# Kingdom (2014)

> A raw family drama in which an MMA gym owner in Venice, California, struggles to balance his fighters with his fractured relationships with his sons.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/54767

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 40
- Episode runtime: 50 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Byron Balasco
- Network: Audience
- Cast: Frank Grillo, Jonathan Tucker, Nick Jonas, Matt Lauria, Kiele Sanchez, Natalie Martinez, Joanna Going, Juliette Jackson
- TMDB rating: 8.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3673794/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, raw, tense, emotionally bruising, intense

## What critics say

Audiences broadly rate the series as acclaimed, praising its raw family drama and intense performances, though enthusiasm fades in the final season.

## Synopsis

Kingdom (2014-2017) is an American family drama created by Byron Balasco for Audience. Alvey Kulina (Frank Grillo) owns Navy St. MMA, a mixed martial arts gym in Venice, California, and will go to extraordinary lengths to look after the fighters who train there, even when the cost lands on his own household. His girlfriend Lisa Prince (Kiele Sanchez) stands close beside him as the gym's business pressures mount. His sons Jay (Jonathan Tucker) and Nate (Nick Jonas) are both struggling to find their own identities and places in their father's life and in the gym, and their relationships with him are complicated and raw. The engine of the show is the tension between loyalty to a fighting family of outsiders and the bonds of blood, with each season built around training, bouts, and the money and debts that keep the gym alive. Across three seasons and forty episodes it plays as one continuing story rather than a case of the week. The tone is gritty, tense, and emotionally bruising, with a working class edge and moments of brutal physical conflict. Fans of Cobra Kai, Friday Night Lights and Ray Donovan will find resonance in its blend of combat sport and family turmoil.

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