Article first published as GOLIATH Review on Seat42F.
The prolific David E. Kelley, gone from
the broadcast airwaves for a few years, returns to television on Amazon
this week with GOLIATH. Like most of his former series, GOLIATH is a
legal drama. But with the freedom of streaming services, unbound from
the set running times, act breaks, and episode counts of the broadcast
networks he called home for so long, it’s a new beast from the old hand.
And, let’s be honest, what fan of legal drama doesn’t want another one
from this guy?
GOLIATH stars Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo,
Friday Night Lights) as Billy McBride, a washed-up alcoholic who is
past the peak of his career. Spinning into a personal hole, Billy has a
bad relationship with his ex-wife, Michelle (Maria Bello, Touch,
Prisoners), and daughter, Denise (Diana Hopper, Hidden Truth). He
doesn’t start in a very good place.
Billy’s break comes when a woman brings
him a big case that would pit Billy against his former partner, Donald
Cooper (William Hurt, Humans, Into the Wild), and the firm Billy was
forced out of, which Michelle is still involved in. Now, personal and
professional life is intermixed as Billy fights for justice, and
possibly for a little revenge from those who wronged him.
It’s an enticing premise. Everyone wants
to cheer for the guy who is down, and who we expect to turn it around,
especially when his opponent (Donald) seems so clearly in the wrong.
It’s a black-and-white dynamic, and while the odds are stacked against
Billy, David-and-Goliath-style,
we are sure that the misfit crew he puts together, which includes a
real estate attorney and a call girl, will win the day.
If I were to compare this to any of
Kelley’s other series, I would say, on paper, it is most like Harry’s
Law, which featured a noble, flawed character staging a comeback.
Except, GOLIATH is a much darker drama and the case will be ongoing over
at least the course of the season, whereas Harry’s Law was funny and
procedural. So GOLIATH still has some of the classic Kelley elements and
similarities to his past work, but isn’t just a retread.
The writer takes to the looser format
very well. Watching GOLIATH, I was struck by how much it resembles some
of the higher-quality series on the premium cable and streaming
networks. It doesn’t have the same memorable juice as Fargo, American
Horror Story, Westworld, Breaking Bad, and the others at the top of the
heap, but it is a very solid entry that can hang in the same general
stratosphere.
Helping this along is the excellent cast
assembled. Thornton proved himself to any doubters with his last
television role, and he is more than capable of taking the lead here.
Yet, so are most of the other actors around him, so he is in good
company with Bello, Hurt, Olivia Thirlby (Good Vibes, Juno), Molly
Parker (House of Cards), Nina Arianda (Hannibal), Tania Raymonde (Lost),
Sarah Wynter (24), Damon Gupton (Bates Motel), and more. There should
be no complaints about the company.
The pilot starts off intriguing, but
like the excellent Damages, it just seems to be scratching the surface
initially. It sets up the scenario and introduces us to most of the
players, but there are sure to be a lot of twists and setbacks as things
unfold. At approximately eight hours running time, it looks to be a
manageable, quick series, with no time for fluff and treading water, so I
expect it will move quickly, but going by the pilot, not too quickly.
I’m intrigued and plan to watch the full season.
GOLIATH’s entire first season will be available on Amazon Prime beginning today.
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