Spoilers are out of order.

Clips on YouTube is my new way to get introduced to TV shows. This is the way I found a new guilty pleasure, which comes from Netflix of all places. Now, I will hand it to them to create a new favorite once in a while, but unfortunately wading through a ton of slop is rarely worth the monthly subscription. I’d love it if they came up with an annual fee instead. Finding a diamond in the rough is good, but not if it comes with a truckload of filler. All that being said, let’s just stick to the facts of the case, counselor.

(Credit: NETFLIX)

The Lincoln Lawyer (2022-) was created by David E. Kelley and developed by Ted Humphrey based on the novels by Michael Connelly. Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is a down-on-his-luck defense Lawyer from Los Angeles and a recovering addict who is known to work out of his Lincoln car. He often interacts with his first ex-wife Maggie McPherson (Neve Campbell), a criminal prosecutor with whom he shares custody of their teenage daughter, Hayley (Krista Warner). Mickey works with his legal aide and second ex-wife Lorna Crane (Becki Newton) and investigator Cisco (Angus Sampson). One of his first cases concern Izzy Letts (Jazz Raycole) who will become his chauffeur afterwards.

The first season starts as Mickey, fresh from his recovery from addiction to pills, has ended up inheriting the case load of the late Jerry Vincent, whose murder is unresolved and hangs over the show. As Mickey takes on each case with his unique flare, he must contend with Jerry’s biggest case: the defense of alledged murderer video game developer Trevor Elliott, accused of killing his wife and her lover. This gives us the three story layers: one case per episode, a looming storyline over season one and an overall mystery that may or may not be solved by the end of the season.

Works for me most of the time. It’s a your-mileage-might-vary situation in which most cases are light fodder with only a few one becoming a major issue. The show also uses character interaction to create tension or additional personal storylines that are either resolved in a few episodes or linger throughout the show. It has not done any jump-the-shark moments yet, and hopefully will keep those grounded but I’m not watching this for realism and/or grit. It’s mostly a guilty pleasure watch.

Recommended for light viewing. As most shows, it has some more down-to-earth cases and some played up for drama. There are few that might feel a little more filler-ish but so far it hasn’t happen to the point of dragging down the show. Watch it as a guilty pleasure, a casual evening or a good binge.

That will do for now.