''Courthouse'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series that ran on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from September 13 to November 15, 1995. The series was created and executive-produced by

Deborah Joy LeVine Deborah Joy LeVine is an American television writer and producer who wrote the TV series, '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', which ran from 1993 to 1997. Filmography * ''Murder: By Reason of Insanity'' (associate producer) (1985 ...

. The ''Courthouse'' plot centered on a tough female judge, and was partially inspired by ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'' and the television coverage of the

O. J. Simpson murder case ''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was ...

Patricia Wettig Patricia Anne Wettig (born December 4, 1951) is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her role as Nancy Weston in the television series ''Thirtysomething'' (1987–1991), for which she received a Golden Globe Award and three P ...

led the cast which also included

Bob Gunton Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ...

and

Robin Givens Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest ro ...

. Wettig intended to leave the show due to "creative differences", with sources saying that she wanted the show to be more of a

star vehicle In the motion picture industry, a star vehicle (or simply vehicle) is a film written or produced for a specific star, regardless of whether the motive is to further their career or simply to profit from their current popularity. It is designed to ...

for her, rather than an ensemble cast, but the show was cancelled before her character could be written out. The show included

Jenifer Lewis Jenifer Jeanette Lewis (born January 25, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in Broadway musicals and worked as a back-up singer for Bette Midler before appearing in films ''Beaches'' (1988) and ''Sister Act'' (1992). Le ...

and

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is a American-Canadian actress and singer. She has worked extensively in animation, voicing long-running characters such as Susie Carmichael in ''Rugrats'' and Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and r ...

as the first recurring African American lesbian characters on TV, but the role was ordered to be toned down for broadcast. Lewis played Juvenile Court judge Rosetta Reide, who was having a relationship with her housekeeper Danny Gates (played by Summer). The show failed to catch on with audiences, the pilot ranked 47 out of 108 shows, according to the Nielsen ratings for that week, with 9.2 million viewers (16% share), and it was cancelled two months after it premiered. One critic described the show as "a hopeless amalgam that strains the senses".

Synopsis

''Courthouse'' is a TV drama with much sex and violence; it follows the lives of the judges and lawyers and all the staff at a big-city courthouse in fictional Clark County. The court has a limited budget and an overcrowded case load, and the courthouse itself is falling into disrepair. The court is led by the no-nonsense presiding judge, Justine Parkes. Then, amid all the turmoil, Wyatt Jackson, a hunky new judge, arrives from Montana. He gets off to a shaky start with Parkes as he is not used to the way big-city courts are run, but there is a hint of romantic tension between the two. There are several romantic couplings among the staff, including an interracial coupling of two prosecutors in Moore and Graham and a lesbian affair between Judge Reide and her housekeeper. ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' magazine described the show as follows:

"Ready to believe in Robin Givens as a tireless defender of public justice? ''Courthouses idea of gritty moral realism is to divide the world into the good and the bad: Bad judges go to the opera while their charges die in jail; good judges have interracial affairs with members of their own gender; and the best judge of all rolls in from Montana looking like he just shot a
501 __NOTOC__ Year 501 ( DI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Pompeius (or, less frequently, year 1254 '' Ab u ...
commercial".

Characters

*Judge Justine Parkes (

) – the no-nonsense presiding judge *Judge Homer Conklin (

) – an autocratic "hanging judge" and a by-the-book traditionalist *Judge Wyatt E. Jackson ( Brad Johnson) – a hunky, non-conformist recently arrived from Montana *Judge Myron Winkleman ( Michael Lerner) – a neurotic Family Court judge *Judge Rosetta Reide (

) – a struggling, gay single mother presiding over Juvenile Court *Jonathan Mitchell (

Dan Gauthier Daniel Lester Gauthier (; born December 2, 1963) is an American actor best known for his roles as Kevin Buchanan on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'', Matt Liston on the sitcom Ellen for two seasons, Brad Powell in the 1989 film ''Teen Wi ...

) – conceited prosecutor, was dating public defender Gilbert *Veronica Gilbert (

Nia Peeples Virenia "Nia" Peeples (born December 10, 1961) is an American R&B and dance music singer and actress. Peeples is known for playing Nicole Chapman on the hit TV series '' Fame''; Pam Fields on the drama ''Pretty Little Liars''; Karen Taylor Win ...

) – public defender, dating Mitchell *Edison Moore ( Jeffrey D. Sams) – hard-charging young prosecutor in a secret romantic relationship with Graham *Suzanne Graham (

) – an investigator for the D.A.'s office *Lenore Laderman (

Annabeth Gish Anne Elizabeth "Annabeth" Gish (born March 13, 1971) is an American actress. She has played roles in films ''Shag'', ''Hiding Out'', '' Mystic Pizza'', ''SLC Punk!'', ''The Last Supper'' and ''Double Jeopardy''. On television, she played Special ...

) – a naive young prosecutor just reassigned to the sex crimes unit *Danny Gates (

) – housekeeper and lesbian girlfriend of Judge Reide Other cast members included

Jacqueline Kim Jacqueline Joan Kim is an American writer, actress, filmmaker and composer. She was nominated for a FIND Independent Spirit award for Best Supporting Actress in the film '' Charlotte Sometimes''. Early life Kim was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, ...

Shelley Morrison Shelley Morrison (born Rachel Mitrani; October 26, 1936 – December 1, 2019) was an American actress. Morrison was known for her role as maid Rosario Salazar in the NBC comedy ''Will & Grace'', which she played from 1999 to 2006. She was also ...

Roma Maffia Roma Maffia is an American actress. Life and career Roma Maffia grew up in Brooklyn, New York and is of English, German and West Indian descent. Her Italian surname reportedly comes from her stepfather. Maffia began her official acting career ...

Christopher Michael Christopher Michael is an American actor, director, writer, who is most famous for portraying Sergeant/Detective/Captain/Chief Michaels on '' 7th Heaven''. He appeared in over 45 episodes throughout the show's 243-episode run. Filmography *'' ...

, Larry Joshua,

Kelly Rutherford Kelly Rutherford (born November 6, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Generations'' (1989–1991), as Megan Lewis on the Fox primetime soap opera ''Mel ...

, Cotter Smith,

George Newbern George Young Newbern (born December 30, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Charlie in the ABC show ''Scandal'' and Bryan MacKenzie in '' Father of the Bride'' (1991) and its sequels ''Father of the Bride Part II'' and '' Fat ...

, David L. Crowley and John Mese.

Episodes

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0111928, title=Courthouse 1990s American drama television series 1995 American television series debuts 1995 American television series endings 1990s American legal television series CBS original programming English-language television shows Lesbian-related television shows Serial drama television series Television series by Sony Pictures Television 1990s American LGBT-related drama television series Television shows set in Nevada