The debut season of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer, an adaptation of one of the many novels in the series of the same name by Michael Connelly, gave us our first look at a show that was already struggling to make a case for its own existence. There was a praiseworthy central performance from Manuel Garcia-Rulfo stepping into the shoes left by Matthew McConaughey (who previously inhabited the character in a film that worked just fine as a confined story). However, Netflix’s adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer struggled to find a narrative rhythm in what was soon revealed to be a whimper of a story, making it hard to see what could steer it in a better direction when it had already drifted so far from a compelling course. Still, there was a small sliver of potential for a second season to reinvent itself and build beyond its halting start. After all, the recent Perry Mason also proved that a new season of a legal drama with a new case could provide a fresh chance to surpass the first. While there are some improvements to this first part of The Lincoln Lawyer’s second season and some occasionally interesting wrinkles, this six-episode chunk still finds itself dogged by many of the same problems from before.
Picking back up following the end of the splashy case of the first season and based on the fourth book in Connelly’s series, The Fifth Witness, scrappy lawyer Mickey Haller (Garcia-Rulfo) is mostly riding high. He has let the publicity from the trial go to his head a bit, doing interview after interview to capitalize on his newfound fame. He even makes a guest appearance on Jake Tapper’s show, because why not, which he is later caught watching when it pops up in his inbox. Still, all is not well in paradise. Mickey is trying to maintain a good relationship with his ex-wife Maggie McPherson (a returning Neve Campbell, who goes wasted once again), as they both co-parent and work on opposite sides of the law. This is further complicated when Mickey begins a relationship with local chef Lisa Trammell, played by newcomer Lana Parrilla, who he will later take on as a client when she faces legal trouble of her own surrounding her work protesting gentrification. Oh, and he is going to wind up getting punched in a parking garage at some point in a forced flash-forward meant to give the season some tension via dramatic irony. If only we were invested in seeing how all the pieces came together about how our crackerjack lawyer ends up there.
‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Is Still Spinning Its Wheels in Season 2
In terms of positives that distinguish Season 2 this time around, the new relationship between Mickey and Lisa has some spark. Parrilla is a welcome addition to the cast, bringing a different perspective to the story and injecting the show with a bit more bite. She pushes the season to grow in a new direction, and Lisa serves as a sharp sparring partner for Mickey. Of course, the fact that he’s slept with someone who he has now taken on as a client plays out exactly how one would expect, but at least it is a bit of a fun mess. One scene that the two share where she makes him a dessert is appropriately electric, with the chemistry these actors have proving to be the key to making it work. The moment is ultimately flipped on its head, which is slightly humorous but mostly disappointing as we’re returned to the humdrum of the current case.
Season 2 goes through all the motions — discussions in Mickey’s office about what is needed to put forth the best case are intercut with courtroom scenes, but they all feel rote rather than riveting. Where other recent legal dramas have challenged our conception of the genre, The Lincoln Lawyer is content to play it mostly straight and leave it at that. This is not always bad on its face, as a good version of this show could fill a lazy Saturday afternoon, but Season 2 keeps going in circles without much care put into how it all is constructed. Much like the first season, the pacing of many scenes and the way the dialogue is written is clunky rather than slick. Escalations and twists land with dull thuds when everything is shot so flatly, making it hard to get wrapped up in the drama of the plot.
More than anything, the standout scene’s inclusion of the aforementioned delectable dessert will likely make you wish you were watching the spectacular second season of The Bear instead. Now that is a show that looks and feels like there is a vision behind it rather than just an assembly of scenes. While the subject matter of the two shows could not be more different, there is something interesting in weighing them side-by-side. Both have many a subplot with a team of characters trying to navigate their respective journeys, but The Lincoln Lawyer has next to no patience to give its supporting cast their emotional due. Every moment we cut to what is going on with Cisco (Angus Sampson) and Lornia (Becki Newton) feels like narrative filler. This is not the fault of the actors, as each does what they can with their respective stories, but there is little that is substantive. Even Lisa is not immune from this, with a recurring narrative element involving a whiny podcast bro more of a contrivance to create conflict between her and Mickey rather than something truly dynamic.
There Are Far Better Legal Dramas Out There Than ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’
It is this general sense of manufacturing that represents The Lincoln Lawyer’s most pressing flaw: there is nothing unique about any part of it. It feels adopted from many superior works but isn’t quite capable of rising to their level. While this may be unfair, as few other shows of the last several years could ever compare to the best of the genre, just thinking about The Lincoln Lawyer opposite something like the final season of Better Call Saul makes for a fascinating case study all on its own. The two series have more in common than one would think, but where one succeeds and the other fails is all about how they are presented.
While The Lincoln Lawyer was likely not going to have the same resonance as these successful dramas, being more of a pulpy mystery series itself, it never comes together into anything compelling save for watching Garcia-Rulfo work. While he is fun in the role, this second outing doesn’t resolve the problems of the first and falls into many new ones too. When Mickey catches a glimpse of himself on a bench advertisement near the close of Part 1, you’ll be left wishing that you could be transported to another series with a different face staring back.
Rating: D
The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2 Part 1 premieres on Netflix on July 6.
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