Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, above) may be one of the best attorneys in L.A., but how well can he defend himself against a murder rap after the dead body of a onetime client was found in his trunk on The Lincoln Lawyer? It doesn’t help that he’s in jail, facing a prosecutor known as Death Row Dana Berg (Constance Zimmer, UnREAL), with whom Mickey and his former wife Maggie (Neve Campbell) have unpleasant history. Being an inmate isn’t much fun for the lawyer, who has had to hire one of the more amenable inmates to watch out for him in exchange for some jailhouse lawyering.
Netflix’s hit legal thriller’s fourth season, premiering on February 5 with 10 new delicious episodes, is described by showrunner Ted Humphrey as “the most emotional and highest-stakes roller-coaster story we’ve done. Mickey finds himself as the client having to take all the wisdom that he’s doled out over the years and he finds how hollow it is when you’re the one sitting there having to listen to your own advice. Facing murder charges is about the bleakest situation somebody can face,” he stresses. “What’s going to happen to Mickey plays out over the entire season in the form of his trial.”
His defense is going to be a battle, starting with his struggle to get out on bail, “and Mickey’s got to fight with one hand tied behind his back,” previews the showrunner. “He needs his entire team and family, especially Maggie.” He adds, “I’m happy that Neve is playing a very substantial part this season.”
Courtesy of Netflix
Devotedly on the boss’s side are his office mates: newly minted lawyer Lorna (Becki Newton) who is trying desperately to keep the firm afloat after clients leave him in droves since his arrest; Lorna’s husband, investigator Cisco (Angus Sampson), who will face danger more than once; and ambitious office manager Izzy (Jazz Raycole), who could have a new love interest this season. Also back to help is Mickey’s mentor “Legal” Siegel (Elliott Gould). Each is working long hours to save Mickey and rescue his firm. Luckily — perhaps — Lorna has two upcoming cases, one a juicy divorce and the other involving a murder, which could help fill the company’s coffers.
Though Mickey is putting on a brave front, especially in front of his worried daughter Hayley (Krista Warner), we’ll see a much more vulnerable character this season as he faces “the most difficult situation he’s ever faced, not just in his professional career, but in his life.” Humphrey promises. “All the demons that [author] Michael Connelly established for him in the [Mickey Haller] books are in full play in Season 4.”
Will the usually uber-confident Mickey gain any insight while being on the receiving end of a murder accusation? “He absolutely does,” says Humphrey, “though probably more visceral and emotional. Legally, nobody’s better than he is at manipulating the system and checking the boxes and slanting things in his client’s favor. But it’s much more difficult to do when you are the client. And there’s obviously an old saying that a fool has himself as a lawyer.”
This season has a raft of intriguing new characters, including: orthopedist surgeon Jack Gilroy (Jason O’Mara, Terra Nova), Maggie’s current beau who gets under Mickey’s skin; the demanding Celeste Brown (Kyle Richards, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), a client that Lorna desperately wants to hold on to who’s fighting for a much larger divorce settlement; hostile FBI agent Dawn Ruth (Sasha Alexander, Rizzoli & Isles); and veteran LAPD Det. Kent Drucker (Jason Butler Harner, Ozark), who’s working closely with Berg.
Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) will also show up with a pivotal character Humphrey wants kept under wraps. “Her role,” he says, “will blow the minds of longtime viewers and readers of Michael’s books.” And possibly continue in a fifth season, which seems a probable bet.
“Though corrupt cops may play a part in solving the crime” that Mickey is alleged to have committed, concludes Humphrey, “we will uncover a much bigger conspiracy as [his] past adversaries come back into play.”
We wouldn’t expect anything less.
The Lincoln Lawyer, Season 4 Premiere,Thursday, February 5, Netflix
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