''Maximum Bob'' is an American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series that aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from August 4 until September 15, 1998. Starring

Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor and director. He is a three-time Emmy, two-time Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominee. Bridges was a ...

, the show was based on Elmore Leonard's 1991 novel of the same name.

Premise

The series centered on Bob Gibbs (played by Bridges), an ultra

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

judge known for giving the maximum sentence to defendants. Other characters included the judge's

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...

wife Leanne (

Kiersten Warren Kiersten Nicolla Dale Warren is an American actress. Her best known roles include Alex Tabor on '' Saved by the Bell: The College Years'' and Nora Huntington on ''Desperate Housewives''. Life and career Warren is the mother of actress Misti T ...

) who channels the spirit of a young slave girl named Wanda Grace (

Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly (born June 28, 1985) is an American actress. Life and career Kelly was born in Fairfax, Virginia. She later moved to Atlanta, Georgia for better exposure in her film career. Kelly was taught by Janet Lawing at Covenant ...

); a widower sheriff with a knack for

ballroom dancing Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...

; and Kathy Baker, a comely spitfire

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

(

Liz Vassey Elizabeth Leigh Vassey (born August 9, 1972) is an American actress. Her most notable roles include Emily Ann Sago on ''All My Children'', Captain Liberty on ''The Tick'', Wendy Simms on ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', Lou on '' Brotherly L ...

) from

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. The storylines served mainly to introduce the cast of eccentric characters, and were set in the fictional backwoods

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

town of Deepwater. Judge Gibbs' young wife performed in a mermaid show until she nearly lost her life to an alligator, after which she abruptly retired from the business and can no longer even go in her swimming pool. Baker comes to Deepwater on a case and becomes a romantic target for the local sheriff, as well as a potential conquest for the always lustful judge. The show also includes a family of inbred, myopic, dysfunctional people with a criminal bent.

Cast

as Judge Bob Gibbs *

as Kathy Baker *

Sam Robards Samuel Prideaux Robards (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor, best known for his role as Henry Swinton in the film ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence''. Early life and education Robards was born in New York City, the son of actor Jason Roba ...

as Sheriff Gary Hammond *

as Leanne Lancaster *

as Wanda Grace

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{Elmore Leonard 1990s American comedy-drama television series 1990s American legal television series 1998 American television series debuts 1998 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Television shows based on American novels Television shows set in Florida Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios