Doesn't he look Irish? ;)
McRaney is his dad and Veronica Cartwright was cast as his mom--two whiter actors in Hollywood they couldn't find. So maybe there's an adoption subplot buried in there.
Speaking of Cartwright. She was cast back in October but there's been no mention of her since then. And she hasn't appeared in any promos. McRaney was cast just last month, and his character description is almost the same as hers ("ruthless parent who will stop at nothing to get Smits into the White House") so I think he might have replaced Cartwright.
This photo is the only evidence I could find that she was ever on the show.
Is it just me, or did they make her look exactly like Hillary?
Maybe after the election they thought they needed to make a cast change and scrap whatever Hillary-esque story they'd planned.
Also--Cartwright is only 6 years older than Smits. That's one messed up family :)