Peter Krause's Mike Isn't Line of Fire's Most Important Character

Published Sep 29, 2026, 8:15 AM EDT

Mads Misasi is a part-time entertainment journalist and full-time marketing content creator. Before joining the ScreenRant team they wrote for TellTaleTV for 9 years working their way up from contributor to Associate Editor. TV has been a passion of theirs since a very young age. Mads typically watches all of the things, especially dramas and sitcoms.

This article contains mild spoilers for Line of Fire episode 2.

Peter Krause's Mike Hollingsworth seemed destined to be at the center of Line of Fire from the moment the series introduced its unusually accomplished family. As the Hollingsworth patriarch and one of the show's most recognizable faces, Mike naturally commands attention. However, only two episodes into the series, another member of the family is already proving he might be even more important to keeping everything together.

Russ Hollingsworth isn't the oldest sibling or the person with the most experience. He also isn't necessarily trying to take charge of everyone around him. Instead, Line of Fire episode 2 quietly demonstrates how much the family relies on him simply because Russ consistently recognizes what everyone needs.

With the Hollingsworths still reeling from the murder that occurred inside their family home, Russ becomes the person moving between nearly every corner of the family. He supports Clare through her grief, helps his mother and sister with what they need professionally, and still finds time to check in on Micah.

Mike might be the Hollingsworth viewers initially expect everything to revolve around, but Russ is quickly becoming the connective tissue holding the family together.

Russ Is Quietly Holding The Hollingsworth Family Together

NBC Universal

What makes Russ so interesting is that Line of Fire isn't positioning him as the family's traditional leader. He isn't barking orders or attempting to control how his siblings handle their respective problems. Instead, episode 2 repeatedly places Russ in the role of the person everyone can depend upon.

Clare understandably needs more emotional support than anyone, despite denying she needs anything, after her boyfriend is murdered inside the Hollingsworth home. Russ is there for her, but his attention isn't limited to the family's most obvious crisis. He is also helping his mother and sister navigate the practical and legal elements surrounding their work, while checking in on Micah and encouraging him to slow down.

Even those smaller interactions matter because they establish just how aware Russ is of everything happening around him. He doesn't necessarily solve everyone's problems, but he makes sure nobody has to handle those problems completely alone.

That quality was already present in the Line of Fire premiere. When Mike wanted information regarding the assassination attempt on the former president in hopes of reopening the case, Russ was the person he called. His position at the DOJ makes him uniquely useful to a family filled with government employees who regularly need information, warrants, or some other form of legal assistance.

What they increasingly appear to need is someone capable of connecting all those people, and Russ has quietly stepped into that role.

Yet Russ's importance goes beyond his job. The Hollingsworths have plenty of highly capable people in the family. What they increasingly appear to need is someone capable of connecting all those people, and Russ has quietly stepped into that role. For a family of emotionally closed-off individuals, Russ has become that humanistic, softer side that they all need reminding still exists within them.

Line Of Fire Is Already Making Russ More Important Than Mike

NBC Universal

Mike initially seems like the obvious character for Line of Fire to build the Hollingsworth family around. He is the patriarch, Peter Krause is one of the show's most recognizable stars, and the premiere gives Mike plenty of reason to remain involved in the larger mystery surrounding the family. Episode 2, however, begins to show that being the Hollingsworth patriarch doesn't necessarily make him the person holding everyone together.

Most of Mike's story in the episode revolves around Micah. After becoming suspicious of the way his son is handling his duties surrounding the president's daughter, Mike becomes someone Micah feels he has to prove himself to. That eventually pays off when Micah protects both the president and his daughter during their ice cream outing.

It's an important storyline, but it also highlights the difference between Mike and Russ. Mike's presence is largely concentrated within Micah's arc, while Russ moves between several members of the Hollingsworth family. Clare needs his emotional support, other members of the family need his professional help, and even Micah benefits from having Russ around to check in on him.

That makes Russ important in a much subtler way. He isn't necessarily driving the family's biggest storylines, but he is frequently the person connecting them. When one Hollingsworth needs something, Russ is increasingly the family member they can turn to.

Line of Fire doesn't need to diminish Mike for that dynamic to work. Mike can remain the patriarch and one of the show's central characters while Russ becomes the emotional glue of the Hollingsworth family. Two episodes in, that quieter role is already making Russ feel far more essential than his position within the family might initially suggest.

Line of Fire airs Mondays at 10 p.m. EDT on NBC.

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Line of Fire

Cast

• 

  Peter Krause

  Mike Thornhill

• 

  Hope Davis

  Joan

• 

  Tommy O'Brien

  Micah Thornhill

• Kat Cunning

  Clare Thornhill