Bloodline is an American Netflix original thriller drama television series created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman, and produced by Sony Pictures Television. The series premiered on February 9, 2015, in the Berlinale Special Galas section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival, and the 13-episode first season premiered in its entirety, on Netflix, on March 20, 2015. On March 31, 2015, Bloodline was renewed for a 10-episode second season that debuted on May 27, 2016. On July 13, 2016, Netflix renewed Bloodline for a 10-episode third season, later confirmed to be the final season. The third and final season was released on May 26, 2017.
The first season received positive reviews from many critics, with most praising its performances (particularly for Ben Mendelsohn and Kyle Chandler) and cinematography. However, the second and third seasons received mixed responses from critics.
Plot
Season 1 (2015) The series begins with narration by John Rayburn:
Sometimes you know something's coming. You feel it. In the air. In your gut. And you don't sleep at night. The voice in your head is telling you that something is going to go terribly wrong and there's nothing you can do to stop it. That's how I felt when my brother came home.
Danny Rayburn returns home to Islamorada, Florida, for the 45th anniversary of his parents' Robert and Sally Rayburn's seaside hotel, the Rayburn House – a pier will be dedicated in their honor to mark the occasion. Danny is the black sheep of the family, among them his three younger siblings: John, Kevin, and Meg. John is a detective with the local sheriff's office, Kevin owns a local marina, and Meg is an attorney with a local law firm. Danny wants to make his return permanent as he wishes to stay to help his parents at their inn. Robert is reluctant to let Danny stay, but leaves it up to the three siblings to decide Danny's fate.
The siblings decide against Danny staying as they conclude that he will only break their mother's heart in the end. John breaks the news to Danny, but lies to him by telling him it was their father who wanted him gone, rather than the siblings. Ultimately Danny does not leave, although he gets a ride to the bus stop from John. Danny's confrontation with his father inadvertently causes Robert to have mini-strokes, eventually resulting in his death.
The Rayburns' past is full of dark secrets that are revealed throughout the season. Danny's dysfunctional relationship with his family primarily stems from the untimely death of his younger sister, Sarah, when he was a teenager. Danny took Sarah out on a boat. Her seahorse necklace fell into the water, and when she attempted to retrieve it, she drowned. Robert lost control and beat Danny over her death. Sally covered up this abuse by having John, Kevin, and Meg lie to the police about their brother's injuries.
Robert's death opens the door for Danny to have a permanent job at the inn. Danny appears to be changing his ways with hard work and dedication, which puts him in Sally's good graces. Danny's problem past is shown via his connection with childhood friend and troublemaker Eric O'Bannon. The two begin siphoning gasoline from local docks for drug and human trafficker Wayne Lowry. As they gain Lowry's trust, they are given larger jobs to complete. Danny eventually uses his job at the Rayburn House as a front to smuggle cocaine for Lowry.
John and the sheriff's department collaborate with the DEA in an investigation into the deaths of unknown women and drug trafficking in Monroe County by Lowry and his men. The investigation leads John to Danny and his recent activities. While secretly investigating Danny, John finds Danny's smuggled cocaine in a shed on the Rayburn House property. During a meeting between John, Kevin, and Meg, the three siblings conclude that the only way to fix the situation and not put the family's business at risk with the Feds is to move the drugs to Danny's home in Miami without telling Danny. The loss of the drugs puts Danny in a bad situation with Lowry, who believes that Danny has stolen the cocaine from him. Lowry sends a hitman to assassinate Danny, but Danny kills the hitman.