Mercedes Ruehl has taken a big role in ABC’s legal pilot Doubt. The Sony TV production follows a lawyer who once worked as a cop and now uses his skills to help clients beat the system that’s bringing them down. The pilot is both executive produced and written by David Shore and will be directed by The West Wing’s Thomas Schlamme.
In Doubt, Ruehl is set to play a character with a grand name, Mrs. Syn Newman. Deadline is describing Newman as a loyal woman and a lawyer who fights for those she believes in and who shares an office with her husband, played by John Pankow. The two rent from Vince, the cop-turned-lawyer who will be played in the series by Steve Coogen, although it sounds like those working arrangements may not always work out smoothly. Additionally, Heroes’ Greg Grunberg and Political Animals’ Carla Gugino are also set for the pilot.
Ruehl has taken on plenty of guest starring roles in the recent past, including stints on Entourage and Law & Order, but the actress has spent some time trying to hop on to the right project over the past couple of seasons. The actress was supposed to star in HBO’s Luck right around the time HBO’s drama hit a controversy and ultimately decided to cancel the program. Last season, she also signed on to the pilot El Jafe, but that never moved to series. Hopefully, ABC’s Doubt pilot will get the chance to move forward at the network.
