Kathy Bates kicks ass. She won an Academy Award for her performance as a psychotic fan who tortures a bestselling mystery writer played by James Caan in 1990’s Misery. She won our hearts in 1991’s Fried Green Tomatoes when she takes revenge on two women who steal her parking space (“Face it lady—we’re younger and faster”) by rear-ending their car six times (“Face it girls—I’m older and have more insurance.”)
Now she’s back in a great vehicle and we realize how much we’ve missed her. In NBC’s Harry’s Law, Bates plays Harriet Korn, a burnt out patent attorney. After being fired by her blue chip law firm, Harry opens a neighborhood legal practice in an abandoned shoe store in a seedy part of town. Rather than the big corporations she used to represent, Harry now finds herself defending street toughs, mediating disputes between gang members, and fighting for asylum for albinos fleeing torture in their native country of Tanzania.
Whether in the courtroom or on the street, Harry is fearless. When Damien (Johnny Ray Gill), the neighborhood’s local enforcement, shows up to shake Harry down for a weekly protection fee, Harry pulls our a 45 and politely tells him no. But she makes him a deal: watch over my place and “when” (not “if”) you get arrested, I’ll defend you. That “when” arrives shortly thereafter, Harry has her first client, and Damien becomes a continuing character.
Gill is part of a terrific supporting cast. Jenna, Harry’s quirky assistant, played by Brittany Snow, is over the moon when she discovers boxes and boxes of designer shoes, leftovers from the failed shoe store. Why not sell them? Soon she’s arranging the Pradas and Christian Louboutins around the law books. Snow is the ying to Bates’s yang. Where Harry is dark and brooding, quick with an insult, slow with a compliment, Snow’s Jenna is all light and sunshine, eager to see the law office/shoe store succeed.
Adam Branch (Nathan Corddry) leaves a lucrative law practice to join Harry’s shaky venture, despite her efforts to discourage his questionable job move. A young attorney, he is tired of the law firm treadmill and excited about Harry’s adventure, perhaps more excited and optimistic than Harry herself. Aml Ameen plays the former street kid who is turning his life around, working towards his law degree and serving as Harry’s researcher. With neighborhood clients discovering Harry’s law practice, there are many cases and never a dull moment.
Harry’s courtroom speeches are inspiring, no surprise since they are written by Emmy Award-winning writer/producer David E. Kelley (Boston Legal, The Practice, Ally McBeal). Harry’s Law is the anti-law legal program. Kelley has abandoned the conventional setting of a law firm to show the legal process in an entirely new way.No stranger to controversy, Kelley’s plot lines often mirror the headlines, the albinos fleeing torture in their native land just one example. The dialogue, often emotional, never seems overdone or maudlin. And with Bates doing what she does best, there are many riveting moments, reminding us once again that legal drama makes great television.
