Kingdom (2014)

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Reporter: Someone’s gotta lose this fight, what do you say to the guy who doesn’t get his hand raised?
Alvey: I tell him what the Greek’s say. Strong do what they can, weak suffer what they must.

Kingdom (formerly titled Navy St.) is an American drama series. It premiered in 2014 on the Audience Network and ran for three seasons.

The show focuses on the Kulina family, who run the Navy St. mixed-martial arts gym in Venice, California. Patriarch Alvey (Frank Grillo) is a legendary fighter turned trainer, but he and his girlfriend Lisa (Kiele Sanchez) worries about keeping the gym financially solvent. Meanwhile, Alvey’s sons have their own complicated relationships with MMA and the gym: eldest Jay (Jonathan Tucker) is an addict; youngest son Nate (Nick Jonas) is a promising fighter who is benched after an attack. When former pupil Ryan Wheeler (Matt Lauria) is released from prison, Alvey tries to recruit him to the gym.

Tropes:

  • Family Drama: Focuses on the tensions of the Kulina family in and out of the fighting ring.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Jay (volatile addict) is the Foolish Sibling to his younger brother Nate (who is reticent but following the family business)’s Responsible.
  • Gayngst:

    Nate goes through a lot of pain as a closeted gay man in a family business centered around fighting, and is hesitant to come out.

  • Love Triangle: Ryan is still in love with his ex-fiancee Lisa, who is now with Alvey.
  • Out of the Closet, Into the Fire: In the penultimate episode,

    Nate comes out after three seasons of repression, and is promptly killed during a lethal fight.

  • Parents as People: Alvey is a troubled, damaged man who has trouble emotionally connecting to his sons; his ex-wife Christina is a former addict and sex worker who gets clean but never quite fulfills the maternal role.
  • Sex Is Violence: Downplayed, but Alicia and Ryan’s first grappling session clearly gets both of them gears going, and they have sex later that day.