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Cast: Victor Garber (Alias), Kerr Smith (Charmed), Eamonn Walker (Oz), Rebecca Mader (The Devil Wears Prada)
Airs: Wednesdays at 9pm on FOX
Timeslot competition: Lost (ABC), Criminal Minds (CBS), One Tree Hill (The CW), The Biggest Loser (NBC)
UK pickup? Living TV
Plot in a nutshell: Each episode follows the dream team of lawyers at top law firm TNT&G as they attempt to demonstrate their client's innocence.
What's it all about? Ron Trott (Garber), Tom Nicholson (Smith), Alden Tuller (Maden) & Luther Graves (Walker) are the dream team of lawyers at TNT&G, a firm reknowned for its successes in newsworthy and often controversial cases. Each episode follows a different case, from the client seeking their help, to preparing for trial, managing the PR spin, trying the case and ultimately, hearing the verdict. At the end of each episode we see the true story of what happened.
Does it work? Absolutely. Justice is a suprisingly easy and compelling watch - unlike many dramas of this ilk, it doesn't attempt to be overly clever or twisty just for the sake of it. The hook is whether you believe the story being fed by the client in question, ensuring you stick around for the big reveal just before the credits roll. And thankfully, the contrived emotional drama between the lead characters that often ruins many US dramas is mostly absent here. Instead we have a slow-paced alternative, with brief glimpses into the psyches of our leads that are secondary to the story. Think the storytelling of Numb3rs with the execution of House.
You'll like this if you liked... House, CSI
Chances of success: The show suffers from being in the Lost slot but because of various hiatuses, only goes up against the ABC powerhouse just twice before it moves to the pre-Idol 8pm slot in January. Early signs are encouraging - but this could well be a show that slips through the cracks because of its yo-yo scheduling. It would have stood a much better shot if it had launched, House-style, at mid-season with Idol as its lead-in. But certainly if quality is the gauge, Justice is a winner.
