Yes, I think it is a bit similar to Damages (though I only watched 3 episodes of that show before I had to drop it for lack of time)--but it strikes me as a little less cutthroat than Damages, which is helpful for me, both because I find it easier to watch sympathetic characters and because it's more interesting to me when sympathetic characters do bad things because they're trapped in situations where there are no good choices, only less bad ones.