David E. Kelley’s high profile new law drama The Trial has been shaping up over at Amazon for the past several weeks. Billy Bob Thornton has already signed on to headline the series and William Hurt and Olivia Thirlby have also been cast. On Thursday, two other big names have also been added to The Trial. Big Driver’s Maria Bello and Lost actress Tania Raymonde are also joining the upcoming Amazon series, which earned the first straight-to-series order the streaming service has ever extended to a project.
While Bello has more movie credits to her name, she tried a few years ago to break into TV with a lead role in Prime Suspect and a subsequent role in Touch after Suspect was cancelled. (Back in the day, she also played a role in ER.) In The Trial, Bello is set to play the ex-wife of Billy Bob Thornton’s character, Billy McBride. Her character, Julia, is a high profile lawyer who still has feelings for her ex-husband, but since Billy doesn’t have his life together, she’s simultaneously glad she doesn’t have to deal with his problems on a day-to-day basis. Her protégé is Lucy, the character played by Thirlby, who is unfortunately fired by the firm and goes to work with her ex. Sounds complex. Also, totally sounds like a David E. Kelly drama.
According to THR, Raymonde will actually be signed on as Billy McBride’s former legal secretary Brittany Gold, a woman who later got into prostitution. I have no idea how one goes from filling out paperwork to enticing Johns, but I’m sure The Trial will touch on that career change. Brittany will obviously still be around the law office, however, as the outlet says she will “welcome” Lucy into the fold.
David E. Kelly hasn’t had the greatest run in recent years. The prolific TV producer and creator didn’t have the best of luck with Monday Mornings or The Crazy Ones, although the latter wasn’t cancelled due to a lack of quality. Following the medical drama and office comedy’s demise, Kelley is going back to what he does best: law dramas. In the past, he’s made a name for himself through shows like Harry’s Law, Boston Legal, The Practice and Ally McBeal. While there are some other legal dramas on the air at this point--Suits and The Good Wife come to mind—there’s certainly room for one more, especially on a streaming service like Amazon.
Amazon is well into the TV game at this point, but the service really only has one prominent hit. Transparent has earned plenty of critical acclaim and has put Amazon on the map, but The Trial could go a long way toward taking Amazon’s original content to the next level. That is, provided it’s good. The Trial is already moving forward, and we’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything about a premiere date. For now, here’s what’s coming up this fall.
