''Boston Legal'' is an American

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...

for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to December 8, 2008. The series stars

James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960; ) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, f ...

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

and Candice Bergen. It is a direct spin-off and continuation of the TV series ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

'', with several characters from the eighth season of that series moving to ''Boston Legal''. While never a

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

smash hit, the show was critically acclaimed. It received 26

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nominations, including for Outstanding Drama Series in 2007 and 2008 and a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

in 2005.

Plot

''Boston Legal'' follows the exploits of former ''Practice'' character Alan Shore, and his passionate co-workers, at the fictional offices of Crane, Poole & Schmidt. The high-end litigation firm, based in Boston, handles both civil and criminal law cases. The series plays on the chemistry between smarmy Shore and loose cannon Denny Crane. Middle-aged Shore is wry and wily, while mid-70s Crane (suffering from the early stages of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

) is flamboyant and eccentric. Shore often uses questionable methods to win cases. Crane is obsessed with the reputation of his name, which he frequently repeats. Though political opposites, Shore and Crane are best friends. Episodes more often than not end with the two relaxing and musing together on the firm's balcony (while smoking cigars and drinking scotch whisky).

Cast

''The Practice'' characters

as Alan Shore (''

'' season 8; seasons 1–5) * Rhona Mitra as Tara Wilson (''

'' season 8; season 1; recurring season 2) * Lake Bell as Sally Heep (''

'' season 8; season 1; guest season 3) *

as Denny Crane (''

'' season 8; seasons 1–5)

Main characters

Monica Potter Monica Potter (June 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles in the films ''Con Air'' (1997), ''Patch Adams (film), Patch Adams'' (1998), and ''Along Came a Spider (film), Along Came a Spider'' (2001). She also appear ...

as Lori Colson (season 1; recurring season 2) * Mark Valley as Brad Chase (seasons 1–3; recurring season 4) * Candice Bergen as Shirley Schmidt (seasons 1–5, starting with episode 11) * René Auberjonois as Paul Lewiston (seasons 1–3; recurring season 4–5) *

Julie Bowen Julie Bowen (born Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer; March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She starred as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom '' Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received widespread critical acclaim. She won the Primetime Emmy A ...

as Denise Bauer (seasons 2–3; guest season 5) * Justin Mentell as Garrett Wells (season 2) * Ryan Michelle Bathe as Sara Holt (season 2) * Craig Bierko as Jeffrey Coho (season 3) *

Constance Zimmer Constance Zimmer (born October 11, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence playing Dana Gordon on the HBO series ''Entourage (American TV series), Entourage'' (2005–11) and List of Boston Legal characters#Claire Simms, Claire Sim ...

as Claire Simms (season 3) * Gary Anthony Williams as Clarence Bell (seasons 3–4) * John Larroquette as Carl Sack (seasons 4–5) * Christian Clemenson as Jerry Espenson (seasons 4–5; recurring season 2–3) * Tara Summers as Katie Lloyd (seasons 4–5) *

Saffron Burrows Saffron Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is a British and American actress who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' '' Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' '' Gangster No. 1,'' '' Enigma,'' ''Troy,'' '' Reign Over Me'', and '' Th ...

as Lorraine Weller (season 4) * Taraji P. Henson as Whitney Rome (season 4)

Production

Prior to the show's premiere, it had a working title of ''Fleet Street'', an

allusion Allusion, or alluding, is a figure of speech that makes a reference to someone or something by name (a person, object, location, etc.) without explaining how it relates to the given context, so that the audience must realize the connection in the ...

to the real street in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

where the fictitious Crane, Poole & Schmidt had its offices. The working title was later modified to ''The Practice: Fleet Street'', but this title was dropped in favor of ''Boston Legal''. The real building shown as the law office is located at 500 Boylston Street, 1.4 miles away from Fleet Street. The American producers of the series also hired the British writer and barrister John Mortimer (creator of the British legal series ''

Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, ...

'') as a consultant for ''Boston Legal''. The show's pilot was originally produced with former ''The Practice'' stars

and Rhona Mitra, guest stars

and Lake Bell. It featured an expanded storyline with Larry Miller as Edwin Poole, Mark Valley as Brad Chase and John Michael Higgins as senior partner Jerry Austin.

was later cast as junior partner Lori Colson and René Auberjonois as senior partner Paul Lewiston, replacing John Michael Higgins. The pilot premiered on ABC on October 3, 2004. On November 30, 2004, it was announced that Candice Bergen would join the cast as senior partner Shirley Schmidt, a character the producers had planned to introduce for several months. Lake Bell left the series mid-season, and René Auberjonois was promoted to main cast member.

Anthony Heald Anthony Heald (born August 25, 1944) is an American character actor known for portraying Hannibal Lecter's jailer, Dr. Frederick Chilton, in '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and '' Red Dragon'' (2002), and for playing vice principal Scot ...

and Betty White also made regular guest appearances, having both appeared as the same characters on ''The Practice''. On April 5, 2005, the series was renewed for a second season, although ABC put the show on hiatus in favor of ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'' The success of ''Grey's Anatomy'' placed ''Boston Legal'' on hold until autumn 2005, when it returned for an extended season of 27 episodes. Both Rhona Mitra and

left the series during the hiatus, while

was cast as Denise Bauer. Ryan Michelle Bathe and Justin Mentell were later cast as junior associates Sara Holt and Garrett Wells. The second episode of season 3 introduced Craig Bierko as Jeffrey Coho and

as Claire Simms. In episode 11, guest star Gary Anthony Williams joined the cast, with Craig Bierko leaving in episode 15. On June 4, 2007, ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' announced that René Auberjonois,

, Mark Valley and

would not return for season 4. On June 13, 2007, it was announced that actor John Larroquette (former ''The Practice'' guest star) would join the cast as a senior partner transferred from the New York offices of Crane, Poole & Schmidt, with actress Tara Summers joining as a young associate. Christian Clemenson (former ''The Practice'' guest star), who had guest-starred occasionally as Jerry Espenson (a brilliant but socially inept lawyer), was promoted to main cast. Production also stated that René Auberjonois, Mark Valley, Julie Bowen, and Constance Zimmer may return in guest roles. On July 2, 2007, it was reported that both René Auberjonois and Mark Valley would return in recurring roles; It was also announced that Taraji P. Henson would join the cast in season 4, with

appearing in a recurring role. Burrows later became a full-time cast member. On May 13, 2008, ABC announced that ''Boston Legal'' would return for a fifth and final season in the fall. Saffron Burrows did not return as a series regular, having joined the cast of '' My Own Worst Enemy''. The final season consisted of 13 episodes to reach the "100" episode mark, which facilitated successful syndication. There was speculation that ''Boston Legal'' might receive an additional episode order, if the show had another strong showing in the

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

and produced solid ratings in its new fall time slot. The season began airing on September 22, 2008. On June 18 and June 20, 2008, it was reported that Gary Anthony Williams and Taraji P. Henson would not return for season 5 as Clarence Bell and Whitney Rome, respectively. On July 17, 2008, ''Boston Legal'' was nominated for a series-high seven Emmy nominations, including for Best Drama Series for the second consecutive year. Spader, Bergen and Shatner were each nominated for their respective roles. ''Boston Legals two-hour-long series finale aired on Monday, December 8, 2008 at 9:00PM Eastern/8:00PM Central. David E. Kelley stated in an interview with the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'' on December 7, 2008 that it was ABC's decision to end ''Boston Legal'', and that he "had to fight to bring it back for a short season of 13 episodes". The show was noted for frequently breaking the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...

throughout its run.

Episodes

Reception

Ratings and audience profile

According to

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

, ''Boston Legal'' drew the richest viewing audience on television, based on the concentration of high-income viewers in its young adult audience (Adult 18–49 index w/$100k+ annual income). Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of ''Boston Legal'' on ABC. ''Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. All times mentioned in this section were in the Eastern and Pacific time zones.''

Awards

: * 2005 Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (James Spader) * 2005 Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (William Shatner) * 2006 Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Christian Clemenson) * 2007 Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (James Spader) ** James Spader also won the 2004 Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the same role on ''The Practice''. ** William Shatner also won the 2004 Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the same role on ''The Practice''.

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

: * 2004 Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie (William Shatner)

Peabody Awards The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

* 2005, as David E. Kelley Productions, in association with 20th Century Fox Television65th Annual Peabody Awards
May 2006.

Home media

As a former ABC series, the show is available for streaming on Disney platform

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

References

External links

* * * {{Portal bar, Television, United States 2000s American comedy-drama television series 2000s American workplace comedy television series 2004 American television series debuts 2008 American television series endings 2000s American legal drama television series American television spinoffs American English-language television shows Legal comedies Peabody Award–winning television programs The Practice Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series created by David E. Kelley Television shows set in Boston Television Academy Honors winners Television series about lawyers American Broadcasting Company comedy-dramas