When I was contemplating how to write a post on legal TV shows, something dawned on me: Aside from delightful Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler-filled SVU re-runs, I don’t really watch legal TV shows. Cops shows? Sure. I live to see what cheesy one-liner will end the opening scene of CSI:Miami. You know, the one Horatio will say right before you hear this. Sitcoms? No prob. Nothing and no one brings me quite the same joy that Ron Swanson can. But legal TV shows have never really scratched any of my itches (aside from a brief tryst I had with The Practice back in high school). That said, I did some digging and found a few legal TV shows that both you and I might want to give a shot in the New Year (assuming they get/got renewed).
1. Fairly Legal
This show follows the follies of Kate Reed, as played by Sarah Shahi. Kate is a former attorney who quit practicing to become a mediator after her father died. As I’ve already divulged, I have never seen this show. However, it will be entering its third season next year so it can’t be complete garbage. Also, it’s young enough that the story line probably hasn’t completely devolved into nothing but its main characters making a bunch of contrived and obviously ill conceived relationship decisions. Plus, Kate is pretty easy on the eyes. So it’s got that going for it, which is nice (Holy Caddyshack reference, Batman!).
2. Suits
Another (seemingly) promising new entry, Suits chronicles the adventures of one Mike Ross. Mike is a brilliant Ivy League dropout who finds work with (allegedly ruthless) lawyer Harvey Specter after running from a drug deal gone bad. Harvey teaches Mike about the law and Mike reminds Harvey that legal work is about helping people (how touching {tear}). Mike finds friends in the two women that work for Harvey, Donna (his assistant) and Rachel (the paralegal). The possibility for multiple (if somewhat hackneyed) storylines gives this show some decent potential. It’s also got the young and not yet stupid thing going for it.
3. Franklin and Bash
While the first two show promise, this may be one to stay away from, for two reasons. The first is Breckin Meyer, he is the pothead in Clueless and male lead in Road Trip fame. The second is Mark Paul Gosseler. Yes, Zack Morris managed to find his way onto TV again (even after his turn on NYPD Blue). If you need more reasons not to watch, let’s take a look at the premise. Our two leading men play ambulance chasers who use outlandish tactics to get their clients the results that the producers will make you feel justice demands. In reality, they’re probably just jackasses whose antics would never fly in any courtroom and likely shouldn’t fly on television either. I’ll give it five minutes. If I haven’t vomited in disgust by then, I may or may not give it five minutes more.
That’s all for 2011, see you in the New Year kids!