''Canterbury's Law'' is an American

legal drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...

television series, which aired from March 10 to April 18, 2008 as a

mid-season replacement In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a ...

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. The show was created by

Dave Erickson Dave Erickson is an American television writer and producer best known for co-creating '' Fear the Walking Dead'' with Robert Kirkman, for which he was showrunner until the end of the third season; he stepped down in order to make more shows for ...

and executive produced by

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. A native of Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song "Asshole (song), Assh ...

Jim Serpico Jim Serpico is the American co-founder, along with Denis Leary, of Apostle, a production company in New York City, specializing in television production. Career Serpico was also an executive producer for Leary's stand-up shows from the 1990s, in ...

Walon Green Walon Green (born December 15, 1936) is an American documentary film director and screenwriter, for both television and film. Career Green produced and directed documentaries for National Geographic and David Wolper, including ''The Hellstrom Chr ...

, John Kane, and

Mike Figgis Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work in ''Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers o ...

, who also directed the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

. The series revolved around Elizabeth Canterbury (portrayed by

Julianna Margulies Julianna Margulies (; born June 8, 1966) is an American actress. After several small television roles, Margulies achieved wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama series '' ER'' (1994–2009) ...

), a rebellious defense attorney willing to bend the law if it protects the wrongfully accused. A rising star, she puts her career on the line to take on risky and unpopular cases, even when they take a toll on her personal life. Produced by

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...

and Apostle, the series aired Mondays at 9:00 pm and was broadcast in Australia and Canada on

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

and

Global Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

respectively. Due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, only six of the 13 episodes ordered were able to be produced. On March 20, 2008,

announced that ''Canterbury's Law'' would move to the Friday 9:00 pm slot for the remaining episodes. On May 15, 2008, Fox officially canceled the series.

Plot

Elizabeth and her law professor husband, Matthew (

Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor who made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984). He has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), ''Stakeout'' (1987), ''Aval ...

), are both haunted by the disappearance of their young son (Jeremy Zorek) and have just settled in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, in an attempt to distance themselves from the tragedy and put their relationship back together. But even as they try to move on beyond the tragedy, those goals become elusive whenever Elizabeth's work provides a stark reminder of the justice absent in their own lives. At work, Elizabeth must also deal with coworkers Russell Krauss (

Ben Shenkman Benjamin Shenkman (born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy-drama series '' Royal Pains'' and the acclaimed HBO miniseries ''Angels in America'', which earned him both Primetime Emmy Award and Golden ...

), a former

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

, who was forced out of his job by his financially strapped boss and whose knowledge will guide Elizabeth in their cases, even if she doesn't want to hear his reasoning or logic; Chester Fields ( Keith Robinson), a congressman's son who wants to distance himself from his political family; and Molly McConnell ( Trieste Dunn), a headstrong individual who's not afraid to switch sides, even if it's against Elizabeth. Frank Angstrom ( James McCaffrey) is a private investigator with whom Elizabeth has a sometime affair.

Cast

Main characters

as Elizabeth Canterbury *

as Russell Krauss * Trieste Dunn as Molly McConnell * Keith Robinson as Chester Fields *

Terry Kinney Terry Kinney (born January 29, 1954) is an American actor and theater director, and is a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, with John Malkovich, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Sinise, and Jeff Perry. Kinney is best known for his role as ...

as Deputy Attorney General Zach Williams *

as Matthew "Matt" Furey * James McCaffrey as Frank Angstrom

Recurring characters

David Call David Steven Call (born August 14, 1982) is an American actor. Personal life Call was born in Issaquah, Washington. He is a graduate student of the Tisch School of the Arts and the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School. Acting career Call's ...

as Martin, the receptionist

Jocko Sims Jocko Sims (born February 20, 1981) is an American actor, known for playing Anthony Adams in ''Crash'' and later playing Carlton Burk in the series '' The Last Ship''. On the NBC TV show ''New Amsterdam'', he portrays Dr. Floyd Reynolds. Care ...

was originally cast as Chester Fields but the role was re-cast in June 2007.

Linus Roache Linus William Roache (born 1 February 1964) is a British actor. He is known for playing Executive ADA Michael Cutter in the NBC dramas ''Law & Order'' (2008–2010) and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2011–2012). More recently, Roach ...

was also replaced by

in August 2007 after the former landed a regular starring role in ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

''.

Episodes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0956036 2008 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings 2000s American crime drama television series 2000s American legal television series Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Rhode Island Television shows filmed in New York (state) English-language television shows