read any of the theories about why people didn't watch a show centered around a con man living two equally fulfilling lives. I had a brief discussion with a friend who thought women would hate it, though he didn't watch the show, so had no opinion for himself. Apparently, I was one of the few people who did watch the show, and I quite liked it. Soap opera/family drama meets heist/thriller, my kind of show.
Yes, the subject matter did appear sexist with the lead character being a womanizer and all, but the show didn't glorify him. He wasn't portrayed as a hero in a male erotic fantasy, the show was simply telling a con man's story. So I do understand why women especially wouldn't have tuned in in the first place, but Fox knew that from the get go. Lone Star was a hard sell, and I appreciate the risk that was taken. Unfortunately, not many people showed up for the premiere and even less came back for episode two.
For me, the show's failure was in the casting. James Wolk was not that character. I'm not saying he's a bad actor, I haven't seen him in anything else (except for PA where he had no storyline in the pilot). Just look at that face. He's a baby Dylan McDermott. But he played the lead character with zero edge, he was just a nice guy. Um, nice guys don't live double lives. That was a character that needed to walk the line between likeable and felon very carefully, not an easy task, and Wolk had no balance.
I enjoyed all of Lone Star's scenes, the two love interests were equally likeable, and I was interested in where the show was going with the conflict between Wolk and his con man father. But Wolk was all wrong for the part. And I'm still sad about it two years later.
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