''Common Law'' is an American television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that premiered on ABC on September 28, 1996. The show stars Greg Giraldo as a Latino lawyer at a mostly white law firm. The series was created by Rob LaZebnik and produced by

Witt/Thomas Productions Witt/Thomas Productions is an American television and movie production company run by TV producers Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas. The company was consistently productive between its founding in 1973 and 1999, but is still active, producing ...

in association with Warner Bros. Television. Due to low ratings, the series was pulled from ABC's schedule after four episodes had aired.

Synopsis

''Common Law'' focuses on John Alvarez ( Greg Giraldo), the seemingly-token Latino at a large,

WASP A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

y law firm. John has a degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

but never forgets his working-class

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

roots, nor the idea that law is about protecting the "little guy" from the major corporations that are his firm's key clients. He has started a clandestine affair with fellow attorney Nancy Slaton (

Megyn Price Megyn Price is an American actress, best known for her roles on television as Claudia Finnerty in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox/The WB, WB sitcom ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–05), Audrey Bingham on the CBS sitcom ''Rules of Engagement (TV se ...

), clandestine because the firm forbids lawyers from dating each other to minimize claims of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

. To the disgust of his barber father, Luis (

Gregory Sierra Gregory Joseph Sierra (January 25, 1937 – January 4, 2021) was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Sergeant Chano Amengual on ''Barney Miller''; Julio Fuentes, the Puerto Rican neighbor of Fred G. Sanford on '' Sanford and Son ...

), John wears his hair long and plays guitar; his father views him as a

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

. Greg Giraldo was, in reality, a graduate of Harvard Law School, nearly top of his class, and became a lawyer for a while before becoming a comedian. After a year as an attorney, Giraldo fell out of love with the profession and launched his comedy career, only referring to his law background very occasionally on the stand-up circuit until he starred in this series. Supporters of ''Common Law'' pointed to the Saturday 9:30/8:30 time slot as a factor in its poor ratings and subsequent cancellation despite having the long-running ABC sitcom '' Coach'' as its lead-in. The series garnered much praise from the Latino community, who were happy to see a character and entertainer of Latino descent starring in such an upscale role. Subsequently, they gave ABC much backlash when the show was canceled.

Cast

* Greg Giraldo as lawyer John Alvarez *

as lawyer Nancy Slaton *

David Pasquesi David Pasquesi (born December 22, 1960) is an American actor and comedian. His screen credits include '' Father of the Bride'' (1991), ''Common Law'' (1996), '' Strangers with Candy'' (1999), '' The Watcher'' (2000), '' Employee of the Month'' ...

as Henry Beckett * Carlos Jacott as Peter Gutenhimmel * Diana-Maria Riva as receptionist Maria Marquez *

as John's father Luis Alvarez * John Di Maggio as John's childhood friend Francis * Roxane Wilson as Karen

Episodes

References

*Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, '' The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows''

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0115142, Common Law 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms 1996 American television series debuts 1996 American television series endings 1990s American legal television series American English-language television shows Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in New York City Hispanic and Latino American sitcoms American Broadcasting Company sitcoms