You know that feeling when a legendary actor—the kind with a voice like a gravel pit and a face that looks like a topographical map of the American West—decides to do TV, and then everyone just... forgets? That’s exactly what happened with the nick nolte tv show Graves.
It’s wild. Nick Nolte is a guy who basically invented the "rugged leading man with a soul" archetype. He’s been nominated for three Oscars. He survived the 70s and 80s. But if you ask the average person about his foray into television, they’ll probably mention The Mandalorian (where he was a talking space pig, essentially) or maybe that 1976 miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man.
Hardly anyone talks about Graves. And honestly? That’s a shame.
The Presidential Mid-Life Crisis You Didn't See Coming
The show premiered on Epix back in 2016. If you're asking "What the hell is Epix?" you're proving my point. Because the network was so niche at the time, this weirdly brilliant satire about a former Republican president having a moral epiphany got buried.
Nolte plays Richard Graves. He’s 25 years out of office. He’s looking at his legacy—the wars he started, the social programs he cut, the general "tough guy" policies he enacted—and he realizes he might have actually screwed the country up. So, what does he do? He goes on a Don Quixote-style quest to fix it.
✨ Don't miss: Why ASAP Rocky F kin Problems Still Runs the Club Over a Decade Later
Imagine a former POTUS wandering into a weed dispensary or showing up at an immigrant rights rally because he’s suddenly realized his old laws were kind of a disaster. That’s the vibe. It’s funny, sure, but it’s also got this weirdly touching, melancholy streak that only Nolte could pull off. He brings that trademark "I've seen too much" energy to every scene.
Why Nobody Found It
Sela Ward, who played the former First Lady Margaret Graves, once told the Los Angeles Times that people literally couldn't find the show. Epix wasn't on DirecTV back then. It was a digital ghost town. By the time it hit streaming services like Amazon or Apple TV, the cultural moment had shifted.
But looking back from 2026, the show feels eerily prescient. It deals with political legacy and the "us vs. them" mentality in a way that feels way more relevant now than it did eight or nine years ago.
It Wasn't Just One Nick Nolte TV Show
If we’re being real, Nolte has been doing some of his most interesting work on the small screen lately. He’s moved past the days of being a traditional movie star and into this "wise old man of the prestige TV era" phase.
🔗 Read more: Ashley My 600 Pound Life Now: What Really Happened to the Show’s Most Memorable Ashleys
- Poker Face (2023): He showed up in the Rian Johnson/Natasha Lyonne series as Arthur Liptin, an old-school special effects guy. It was a beautiful, heartbreaking episode about the death of practical effects in Hollywood.
- The Mandalorian: "I have spoken." Those three words became a meme overnight. He voiced Kuiil, the Ugnaught who helps Pedro Pascal. He recorded all his lines in a single afternoon. Pure efficiency.
- Luck: This was that ill-fated HBO horse-racing drama from 2011. It got canceled because, well, horses kept dying on set. But Nolte’s performance as Walter Smith was some of the best acting he’s ever done. Period.
- Paradise Lost (2020): A Southern Gothic mystery where he plays Judge Forsythe. It’s dark. It’s gritty. It’s exactly what you want from late-career Nolte.
The "Rich Man, Poor Man" Legacy
To understand why a nick nolte tv show like Graves matters, you have to look at where he started. In 1976, Rich Man, Poor Man changed everything. It was the first "megahit" miniseries.
Nolte played Tom Jordache, the "poor" brother. He was a boxer, a rebel, and a total mess. That role made him a superstar. It also set the template for every character he’d play for the next fifty years: a guy who’s physically imposing but emotionally fragile.
There's a direct line from Tom Jordache to Richard Graves. Both characters are men trying to reckon with the violence and the mistakes of their past. It’s just that one is a boxer and the other is the former leader of the free world.
Is Graves Actually Worth Watching Now?
Honestly? Yeah.
💡 You might also like: Album Hopes and Fears: Why We Obsess Over Music That Doesn't Exist Yet
If you can find it on whatever streaming service it’s currently haunting, it’s a solid binge. It ran for two seasons (20 episodes total) before being canceled in 2017.
The cast is actually stacked. You’ve got Skylar Astin playing his straight-laced assistant and Chris Lowell as his son. The dynamic between Nolte and Sela Ward is the real highlight, though. They play a couple that actually likes each other, which is a rarity in political dramas. They "dignify" each other, as Nolte put it in an interview.
It’s not perfect. Sometimes it gets a little too "preachy" depending on your political leanings. But as a character study of an old man trying to find redemption before the clock runs out? It’s top-tier.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you're looking to dive into the Nolte television universe, don't just start with the big names.
- Track down Graves: Check Lionsgate+ or Amazon. It’s the closest we’ll ever get to seeing Nolte play a version of himself—crusty, regretful, and surprisingly funny.
- Watch the Poker Face episode: It's Season 1, Episode 8 ("The Orpheus Syndrome"). It’s a masterclass in guest acting.
- Revisit The Mandalorian Season 1: Listen to the nuance in his voice work. It’s not just "grumpy alien"; there’s a lot of warmth there.
- Look for his upcoming 2026 project: He’s reportedly attached to Crime 101, which is generating some buzz.
Basically, the nick nolte tv show catalog is way deeper than most people realize. He’s not just a guy who peaked in 48 Hrs. He’s an actor who found a second (or third) life in television by leaning into his age and that legendary, broken-glass voice. Go watch Graves. It’s a better use of your time than 90% of the stuff currently topping the Netflix charts.