STAGE TUBE: Sneak Peek - Teaser for Final Season of DirecTV's DAMAGES

DIRECTV's AUDIENCE Network™ heats up this summer with the season five premiere of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning, critically acclaimed legal thriller DAMAGES, starring Emmy Award-winner Glenn Close and Emmy Award-nominee Rose Byrne, on Wednesday, July 11, at 9 p.m. Get a sneak peek at the upcoming season below!

The fifth and final season of the series, which has been nominated for nineteen Emmy Awards, centers on the timely and controversial subject of government and corporate transparency, focusing on how the ever-changing digital landscape shapes the way in which information is obtained and shared. Damages is produced by Sony Pictures Television in association with FX Productions and KZK Productions.

In true Damages fashion, the season features a stellar array of stars including Ryan Phillippe, who joins the cast as a series regular. Emmy Award-nominee Jenna Elfman, Academy Award-nominee Janet McTeer, John Hannah, Chris Messina, Judd Hirsch, M. Emmett Walsh, Victor Garber, William Sadler, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Gillian Alexy, and Zachary Booth will be featured throughout the season. Damages was created and executive produced by KZK (Todd A. Kessler, Daniel Zelman, and Glenn Kessler) and co-executive produced by Mark A. Baker.

Damages follows the lives of Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), the nation's most revered and reviled high-stakes litigator and her former protégé, the bright and ambitious Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). After four seasons of professional and personal manipulation and deceit, season five sets the stage for the final showdown between Patty and Ellen. Channing McClaren (Ryan Phillippe) is a computer expert and the iconoclastic founder of a website, McClarenTruth.org, devoted to government and corporate transparency. When he is approached by Naomi Walling (Jenna Elfman), an investment bank employee troubled by her company's conduct with insider information, it lays the foundation for the case that will finally pit Patty and Ellen against one another. In an attempt to triumph over her former mentor, Ellen hires Kate Franklin (Janet McTeer), a one time colleague of Patty's who is all too familiar with how she operates, but whose loyalty could be called into question. Adding to the turmoil surrounding the case is Rutger Simon (John Hannah), the chief lieutenant and gatekeeper for McClaren. As the series builds to its electrifying conclusion, far more than the verdict is at stake for everyone involved.

Since its premiere in 2007, Damages has received a total of nineteen Emmy Award nominations. In its first season, the series won the Emmy for Best Drama series and Glenn Close won the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama Series, an award she has won twice for her role as Patty Hewes. In addition to Damages' multiple Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Series, Acting, and Casting, the show has also received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Direction.

Damages has been nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards. In its first season, the series earned more Golden Globes nominations than any other show on television, with Glenn Close winning for Best Actress in a TV Series – Drama. In addition to a variety of other wins and nominations, Damages has been nominated for awards from the Writers Guild and the Producers Guild.

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