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The Player Episode 1.01 Pilot
The Player Photo

The Player Episode 1.01 Pilot

Episode Premiere
September 24, 2015
Genre
Drama, Action, Crime
Production Company
Sony Pictures TV, Davis Ent., Kung Fu Monkey
Official Site
http://www.nbc.com/the-player
Episode Premiere
September 24, 2015
Genre
Drama, Action, Crime
Period
2015 - 2015
Production Co
Sony Pictures TV, Davis Ent., Kung Fu Monkey
Distributor
NBC
Official Site
http://www.nbc.com/the-player
Director
Bharat Nalluri
Screenwriter
John Rogers, John Fox
Main Cast
  • Wesley Snipes as Mr. Johnson
  • Philip Winchester as Alex Kane
  • Charity Wakefield
  • Daisy Betts as Alex's ex-wife
  • Courtney Grosbeck
  • Damon Gupton
  • Nick Wechsler as Nick
Additional Cast
  • Damon Gupton
  • Carlo Rota
  • Nitya Vidyasagar
  • Jade Bender

Alex Kane (Philip Winchester), a former military operative turned security expert, is sent to test the security of wealthy Middle Eastern diplomat Daoud Raqiv (Carlo Rota) and his family at a ritzy Las Vegas hotel. Alex quickly finds major holes in their security and, on his way out, notices an intruder, whom he literally jumps through a window to stop. That night, Alex goes to see his ex-wife Ginny, with whom he has a complicated relationship, and the two end up sleeping together. But in the middle of the night, a gunman sneaks into the house and shoots Ginny dead. Alex, wearing only his boxers, chases the man down the Vegas strip, but just as he catches up to him, a car slams into Alex, allowing the killer to get away. The driver, a gorgeous blonde woman, steps out of the car and says, "Sorry, Alex," before driving off.

At the hospital, Alex's detective pal Cal Brown (Damon Gupton) informs him he's the prime suspect in Ginny's murder, so Alex breaks out of the inmate ward and runs into the same beautiful woman who put him there. She tells him to hop in the car and then leads the police on a high-speed chase through Las Vegas.

The woman, whose name is Cassandra (Charity Wakefield), works for an organization more powerful than the NSA and has been keeping tabs on Alex. Alex can't believe what he's hearing but begins to when they reach a dead end in a parking garage and she snaps her fingers, prompting the cop cars and police helicopters to back off. On the roof of the parking lot, Cassandra introduces Alex to Mr. Johnson (Wesley Snipes), who explains that years ago a group of extremely wealthy individuals developed a system to predict crime and have created a game in which they gamble on whether or not a crime will be committed. For example, Cassandra, the data analysis expert, or The Dealer, discovered a plot to kidnap Mr. Raqiv's daughter Shada and kill his wife. The man Alex stopped the day before was a decoy, sent to test Mr. Raqiv's security, and after Alex foiled the plan, the kidnappers sent a man to kill Alex - and inadvertently Ginny. Mr. Johnson, the Pit Boss, challenges Alex to stop the kidnapping before midnight. The rules are that Alex cannot tell anyone about the organization and can only use his resources - and Cassandra's - for his mission. Alex races back to the casino and gets in a shoot-out with the kidnappers, but fails to stop them from taking Shada.

Later, Alex meets Mr. Johnson and Cassandra at the House, where they explain that the organization has been tapped into communication lines and government bureaus since their inception, allowing them unlimited access to data used to predict crime and create a high-stakes betting game. Mr. Johnson challenges Alex to finish the bet and save Shada, but Alex is furious - they knew Ginny was going to die and they could have stopped it. Finally, he agrees to the mission - for Ginny. He tracks the kidnappers to their hiding spot in an abandoned mall outside of town, steals a dirt bike and gets in another shoot-out until LVPD arrives and arrests everyone, including Alex. But it's not long before Mr. Johnson, claiming to be an FBI agent, arrives with security footage clearing Alex from all blame in Ginny's murder, and while Detective Brown is highly suspicious, Alex is free to go.

Mr. Johnson takes Alex to the desert, where he explains there's actually another member of the House, as the game cannot be played without someone to bet on: The Player. Mr. Johnson and Cassandra offer Alex the lifelong job of the Player, but he refuses to accept. Instead, he heads to the morgue to give Ginny back her wedding ring, but when he goes to do so, he realizes she's missing her ring tattoo on her finger. Is this really Ginny's body? Alex returns to the House and announces he's accepting the job offer. After he leaves, we see Cassandra go to her computer and delete hundreds of photos of her and Ginny.