Shonda Rhimes may have left ABC before the luxurious period pieces from Netflix, but her legacy and influence can still be felt on her old network, especially on Thursday evenings. Stepping into the intimidating heels of Scandals Olivia Pope and How do you get away with murder?s Annalize Keating is the intrepid Katey Sagal, who takes on the role of Annie “Rebel” Flynn Ray Bello, not so loosely based on Erin Brockovich (who is also RebelIf you’ve seen that Oscar-winning 2000 movie, the setup might look familiar: A.A sincere, down-to-earth advocate takes on a myriad of underdog cases while her own personal life teeters.
Like Erin, Rebel has three children and three husbands (for the sake of symmetry, the series equates to one child per spouse; also, Erin is separated from all three, while Rebel’s current marriage is in flux at the end of this pilot). She does not have a law degree: A Rebel line straight out of the movie when everyone assumes she’s a lawyer: “I hate lawyers.”A better sentence is when a bystander asks if Rebel is that famous lawyer and someone replies: “She’s not a lawyer. She’s just noisy. “) What she does have is a lot of smarts and moxie that make it possible her to work her way into a multitude of David vs Goliath situations, always on David’s side. Rebel works for an older, real-life lawyer (Andy Garcia’s Cruz takes on the mentor-like role of the real Ed Masry), who is frustrated and overwhelmed by her efforts, but seemingly helpless to combat such a dynamic force of nature.
If Rebel were played by almost everyone except Katey Sagal, her holy, unselfish demeanor would be almost too much to take in. Fortunately, the TV vet’s charisma, polished to perfection on the small screen for decades, makes Rebel’s character a lovable draw instead. Unfortunately, due to the protagonist’s complicated family life, Rebel’s pilot has to offer an enormous amount of exposition to place a not insignificant number of characters: Rebel’s gynecologist son Nate (Kevin Zegers) is the product of the union with her first husband (Matthew Glave), an agent; child number two Cassidy (Lex Scott Davis) is a daughter just like Rebel herself, which makes her want to rebel and work for her corporate lawyer, father Benji (James Lesure), whose sister Lana (Tamala Jones) is Rebel’s best friend; child number three Ziggy (Runaways’ Ariela Barer) is just a teenager from rehab adopted by Rebel 10 years ago with third husband Grady, who may be on the road (John Corbett, who plays a refreshing cad once).
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There are so many cross-references between family ties that the episode actually makes a lot more sense the second time around, even if that means another enduring, dignified dialogue like Rebel sarcastically admonishing her son, “I’m sorry for my condolences to my co-worker. worried, ” or Grady telling Rebel that if she stayed home from work one day, “ Who would save the world? ” While Rebel (like Erin Brockovich) is certainly an admirable figure, you can also see how all those constant crusades don’t reach the happiest of men (though there’s a great moment when Grady complains about how Rebel ‘They’re never around to let him eat, and all four female protagonists scream at once, ‘Make you supper
But this is a pilot, which is why there are so few stars that come straight out of the gate: there is a lot to set up, while also come up with a story interesting enough to keep the viewer coming back. Cassidy has an exemplary courtroom scene (much admired by her new colleague, Nashville ‘s Sam Palladio, who gets to use his own accent one time), Lana shows her worth by being the earth to Rebel’s heaven (take a culprit to boot), and Garcia is excellent as usual. But it is ultimately Sagal, which we will return for. They was apparently so popular with ABC (hey, they did well with her Married with children Co-star, Modern familys Ed O’Neill) that she had her pick from a tower of scripts – and she chose a good one. Rebel put her at the center, to create a fiercely determined yet compassionate and sympathetic character. The supporting cast and guest stars include names such as Battlestar Galacticas Mary McDonnell and Scandal’with Dan Bacatinsky, also bode well for the future of the series.
Showrunner Krista VerAfter all, noff has been in the Shondaland line-up for years, most recentlytly executive produce Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19Rebel ensures that the topically appropriate plots take place not only in the courtroom, but also in the familiar hospital environment, thanks to the career of Nate (and colleague Abigail Spencer, which will be released next week). Find a crowde of passionate speeches, lots of friendships with girlfriends and anvilous explanatory lines like: ‘We do what we can to tilt the scales towards justice’ and ‘“I bring the CEOs of millions of companies to their knees, and not in a sexy way. If Rebel begins to prioritize show to tellhowever, Sagal may have found a new home worthy of her legendary talent.