Tuesday, April 26, 2016

3 Courtroom Drama Series that Every Filipino Looking for a New Brand of Suspense should See


Professions like attorney or a lawyer may have their own dangers, mix of controversies, and appeal to the public. They are often portrayed in movies as sly and deceitful individuals who are willing to side with anyone for the principles of what they fight for. Often times, they are seen in a different light but the distinct charisma of attorneys adds flair to a story plot lines. And we cannot deny that this is how Filipinos see attorneys in the Philippines. They may have an air of pretense with the nature of their work but we all know that it takes more than years of education and familiarity with the laws of the land to be an established attorney. So nonetheless they are still seen as respectable figures in our community. You might also be surprised to know that most of our celebrated presidents and politicians are attorneys too.

In Philippine movies, scenes involving court trials add a serious tone to the development of plot lines. It has been a recurring and widely-used plot element in many classic movies and even modern day telenovelas. With the popularity of global streaming providers like iFlix, Hulu, and most recently NetFlix in Philippine territories, foreign courtroom dramas are slowly finding a niche in the taste buds of the Filipino viewers who are into more complex and technical storylines. These include the following series:


Suits (USA Network)

image source: fbcoverstreet.com
The plotline of Suit revolves around a very talented college dropout Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) who works as an associate to Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). The show focuses on the two of them being able to close cases while keeping fact that Mike never really attending law school a secret. The series has received an overall consensus from the watching public even earning an approval rating of 77% on Rotten Tomato. As of the moment, Suits has 5 seasons and 76 episodes. The sixth season is scheduled to premiere in the US on June 29.


The Good Wife (CBS)

image source: www.hulu.com
The Good Wife is a highly acclaimed political and legal show that is heavily serialized with many story arcs that carry over several episodes. It stars Julianna Margulies, Josh Charles, Christine Baranski, Matt Czuchry, and Alan Cumming. The series has already won 5 Emmys awards. The seventh season of The Good Wife has started airing last October 4, 2015 and is expected to end on May 8, 2016.


How to Get Away with Murder (ABC)

image source: play.google.com
As the title suggest, the plotline of the series revolves around how to cover up a murder. Viola Davis plays the role of the highly-acclaimed defense attorney and university professor, Annalise Keating. Together with her five selected student interns Alfred Enoch, Jack Falahee, Aja Naomi King, Matt McGorry and Karla Souza, they defend some of the most controversial cases. The series features flashbacks and flashforward sequence that reveals a piece of information about the murder they are trying to cover up. Currently, How to Get Away with Murder has 2 seasons and 30 episodes.

Sadly, there hasn’t been any major Philippine TV series that has revolved in the technicalities of courtroom dramas. But hey, with the way we see attorneys in the community and with the Filipinos’ craving to see something new on television; maybe someday we will be enjoying the sound of solid litigation over dinner.