Showtime has been promoting "House of Lies" for what seems like the better part of a year, so there was a lot of anticipation for Sunday night's series premiere (which – as Showtime and Starz tend to do with new series – was also available online and free to many cable subscribers).

But the show, about a team of management consultants led by Marty (Oscar-nominated actor and executive producer Don Cheadle), crammed a lot of plot into the first episode. So much so that there really wasn't any time left for two of Marty's employees, played by Ben Schwartz ("Parks and Recreation") and Josh Lawson ("The Wedding Party"), to shine.

Much of the focus was on Marty himself. It's not entirely clear from the promos, but after watching the show, Cheadle is perfectly cast as the slick Marty Kaan. (Marty also appears to be the first sitcom character since "Saved by the Bell" to have Zack Morris' "time out" power.)

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