Katherine Heigl is back on TV with Doubt. And she’s like the Meredith Grey (Grey’s Anatomy) in the legal drama.
I wonder if she is still kicking herself for quitting the Shonda Rhimes Emmy award-winning series after five seasons. For those that need a memory boost, she played Dr Izzie Stevens.
After being cast in a slew of rom-coms after quitting the medical series, she weathered a few flops along the way. And there was a time when it seemed like she was getting pigeonholed in big-screen movies.
She returned to TV with State of Affairs, a political drama. But that flopped.
Now she's back, braving the critics with this show.
Look, she’s no Alicia Florrick (The Good Wife) or Jessica Pearson (Suits), but she does a commendable job as a tenacious, very self-righteous Sadie Ellis.
This series has a fantastic cast: Dulé Hill (Psych) is Albert Cobb, Ellis’s good friend and colleague. Elliot Gould (Ray Donovan) plays Isaiah Roth, the head of the firm as well as a sort of father-figure to all of them.
Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black), plays Cameron Wirth, who is also one of the leading lawyers. She’s feisty and loves playing hardball.
Laverne Cox. Picture: Supplied
Kobi Libii (Nick Brady), who many will remember from Madam Secretary, and Dreama Walker (Tiffany Simon), from The Good Wife and Don’t Trust the B**** in Apartment 23, add an interesting dynamic to things as they compete as junior associates.
Of course, a stellar cast does not make a hit series. And the network pulled the plug on this faster than you could say, “cut”. It’s gone down in the annals as one of the shortest-lived TV shows.
That said, though, I didn’t think it was particularly awful.
Ellis was given an interesting back story. Her mother is serving time for crime and it’s become a sort of indictment on her. It probably explains why she is so by-the-book when it comes to her career. Not that she doesn’t have her slips - her current case, for example. She’s defending a self-sacrificing - not to mention drop-dead gorgeous - paediatric surgeon recently accused of murdering his girlfriend 24 years earlier. He and Ellis shared an accidental liplock somewhere.
But that doesn’t take away from the fact that she’s good at her job. And she won’t compromise on her principles for anyone.
Cox adds some entertaining sassiness to things. She plays her role with panache. And can I just say, she looks fabulous when she’s not in orange.
Hill channels his more serious side in the show, and his look attests to this. He is dressed in powerhouse suits. His beard completes the package. He matches Ellis with his wit and conviction.
undefinedRoth is very nurturing in his role. He’s also the voice of reason and a mentor to all of them.
While there is one major story arc that’s running through the series, there are other interesting cases that offer an entertaining distraction.
Again, the fighting-the-good-fight theme reminded me a little of The Good Wife.
There’s a scene at the end of episode two, where Gould and Libii share a drink on the balcony and bond. It’s reminiscent of what James Spader and William Shatner used to do in Boston Legal.
Doubt follows a tried-and-tested formula. And, for the most part, it works as a form of escapism.
* Doubt airs on Vuzu Amp (DStv Channel 103) on Sundays at 5pm.