''The Defenders'' 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,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

comedy-drama television series that was ordered to series by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

for the 2010–11 television season. The series originally ran from September 22, 2010 to March 11, 2011. Set in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, the show involves a pair of defense attorneys who go all out to help their clients while keeping their personal lives in order. The show is loosely based on real-life Vegas lawyers Michael Cristalli and Marc Saggese. This series is not related to the 1960s CBS series of the same name. In October 2010, CBS announced that the show had been picked up for a 18-episode season with the option to produce a full 22-episode season. In January 2011, CBS announced that ''The Defenders'' was moving from its Wednesday timeslot to the Friday timeslot vacated by ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

'' which aired on NBC and then CBS for seven seasons, with '' Blue Bloods'' temporarily moving to the timeslot ''The Defenders'' vacated. ''Blue Bloods'' returned to its Friday timeslot in February 2011 owing to the series premiere of '' Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior''. ''The Defenders'' aired the last six episodes of its season on Fridays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern/7:00 p.m. Central.

Jim Belushi James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for the role of Jim on the sitcom ''According to Jim'' (2001–2009). His other television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), '' Total Security'' ...

and

Jerry O'Connell Jerry O'Connell (born February 17, 1974) is an American actor and television host. He is known for his roles as Quinn Mallory in the television series '' Sliders'', Andrew Clements in ''My Secret Identity'', Vern Tessio in the film '' Stand by ...

star as the defense attorneys of the show's title. On May 15, 2011, CBS canceled the series after one season.

Cast and characters

Main

as Pete Kaczmarek, a freewheeling playboy lawyer *

as Nick Morelli, Pete's partner, who is very passionate about his work and the clients he helps *

Jurnee Smollett-Bell Jurnee Diana Smollett (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, including '' On Our Own'' (1994–1995) and ''Full House'' (1992–1994). She gained greater recognition ...

as Lisa Tyler, a young lawyer who worked her way through law school as a dancer *Tanya Fischer as Zoey Waters, Pete and Nick's assistant

Recurring

Gillian Vigman Gillian Vigman (born January 28, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has played Jack Box's Wife in many Jack in the Box commercials, and is a recurring cast member of the sketch comedy series ''MADtv''. Vigman also sta ...

as Jessica, Nick's estranged wife *

Teddy Sears Edward M. Sears (born April 6, 1977) is an American actor, known for his roles as Richard Patrick Woolsley on the TNT legal drama series ''Raising the Bar'', Patrick on the first season of FX anthology horror drama ''American Horror Story'' ( ...

as Thomas Cole, a prosecuting attorney *

Glynn Turman Glynn Russell Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969), high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson ...

as Judge Bob Owens * Dan Aykroyd as Judge Maximus Hunter

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Defenders, The 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American workplace comedy television series 2010s American workplace drama television series 2010 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings 2010s American legal television series CBS original programming Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Las Vegas