MAJOR spoilers for the end of The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3 are ahead! If you haven’t streamed the series yet, you can do so with a Netflix subscription.
After The Lincoln Lawyer premiere on the 2024 TV schedule, I binge-watched the Netflix series like there was no tomorrow, and I was distraught by the end. I use the term distraught because Season 3 ended with Sam Scales being found dead in the back of Mickey’s beloved Lincoln. However, while the titular lawyer was stressed as he got handcuffed in the final moments of the finale, the co-showrunner, Dailyn Rodriguez, told me why the actor who plays him, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, was thrilled about this development.
When I think about Mickey going to prison after getting arrested for a murder he didn’t commit, the emotion that pops into my mind is fear. However, from the perspective of the actor portraying the lawyer, the opportunity to play this story out is thrilling. That’s why Manuel Garcia-Rulfo was so excited when he learned about his character’s fate, as Rodriguez told me during an interview with CinemaBlend:
I mean, he loves it. He's so excited. He can't wait to be in prison. He's like, ‘When am I in jail?’ [Laughs] He's excited because it's something different, and playing a different thing, and not being in a suit, and emotionally being in a very different place than he has been in the last two seasons.
During our interview, the co-showrunner told me that if they get renewed for Season 4, the upcoming episodes will be based on Michael Connelly’s book The Law of Innocence. In it, Mickey is arrested for the murder of Sam – who again, he did not kill – and the story follows him in prison as he defends himself.
According to his boss, Garcia-Rulfo can’t wait to play out this story and show off a new side of Mickey. She said:
We say in Season 3 that there's no nobler of a cause than to represent an innocent person. But really, the biggest thing is to be able to represent yourself, knowing full well that you, yourself are innocent. So it's like an even bigger challenge for him in a Season 4, if we get that.
Personally, I can’t wait to see this play out too, and I also feel “so excited” about what could come next. Following Eddie’s death, the taxing trial with Julian (that they won) and Mickey reconnecting with his daughter, this ending was truly an emotional bombshell that will shake The Lincoln Lawyer to its core.
So, here’s hoping Manuel Garcia-Rulfo gets to play out this story he’s so excited about, because I certainly want to see it!
Considering The Lincoln Lawyer dominated Netflix’s 2024 release schedule, I assume a renewal is coming. However, for the time being, the show’s fourth season has not been greenlit. As we learn more about the series’ future, we’ll keep you posted! In the meantime, you can go back and watch Season 3 on the streamer, and if you want to learn more about this storyline that could come next, you can read The Law of Innocence.
