With legal drama, Rhimes formula runs out of steam
The new legal drama “For the People” has all the ingredients of a successful Shonda Rhimes series.
The production hails from Shondaland, airs on ABC and follows a group of sexy young things as they journey into the adult world, where they make and break alliances, compete for favor and sleep with one another — all of that accompanied by a bankable soundtrack.
The older folk disapprove until the diverse upstarts prove themselves under impossible circumstances.
But with “For the People,” which premiered last week, the one-time winning formula loses its potency.
The show, set in the Southern District of New York Federal Court, focuses on ambitious lawyers newly sworn into their roles on different sides of the law.
Three become federal public defenders, and three become prosecutors — and the fireworks begin.
The display isn’t too impressive, however, mostly because we’ve seen this drama before in Shondaland: set in a hospital (“Grey’s Anatomy”), in Washington, D.C (“Scandal”) and at a university (“How To Get Away With Murder”).
It’s ironic, given that the story’s protagonist, ambitious new lawyer Sandra (Britt Robertson), bristles at the pragmatic and methodical ways of courthouse veterans such as Tina (Anna Deavere Smith), the unflappable clerk of the court.
The success of Rhimes’ shows parallels the proliferation of smart, risky and unpredictable cable series — “Six Feet Under,” “Homeland,” “Game of Thrones” and more.
Now that Netflix, Hulu and dozens of other streaming • "For the People" airs at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on ABC, including WSYX-TV (Channel 6). platforms are in the mix, though, cautious series such as “For the People” must add something new to the game or risk irrelevance.
Judging from the first four episodes, the series offers little fresh.
Days into their appointments, the crew is inexplicably given some of the highest-profile cases in the nation — from terrorism to a racially charged murder at a neo-Nazi rally.
Sandra is charged with defending a young American Muslim accused of trying to blow up the Statue of Liberty — and loses the case.
“This isn’t TV,” her superior, Jill (Hope Davis), tells her. “You don’t get a Muslim American kid off for trying to blow up the Statue of Liberty.”
The multiracial cast and storylines are commendable, but efforts to make the show inclusive are undercut by old TV tropes.
Each hourlong episode must give the cast — defense lawyers Sandra, Allison (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Jay (Wesam Keesh) and prosecutors Kate (Susannah Flood), Seth (Ben Rappaport) and Leonard (Rege-Jean Page) — time to fall in and out of love and/or bed with one another, wrestle their own demons and do whatever it takes to win.
The newbie lawyers lack the charisma or gravitas to lead viewers through the inner workings of the most prestigious court in the land,
Perhaps the series will move into fresher territory or find its feet moving forward, but its formulaic approach so far doesn’t make for a winning case.