Canterbury's Law [TV Series] on AllMovie

Created by Dave Erickson and co-produced by actor Denis Leary, the weekly, 60-minute legal drama Canterbury's Law starred Juliana Margulies as Elizabeth Canterbury, a tough, ruthless Providence (R.I.) attorney who specialized in defending such "controversial" clients as accused child murderers and pedophiles. Yelling at everyone within earshot and playing fast and loose with ethics, Elizabeth was not by any stretch of the imagination an admirable character, but her abrasive personality was somewhat justified by the fact that she sincerely believed in the innocence of her clients. One of many "flawed" TV heroines of the early 21st century (vide The Closer), Elizabeth battled innumerable personal demons and an alcohol problem which partially stemmed from the loss of her son, who had disappeared without a trace a year or so before the series got under way. Other regulars included Ben Shenkman as Elizabeth's legal partner Russell Krauss, who'd been passed over for a D.A.'s job after clashing with his corrupt boss; Keith Robinson as cocky attorney Chester Grant, a congressman's son who had turned his back on his dad's conformist politicis; Trieste Dunn as fearless attorney Molly McConnell, one of the few people who could stand up to Elizabeth without emerging bloody and bowed; and Aidan Quinn as Elizabeth's college-professor husband Matt Furey, on whom the restless Ms. Canterbury cheated shamelessly. Originally intended as a series about a male attorney, Canterbury's Law switched genders once Juliana Margulies signed onto the project. Though the pilot was filmed in early 2007, the series itself was not added to the Fox network lineup until March 10, 2008, having shed a couple of the original regulars (Jocko Sims as Chester, Linus Roache as Matt) along the way.