'The Last Ship' Season 4 Spoilers: Slattery's Leadership to Face Problems?
Mike Slattery (Alec Baldwin) has some big shoes to fill in the upcoming season of "The Last Ship." How will the others react to his leadership after Tom Chandler's (Eric Dane) exit?
Fans of the TNT series will see taciturn Slattery taking over Chandler's post in the USS Nathan James following the latter's resignation from the Navy.
Chandler decided that he wanted to take some time off from his job for an indefinite period of time. He lost a lot of important people in his life in the last installment. His girlfriend, Sasha Cooper (Bridget Regan) has chosen to stay behind. She and Slattery will lead the team in new missions as the human race tries to weather the coming apocalypse.
Showrunner Steven Kane previously told TV Line that Chandler's exit would reverberate, as many people have come to rely on his skills. Slattery may take the brunt of the backlash, with some questioning his capabilities.
"Yeah, how do you keep getting up, putting on your uniform and getting out there into the fight when everything you love and trust keeps getting taken away from you? You try and try and try, yet you still can't protect those you care most deeply for? That's a heavy burden. ... In some ways, Chandler is the Founding Father of this new country and no one begrudges him to a certain degree his desire to disappear for a while. But at the same time, there are still a lot of people who count on him as a Founding Father, so it's not going to be an easy transition," the executive producer said.
Slattery is not a stranger to taking big responsibilities. In the last season, he took over Chandler's job when the captain was away attending to his diplomatic tasks. From executive officer, Slattery rose through the ranks to become a captain. He did a good job defending the ship from the pirates. Even after he was abducted, he managed to stay alive and proved he was one tough cookie.
In the promo, Slattery is shown doing his best even though Chandler is not around. The soldiers of the USS Nathan James are also expected to have no problem with him as their new leader.
"The Last Ship" season 4 is expected to start airing sometime in 2017.