Bluff City Law, set to premier on
NBC network television on September 23rd, is another one of those fast-talking
American legal drama shows featuring snappy dialogue, unexpected developments
and moments treading a fine line between drama and comedy. Focusing on a family-based law firm in Memphis,
Tennessee, the show stars Jimmy Smits fresh off How to Get Away with Murder and Grey’s
Anatomy star Caitlin McGee with the two as an estranged father-daughter
legal team, Elijah and Sydney Strait, who must overcome their deep-seated
differences to take on some of the country’s most controversial civil rights
cases.
Created
by The Meg screenwriter Dean
Georgaris and The Departed producer Michael
Aguilar, the show is set to become the next Law
& Order spin-off among many. In
an unusual but ongoing move to generate buzz, the pilot was screened
theatrically ahead of the intended air date to generate early buzz with all the
commercial breaks in place and the transparent NBC logo on the bottom right
hand corner of the screen. If this were a
film, it was probably the shortest I’ve seen theatrically in some time, running
a mere 45 minutes for the intended network time slot.
That
said, the theater was full of excited patrons eager to get an early look at the
upcoming show though you could hear whispers among some saying their respective
others would rather wait to watch it on television. Cinematography and sound design on this show
is admittedly basic and unremarkable but then again so are a majority of network
television legal dramas which are more about the characters and events than
cinematic techniques.
In
any event, Bluff City Law isn’t
exactly breaking new ground but the performances from the two leads (notably
Jimmy Smits) keep the proceedings engaging with the character of Elijah Strait
having years and years of making up to do for his embittered firebrand daughter
Sydney. So far the show is off to a good
start save for one final contrivance that felt like something dreamed up on the
latest series finale of Weeds. That said, if you’re into legal dramas on
Network television, then Bluff City Law is
something for you to look forward to.
Score:
- Andrew Kotwicki