It’s been over a decade since the USS Colorado first "went rogue" on ABC, and honestly, looking back at the Last Resort TV series cast, it’s still kind of mind-blowing how much talent was packed into that single, thirteen-episode run. You’ve got Andre Braugher at the peak of his gravitas, Scott Speedman fresh off his Felicity heartthrob years but leaning into a gritty military role, and a supporting ensemble that would eventually populate everything from The Boys to The Expanse.
Most people remember Last Resort as that ambitious, high-concept show created by Shawn Ryan and Karl Gajdusek that got canceled way too soon. It had everything: a nuclear submarine, a conspiracy reaching into the White House, and a rogue island nation. But the real reason the show still has a cult following isn’t just the "what if" of the plot. It’s the weight those actors brought to a premise that could have easily felt like a cheap Tom Clancy knockoff.
Captain Marcus Chaplin and the Andre Braugher Factor
You can't talk about this show without starting with the late, great Andre Braugher. He played Captain Marcus Chaplin. If you only know Braugher from his hilarious turn as Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, seeing him here is a total trip. He was commanding. He was terrifying. He had this way of delivering a monologue that made you feel like the world was actually ending.
Braugher’s Chaplin wasn't a hero in the traditional sense. He was a man pushed to the edge. When the Colorado is ordered to fire nukes at Pakistan via a secondary channel—basically a shady "if the president is dead" protocol—Chaplin refuses. He demands confirmation. That choice sets the whole show in motion. Braugher played that tension perfectly, balancing the loyalty of a career officer with the soul-crushing weight of potentially starting World War III.
Scott Speedman played XO Sam Kendal. He was the bridge between the Captain’s intensity and the crew’s mounting panic. Speedman often gets pigeonholed into certain types of roles, but in Last Resort, he had this ragged, desperate energy. He wanted to get home to his wife, Christine (played by Jessy Schram), but he was stuck between a captain he respected and a government that wanted them all dead. Their chemistry was the engine of the show.
The Standout Supporting Players
Then there was Daisy Betts as Lieutenant Grace Shepard. She was the daughter of an Admiral (played by Robert Patrick), and her struggle to earn respect on a submarine while being hunted by her own country was one of the more grounded emotional beats. Betts brought a specific kind of "stiff upper lip" that made her eventual breaking points feel earned.
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And we have to talk about Robert Patrick.
As Master Chief Joseph Prosser, Patrick was basically playing a more human version of the T-1000. He hated Chaplin's decision. He was a "by the book" guy to a fault. Most shows would have made him a simple villain, but the Last Resort TV series cast was written with more nuance than that. Prosser wasn't a traitor; he was a man who believed in the chain of command more than his own life. The friction between him and the rest of the leadership provided some of the best dialogue in the series.
Why the Ensemble Worked (and Why It Failed the Ratings)
The show took a huge risk by splitting the narrative between the submarine, the island of Sainte Marina, and the political backstabbing in D.C.
On the island, you had Tino Sabbatelli and the local kingpin, Julian Serrat, played by Sahr Ngaujah. Ngaujah was incredible. He brought this menacing, unpredictable vibe to the island's underworld that made the crew of the Colorado realize they weren't just fighting the U.S. Navy—they were fighting for survival on a patch of land that didn't want them there.
Meanwhile, back in Washington, D.C., Autumn Reeser played Kylie Sinclair, a high-society arms dealer/researcher who realizes the conspiracy is way deeper than a missed radio signal. Reeser is usually known for lighter roles, but here she was sharp, cynical, and deeply motivated.
- Dichen Lachman played Tani Silva. If you recognize her from Severance or Altered Carbon, this was one of her early "tough as nails" roles.
- Daniel Lissing as James King, a Navy SEAL with a conscience.
- Michael Ng as Chief Sonarman Cameron Pitts.
The problem? It was basically too much for 2012 network television. This was a show that demanded you pay attention to every geopolitical ripple. If you missed an episode, you were lost.
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The Tragic Brilliance of the Series Finale
Because ABC gave Shawn Ryan enough heads-up that the show was getting the axe, the Last Resort TV series cast actually got to film a real ending. That’s rare. Usually, these shows just end on a cliffhanger and leave you hanging forever.
Instead, we got "No More Bad Days."
It was rushed, yeah. They had to cram about three seasons of plot into forty-two minutes. But the performances in that finale? Heartbreaking. Watching Chaplin face the inevitable while trying to save his crew’s reputation was a masterclass in acting. The show stopped being a military thriller and became a tragedy about what happens when the institutions you trust fail you completely.
Where the Cast Went After the Colorado Sunk
It’s actually wild to see where everyone ended up.
- Andre Braugher: Became a comedy icon on Brooklyn Nine-Nine until his passing in 2023.
- Scott Speedman: Transitioned into Animal Kingdom and eventually Grey's Anatomy.
- Robert Patrick: Continued being the hardest-working man in Hollywood, appearing in Peacemaker and 1923.
- Autumn Reeser: Became a staple of the Hallmark Channel, which is a wild pivot from "illegal arms researcher."
- Dichen Lachman: Became a sci-fi legend with roles in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The 100, and Severance.
Making Sense of the Last Resort Legacy
The show was filmed in Hawaii, using some of the same infrastructure as LOST. You can feel that scale. The production value was massive. But at its heart, it was a character study. It asked: What do you do when the person giving you orders is crazy? What if they aren't crazy, but the world is?
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If you're going back to rewatch it, pay attention to the smaller moments. The way the crew reacts to the news of their own "deaths" back home. The way the Last Resort TV series cast handles the boredom of being stuck on an island while being the most powerful nuclear force on the planet.
It’s a bit of a "lost" masterpiece of the early 2010s. It was the bridge between the old-school network dramas and the new era of high-budget streaming epics. If it had premiered on Netflix or HBO five years later, we’d probably be talking about season six right now.
How to Revisit the Series Today
If you want to dive back into this world, here is the best way to do it without getting bogged down in the mid-2000s procedural tropes:
- Watch for the Braugher/Patrick dynamic: Their scenes together are essentially a two-man play about the philosophy of leadership.
- Look for the SEAL sub-plot: It’s arguably the most "action-heavy" part of the show and features some great stunt work.
- Don't skip the D.C. scenes: While they can feel slower, they provide the necessary context for why the Colorado can't just "go home."
- Stream it on demand: Most major digital retailers like Amazon or Apple still carry the full season. It hasn't been scrubbed from the internet yet, which is a win for physical media nerds.
The series remains a snapshot of a time when TV was trying to figure out how to be "prestige" on a broadcast budget. It didn't quite stick the landing with the general public back then, but the work put in by the actors has aged incredibly well. It’s a tight, tense, and ultimately moving story about the cost of integrity.
Next time you see one of these actors in a new project, remember they once held the world hostage from a tiny island in the Pacific. It was a hell of a ride while it lasted.