Streaming on Netflix.
Starring: Manuel Garcia Rulfo, Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Christopher Gorham, Angus Sampson, Jazz Raycole, Lana Parrilla, Krista Warner, Matt Angel, Elliott Gould
Season two of The Lincoln Lawyer settles into successful courtroom formula. The Lincoln Lawyer Mick Haller (Rulfo) rarely conducts business from the back of a Lincoln, but has his own posh office in downtown Los Angeles with a loyal staff consisting of ex-wife Lorna (Newton), her fiance Cisco (Sampson), and his driver Izzy (Raycole). As the season opens, Mick is inundated with publicity and new clients. His first new one presents a dilemma straight out of the 2011 movie, in which the person responsible for the rape and murder of a prostitute (unbeknownst to Mick) hires Mick in order to avoid prosecution for the crime which landed an innocent man (also Mick's client) in prison. At the end of last season, the innocent man was freed, but the police are investigating again. How can Mick save his innocent client from fresh charges when he now knows who really committed the crime has retained him?
I won't explain how Mick is able to think his way out of this ethical and moral quandary, but this issue is resolved fairly quickly. This was the appetizer. The main course (no pun intended) involves a restaurant owner named Lisa Trammell (Parrilla) to whom Mick becomes romantically involved and is later accused of murdering a powerful real estate magnate who wants to buy her restaurant and raze it to build condos or something. The old land deal trope has reared its ugly head. Lisa insists she is innocent, which Mick has heard from nearly every client he defends, but Mick believes her and creates a defense for Lisa which becomes trickier when it is discovered she had a restraining order taken out on her by the victim. She was even caught on camera assaulting him. Also lying in the weeds is a podcaster friend of Lisa's (Angel) looking to make beaucoup dollars off the case.
The Lincoln Lawyer follows the success of its first season by playing to its strengths in this season. Rulfo confidently handles the lead role of the lawyer who can play the angles and exploit an opening to his client's benefit. The episodes move along swiftly with the built-in suspense of courtroom drama propelling them and we find ourselves caring about the outcome. However, without revealing any spoilers, I am starting to become aware of the possibility of a twist at the end in which the client Mick just got off a murder charge is discovered to be... This may dilute my interest in the trial portion of future seasons because we will know that despite all of Mick's efforts, the client will be up to something anyway. But for now, The Lincoln Lawyer works on its own merits and stands apart from the famed movie starring what's-his-face.
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