Graves

Expected to spend his retired years living quietly outside Santa Fe, NM, former President Richard Graves spins out into an existential crisis when he realizes that his White House’s policies of 25 years ago have messed the country up and decides to go on a journey to right his administration’s wrongs. Graves befriends bohemian waitress Sammy and drags his uptight new assistant Isaiah along as he goes off the grid and tries for the first time in his life to live in the present moment and be authentic. Meanwhile, Olivia Graves is having a breakdown of her own, shedding her picture perfect First Daughter persona after separating from her Rockefeller husband, as her mother — the ever-composed Margaret Graves — tries to keep her family’s antics from drawing attention.

The family and staff unsuccessfully try to prevent Graves from finding out that his attempted assassin Martin Treadwell, while he was in the White House 25 years ago, is seeking a furlough to visit his dying mother. Graves attends his gardener’s niece’s quinceañera and becomes an advocate for the Mexican immigrant community. Margaret is approached by the Republican Party and invited to launch a Senate campaign, while Isaiah and Olivia get too close for (Isaiah’s) comfort.

The family deals with the repercussions of Graves’ unorthodox show of support for Mexican immigrants, and Graves encourages a federal bureaucrat to grant amnesty to a group of illegal immigrants who have sought refuge at his ranch. His son Jeremy returns home after serving four years in the Army only to find that even being a war hero seemingly can’t impress his emotionally distant father. Olivia is excited to have a sexy new man, Arturo, in her life despite the language barrier between them, and Margaret continues to mull over a run for the Senate despite Graves’ disapproval.

Graves is forced to acknowledge that his views are on the wrong side of history as he reluctantly attends his speechwriter’s marriage…to another man. Olivia falls deeper in love with Arturo, only to realize there’s more to him than meets the eye. At the wedding, Margaret inches closer to launching her Senate bid after she receives a call of support from an old friend, successful businessman Jonathan Dalton. Isaiah desperately tries to prep Jeremy for an interview on a local morning news show, but instead Jeremy throws a massive party, unprepared for how everyone’s lives have changed since he’s been gone.

After learning his longtime friend and political ally ex-U.K. Prime Minister Trevor Lloyd is dying of cancer, Graves takes off to see him in Baltimore for one last adventure. Isaiah and Sammy join him, and Isaiah gets a peek behind the curtain when she takes him to visit her family. Olivia enlists Jeremy’s help when she realizes she’s in over her head with Arturo. Margaret finds herself falling into familiar patterns as she and Dalton strategize on her campaign.

Concerned about her husband’s strange behavior, Margaret has a therapist hold a session for the family. Jeremy intercepts a letter to the family asking if they would like to send someone to speak at Treadwell’s furlough hearing, and it sends him into a rage. Olivia acts out, angry about her impending divorce.