Country of origin United States Original network FX | No. of episodes 13 | |
Original release January 17 (2012-01-17) – April 10, 2012 (2012-04-10) | ||
The third season of the American television drama series Justified premiered on January 17, 2012, on FX, and concluded on April 10, 2012, consisting of 13 episodes. The series was developed by Graham Yost based on Elmore Leonard's novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and his short story "Fire in the Hole". Its main character is Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. Marshal. Timothy Olyphant portrays Givens, a tough federal lawman, enforcing his own brand of justice in his Kentucky hometown. The series is set in the city of Lexington, Kentucky, and the hill country of eastern Kentucky, specifically in and around Harlan.
Contents
Plot
Season three introduces a new main villain, Robert Quarles (Neal McDonough) of Detroit. The criminal organization connected to the Frankfort mafia has exiled Quarles to Kentucky. Quarles allies himself with local enforcer Wynn Duffy (Jere Burns) and begins to muscle in on the local criminals, successfully supplanting them until Raylan begins investigating. Quarles' efforts also bring him into conflict with Boyd's group resulting in the deaths of several local individuals. Simultaneously, Dickie Bennett, the lone survivor of the Bennett clan, seeks the aid of the black residents of Noble's Holler and their leader, Ellstin Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson), in recovering his inheritance. Limehouse attempts to keep his people out of the struggle between the criminal groups but becomes involved when Boyd gets the upper hand on Quarles, leading to a series of betrayals and deaths, some of which were sexual and deviant in nature.
Main cast
Production
The third season of 13 episodes was announced on March 29, 2011.
Filming
Episodes were shot in California. The small town of Green Valley, California often doubles for Harlan, Kentucky.
Reception
The third season saw critical acclaim. Robert Bianco of USA Today praised this season, writing: "As you'd hope from a show based on Elmore Leonard's work, the plots snap, the dialogue crackles and—to press on with the point—the characters pop."
Verne Gay of Newsday said of the third season, "Lean, laconic, precise and as carefully word-crafted as any series on TV, there's pretty much nothing here to suggest that the third season won't be as good as the second -- or better."
However, Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker was critical of the third season, writing: "Extended storytelling has its own conventions and clichés, all of which appeared in Season 3... it echoed every cable drama, in the worst way."
Awards
Justified received two nominations for the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards, with Jeremy Davies winning for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, and a nomination for Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series. Fred Golan was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Episode in a TV Series for "Slaughterhouse".
Ratings
The third season averaged 2.391 million viewers and a 0.9 rating in the 18–49 demographic.
Home media release
The third season was released on Blu-ray and DVD in region 1 on December 31, 2012, in region 2 on February 25, 2013, and in region 4 on March 6, 2013. Special features on the season three set include nine audio commentaries by cast and crew, deleted scenes, four behind-the-scenes featurettes, and outtakes.