Broken Down Hard

***Broken Down Hard*** is an American crime drama streaming television series created and produced by Cooper Brandis. The series is broadcast around the world on the streaming service HOOT. The show premiered on May 10, 2015, airing five seasons to date. A sixth and final season, consisting of 13 episodes, began streaming on March 13, 2022.

Set in Los Angeles/Riverside, California, *Broken Down Hard* revolves around Jordan McKimmel (Cooper Brandis), a former Marine and a struggling accountant with an equally struggling wife, Holly (Alison Brie). When the already tense McKimmel is becoming closer to the verge of bankruptcy, he breaks down and turns to a life of crime, selling cocaine with his former colleague, Dave (Oscar Isaac), in a desire to secure his family's financial future while avoiding detection from Los Angeles County Sheriff, Lucas Townsend (Antony Starr).

*Broken Down Hard* has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its writing and Brandis's performance on the show, and it has garnered many nominations, including a Peabody Award, 23 Primetime Emmy Awards, eleven Writers Guild of America Awards, five Critics' Choice Television Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and two Golden Globe Awards.

## Production

### Conception

In early 2013, Cooper Brandis was appointed the president of HOOT, and expressed interest in creating a HOOT exclusive series which would launch original programming on the service.

Brandis was eager to branch out from his stand-up comedy roots and delve into deeper subject matter. He brainstormed ideas for months until he pitched to HOOT executives a series about a hitman. The executives did not want a clichéd, formulaic show, but was assured that it would be different, because Brandis would play the hitman. Brandis quickly decided that the hitman would be a former Marine who struggled with PTSD and depression.

Clint Eastwood's 1992 film *Unforgiven* has been mentioned several times as an inspiration for *Broken Down Hard*. Both works explore the idea of violence and its psychological effects, acting to counter works which portray violence as gratuitous or glorified.

### Development

On January 11, 2014, it was reported that HOOT had given the production a pilot order, to be directed by Cooper Brandis who would also write and executive produce. On June 2, 2014, it was reported that HOOT had given the production a series order.

### Casting

>
> "*You're going to see that underlying humanity, even when he's making the most devious, terrible decisions, and you need someone who has that humanity – deep down, bedrock humanity.*"
> ―Cooper Brandis, about his performance[src]

Brandis created the character of Holly with Alison Brie in mind, not even knowing if she would ever want to be in the show. After watching Brie in *Mad Men* and becoming captivated by her performance as Trudy Campbell, Brandis started to imagine Brie in the role at a certain point as he was writing. However, HOOT officials were initially unwillingly to comply in Brandis's pursuit of Brie, having known Brie only as the over-the-top character Annie Edison on the comedy series *Community*. But the executives were eventually persuaded after seeing her performance on *Mad Men*. When finally offered the role, Brie was initially reluctant, but changed her mind after meeting with Brandis, who pitched his vision of the character.

### Scientific Accuracy

Scripts and dialogue regarding the scientific subjects of the series were provided by the professor of organic chemistry at the University of Oklahoma, Donna Nelson. Nelson also illustrated the chemical structures and wrote chemical equations which were used as props. According to Brandis, Nelson approached the production crew and stated her interest in the show, offering her assistance regarding the subject of chemistry. She also offered assistance on electrical engineering, and physics. Brandis accepted the offer to maintain the scientific accuracy on the scripts. Before a script was published, Brandis would allow Nelson to proofread it and check it for any scientific errors or add descriptions and dialogues to it. The production crew also had assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration based out of Los Angeles.

## Reception

   *Broken Down Hard* has received critical acclaim in addition to numerous awards and nominations, including seven Emmy Awards. Cooper Brandis has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series four times. Oscar Isaac has won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2019 and 2020, and Alison Brie has won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2019 and 2020. Cooper Brandis and the rest of the producing staff finally nabbed the prestigious Outstanding Drama Series award in 2019 for the fourth season, and later in 2020 for the fifth season.

## Seasons

*See the list of all episodes from all seasons.*
* Season 1 (2015)
* Season 2 (2016)
* Season 3 (2017)
* Season 4 (2018)
* Season 5 (2020)
* Season 6 (2022)