ABC’s ‘For Life’ hopes to change the way we see network TV

Actor Nicholas Pinnock doesn’t just believe his new network TV show can save lives. He believes it can save network TV, too.

Pinnock stars in “For Life,” ABC’s mid-season drama about a prison inmate unjustly incarcerated who becomes a lawyer. Social justice issues are baked into every episode, not to mention exploring racial inequality and prison reform.

Pinnock was initially skeptical if ABC was the right home for his edgy and inventive show, but he’s been impressed by the network’s backing. “For Life” airs on Tuesday nights opposite less demanding shows like “New Amsterdam” or “FBI: Most Wanted.”

“I think it’s going to change the shape and the way network television is viewed and how it can move forward and compete with the likes of streaming channels like Netflix and Amazon and Apple and really, really challenge the outlook of network television,” he said.

Pinnock plays Aaron Wallace, a prisoner who litigates cases for other inmates while fighting to overturn his own life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. Each episode deals with a case that helps him get closer to the show’s overarching arc: freedom. Along the way, he juggles family responsibilities and trying to survive behind bars.

“People initially will think, ‘Oh legal drama — it’s going to be procedural, like so many network procedural shows that we’ve seen.’ But this is completely different. It’s a legal, family and prison drama,” Pinnock said.

Actress Indira Varma plays a sympathetic prison warden on the show and hopes “For Life” can be a corrective to other shows that illustrate violence on the streets but not always the consequences.