ABC has given a pilot green light to a new incarnation of Steven Bochco’s legal drama L.A. Law. The L.A. Law sequel that has been in the works since Decemeber has Blair Underwood attached as executive produce as well as reprising his role as attorney Jonathan Rollins.
Anthony Hemingway is directing from a script written by Marc Guggenheim and Ubah Mohamed.
In this new take on L.A. Law, McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak, the West Coast-based law firm at the heart of the original, is reinventing itself as a litigation firm specializing only in high profile, boundary-pushing and incendiary cases.
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For the L.A. Law sequel, Underwood’s character has changed from an idealistic figure to a more conservative one in the intervening years since the original. The sequel will see him clash with a millennial character named J.J. Freeman over the best path forward for the firm in effecting political and legal change.
While the focus will be on the new generation of lawyers at the firm working with Rollins, according to Deadline, other original cast members will likely make appearances should the project go to series.
Underwood, Guggenheim, Mohamed, and Hemingway will all executive produce, alongside Jesse Bochco and Dayna Bochco, the son and widow of “L.A. Law” creator Steven Bohco. Original series producer 20th Television is also behind the sequel, as well as Steven Bochco Productions.
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Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, LA Law ran for eight seasons on NBC, from 1986-1994, followed by a reunion movie in 2002. The show was set in and around the fictitious Los Angeles-based law firm McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak. Many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-button issues. Issues such as capital punishment, abortion, racism, homophobia, sexual harassment, HIV/AIDS, and domestic violence. Underwood joined the cast in Season 2 and remained on the show until its end, earning a Golden Globe nomination.