Rescue Me is an American television drama series created by Denis Leary and Peter Tolan. It premiered on the FX Network in 2004. It is produced by the Cloudland Company, Apostle, DreamWorks Television and Sony Pictures Television. Rescue Me focuses on the professional and personal lives of New York City firefighters after the trauma of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The show stars Leary, who plays the role of a New York City firefighter Tommy Gavin, a character whose life is full of torment and chaos.

Tommy has to struggle with the loss of his cousin, and best friend, Jimmy Keefe, who died on September 11th, 2001 and frequently visits Tommy in visions. In the pilot episode, Tommy and his wife have already separated and Tommy moved across the street. He is ill-tempered, self destructive, hypocritical, manipulative, and a relapsed alcoholic. He has also realized how much he has contributed to the breakup of his family and constantly struggles to reconcile with them. He loves his children very much and desires to get back together with his wife. However, despite slowly making steps toward his redemption, tragedy always seems to be right around the corner.

Characters

Rescue Me mainly focuses on the Gavin family and the men of the firehouse, but many other characters have been introduced over the four seasons that have stayed on as main characters. Recurring guests include performers known primarily for films, including Tatum O'Neal, Artie Lange,Susan Sarandon, Marisa Tomei, Gina Gershon, Amy Sedaris and Jennifer Esposito.