''Petrocelli'' 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 ...

that ran for two seasons on NBC from September 11, 1974 to March 31, 1976.

Plot

Tony Petrocelli is an Italian-American, Harvard-educated lawyer, who grew up in South Boston and gave up the big money and frenetic pace of major-metropolitan life to practice in a sleepy city in Arizona named San Remo (filmed in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

). His wife Maggie and he live in a house trailer in the country while waiting for their new home to be built (it never was completed over the course of the series). Tony drives an old pickup truck, always a little too fast. Petrocelli hired Pete Ritter, a local cowboy and ex-cop, as his investigator.

Format

Petrocelli works as a defense lawyer, and each episode follows a similar format, with the clients apparently certain to be convicted of a crime of which they were innocent until a late-emerging piece of evidence allows the protagonist to suggest to the jury an alternative possibility. These alternatives never were established as absolute fact, and the trial of the persons onto whom Petrocelli turned the accusation never occurred, but the doubt raised was sufficient to secure the release of his clients. A technique used in the TV series was showing the actual crime in flashbacks from the perspective of various people involved. The flashbacks differed depending on whose recollections were being shown. To maximize the drama, the prosecution's version was always the first flashback shown (i.e. what supposedly happened), then the client's version was presented (what the client remembered happening), then, finally, after finishing his investigation, Petrocelli presented his version (generally meant to be what, in fact, occurred). This final flashback always contained elements of the prosecution's and his client's versions, but with his newfound evidence; it showed both the client's innocence and an explanation as to how and why the prosecution and client's versions differed. In other words, neither side was meant to be corrupt or lying, rather, without Petrocelli's information, both previous versions appeared to be accurate from their respective points of view.

Adaptation

Newman created the role of Petrocelli in the 1970 movie ''

The Lawyer ''The Lawyer'' is a legal business information product for law firm leaders, commercial lawyers, barristers A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. The ...

'', loosely based on the

Sam Sheppard Samuel Holmes Sheppard, D.O. ( – ) was an American neurosurgeon. He was exonerated in 1966, having been convicted of the 1954 murder of his pregnant wife, Marilyn Reese Sheppard. The case was controversial from the beginning, with extensive ...

murder case. ''Petrocelli'' was produced by Leonard Katzman.

Cast

Episodes

Pilot (1974)

A 90-minute TV movie aired as a pilot on March 16, 1974.

Season 1 (1974–75)

Season 2 (1975–76)

Guest stars

Anne Archer Anne Archer (born August 24, 1947) is an American actress. Archer was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971, and in the year following, appeared in her feature film debut '' The Honkers'' (1972). She had supporting roles in '' Cancel My Reservation'' ...

Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor and comedian. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 films. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest actor in ...

* Lucille Benson *

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* Nancy Criss * Kim Darby * Susan Dey *

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* Ron Foster *

Alan Fudge Alan Fudge (February 27, 1944 – October 10, 2011) was an American actor known for his roles in four television programs, ''Man from Atlantis'', ''Eischied'', '' Paper Dolls'' and ''Bodies of Evidence'', along with a recurring role on '' 7th He ...

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* Louis Gossett Jr. *

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* Kay Lenz *

Strother Martin Strother Douglas Martin Jr. (March 26, 1919 – August 1, 1980) was an American character actor who often appeared in support of John Wayne and Paul Newman and in Western films directed by John Ford and Sam Peckinpah. Among Martin's memorable pe ...

* Gerald McRaney * Belinda Montgomery *

Lee Montgomery Elliott Harcourt Montgomery (born November 3, 1961), known as Lee Montgomery, is a United States-based Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as a lonely little boy who befriends a pack of killer rats in the film ''Ben'' (1972) and as Sarah ...

James Naughton James Naughton (born December 6, 1945) is an American actor and director. He is best known as Michael Bower on '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984-1992) and was also notable for his earlier role as the astronaut Pete Burke in the 1974 single-season telev ...

Annette O'Toole Annette O'Toole (born Annette Toole; April 1, 1952) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in the television series ''Nash Bridges'', Beverly Marsh in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic hor ...

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* John Ritter *

Marion Ross Marion Ross (born Marian Ellen Ross; October 25, 1928) is a American former actress. Her best-known role is that of Marion Cunningham on the ABC television sitcom '' Happy Days'', on which she starred from 1974 to 1984 and for which she recei ...

John Saxon John Saxon (born Carmine Orrico; August 5, 1936 – July 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked on more than 200 film and television projects during a span of 60 years. He was known for his work in Westerns and horror films, often playing ...

* Simon Scott *

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Loretta Swit Loretta Jane Swit (born Loretta Szwed; November 4, 1937) is an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best known for her portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on ''M*A*S*H'', for which she won two E ...

* Joan Van Ark * Mitch Vogel *

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* Noble Willingham * William Windom

Home media

Visual Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 on December 16, 2016.

Books about the series

* ''Petrocelli: San Remo Justice: An Episode Guide and Much More'' by Sandra Grabman, published 2018 by BearManor Media.

References

External links

* * {{MillerBoyett 1970s American legal television series 1974 American television series debuts 1976 American television series endings NBC original programming Television series by CBS Studios English-language television shows Television shows set in Arizona