The Affair is an American television drama series created by Sarah Treem and Hagai Levi which explores the emotional and psychological effects of an extramarital relationship between Noah Solloway and Alison Bailey after the two meet in the resort town of Montauk on Long Island.
The series stars Dominic West (The Wire) and Ruth Wilson (Luther) as well as Maura Tierney (ER) and Joshua Jackson (Fringe) and is told from the male and female perspectives.
Wilson plays Alison, a young woman waiting tables at a popular Hamptons diner, trying to piece her life back together in the wake of a personal tragedy. Her husband Cole (Jackson), struggles to keep it all together, both with his wife and the financially-strained ranch that has been in his family for generations.
Their emotionally-charged marriage becomes even more complicated when Alison begins an affair with Noah (West), a New York City public school teacher and aspiring novelist who is spending the summer at his in-laws' estate out on the island.
Tierney plays Helen, Noah's college sweetheart, best friend, mother of his children, lover and wife of 17 years.
Award-winning playwright and writer/producer Sarah Treem (House of Cards, In Treatment) and Hagai Levy created the series. They first worked together on the American adaption of Levi's show In Treatment. Treem and Levi both serve as executive producers, along with executive producer and director Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights) and executive producer Eric Overmyer.