‘For the People’ courts romance, sex, workplace drama
Shonda Rhimes’ latest series make a case for a different legal procedural
These are the hallmarks of a Shonda Rhimes show: Strong female leads, a diverse supporting cast with dysfunctional personal lives and wild plot twists.
The uber-producer-writer’s latest, ABC’s “For the People,” has all those ingredients and more.
Set in the Southern District of New York Federal Court — one of the original 13 courts established in the U.S. — it centers around six young and ambitious newly sworn-in public defenders and prosecutors.
“For the People’s” showrunner-creator Paul William Davies — who calls himself “a proud member of the Shondaland universe” — describes it as more of a procedural than Rhimes’ other shows but says it “has its own energy.”
“There is certainly romance, and even sex,” adds Davies. “But it doesn’t come out of the gates in the same way.”
The series stars Britt Robertson and Jasmin Savoy Brown as friends — Sandra and Allison, respectively — who become public defenders. Allison is involved with Seth (Ben Rappaport). The couple are on opposite sides of the courtroom, he’s a new prosecutor, but they are in the same
workplace, court.
Naturally, that leads to conflicts, both legal and personal — the stuff of Shondaland.
“For the People” was conceived before the recent explosion of headlines involving sexual harassment in the workplace. In light of that, some of the romances and workplace relationships on Rhimes’ past shows, such as “Grey Anatomy” “Scandal” and “How to Get Away with Murder,” are getting a second look.
“I don’t think sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace is a tricky territory. I think it’s very clear what’s OK and what’s not,” says Rhimes when asked about it.
She admits, however, “there’s a lot of stuff that goes on at work on these shows that is not appropriate for the real world.”
Rhimes says the subject of workplace harassment isn’t part of the storylines of any of her shows right now, but when it comes up she and her writers talk about it.
Last year, Rhimes signed a multi-year $100-million deal to produce new series and other projects for Netflix, alongside longtime producing partner Betsy Beers, who will also move to the streaming giant.
She isn’t leaving ABC, although she is already working on new projects at Netflix, where, she says, she will have more creative freedom.
“We have five shows at ABC. We’re developing another. We’re very happy where we are,” says Rhimes, who has a “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff about firefighters in the works.
“All of our new shows are going to be at Netflix, but it’s not as if we’re going anywhere,” she says. “It’s like saying, ‘I have five kids’ and then ‘I’m going to just leave them and go home someplace else.’ “
Davies — who has a doctorate in history from the University of California, Berkeley, and a law degree from Stanford — says “For the People” was influenced not just by legal shows, but the “Serial” podcast, FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” and HBO’s “The Night Of.”
“I think there’s a lot of legal shows in the last five years that have focused more on the process of the law and understanding the system as opposed to more of a Perry Mason ‘who did it,’ “he says.
The series will take on subjects such as entrapment, mandatory minimums in sentencing and issues particular to the federal court system, like the war on drugs, foreign vs. U.S. jurisdiction, espionage and terrorism. There will usually be three cases going on in each episode.
“There are all kinds of things in the federal court system that just don’t get traditionally covered in traditional legal shows, and I think we’re highlighting those,” says Davies.
Besides its young stars, “For the People” includes Hope Davis as the head of the public defender’s office, and Ben Shenkman as head of the prosecutors. Their characters are frenemies — fierce opponents in court and pals at night — the type of relationship the young lawyers have trouble negotiating.
Davis’ character tells her charges upfront that they are likely to lose, because they are outgunned by a prosecution backed by the U.S. government.
“I was lucky enough to follow around the public defender in Los Angeles, and I was so inspired by how committed they are to their job, whether the odds are stacked against them or not,” says Davis. “They’re fierce, and they’re fighters, and they are not feeling depressed about being lawyers. They are so passionate about it. And they wouldn’t trade their jobs for anything.”
Anna Deavere Smith, who plays a strict courtroom clerk on “For the People,” adds she was surprised to find that the federal court didn’t have public defenders until the mid-1960s, which grew out of the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright ruling in 1963.
“It’s kind of extraordinary that we would have had nothing for people who really didn’t have money,” says the actress, playwright, teacher and author, whose recent play, “Notes from the Field,” dealing with education, inequality and incarceration, is an HBO special.
While doing research for her role as a prosecutor, Susannah Flood found an equal passion on the other side. She remembers one real prosecutor telling her, if you are going to represent the U.S. government, “You are going to make sure you damn well know everything there is about the case.”
Of course, in Shondaland, passions in the courtroom also mean passions in the bedroom, and “Of the People” will have its relationship arcs.
“It is still OK to meet at work. It’s still OK to fall in love,” observes Davis of like in the post #MeToo world. “It’s still OK to have a relationship.”
Rhimes adds, “A sensual relationship.”