''Your Honor'' is an American drama television series starring

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor. After taking minor roles in television, he established himself as a leading actor in both comedic and dramatic Bryan Cranston filmography, works on stage and screen. He has received ...

, adapted from the Israeli TV series '. It premiered on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

on December 6, 2020, and ended on March 19, 2023. While ordered as a

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

, in August 2021, the series was renewed for a second season that premiered on January 15, 2023. In July 2022, it was reported that the second season would be its last.

Premise

Season 1: Michael Desiato is a prominent and respected

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

judge. When his teenage son Adam kills another teenager in an accidental hit-and-run collision, Michael encourages his son to turn himself in, but quickly changes his mind when he discovers the boy his son killed was the son of a mob kingpin. Michael decides to protect his son, igniting a dangerous game of lies, secrets, and difficult choices with tragic and fatal consequences. Season 2: After the events of Season 1, Michael moves on to try to finally put an end to the mob that has ruined the lives of so many. Meanwhile, an enemy of the mob, a

drug cartel A drug cartel is a criminal organization composed of independent drug lords who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the illegal drug trade. Drug cartels form with the purpose of controlling the supply of the i ...

known as the Desire Gang, makes its move, which risks causing past truths to come to light. Michael is forced to make difficult decisions as he becomes an undercover agent spying on the mob while seeking the culprit(s) behind the death of his wife. Past consequences intrude, leading Michael down a dangerous path.

Cast and characters

Main

as Michael Desiato, a

judge, willing to do anything to protect his son. *

Hunter Doohan Hunter Doohan (born January 18, 1994) is an American actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' Your Honor'' (2020), ''Wednesday'' (2022), and '' Daredevil: Born Again'' (2025). Life and career Doohan ...

as Adam Desiato (season 1), Michael's son who is involved in a hit and run that resulted in the death of the son of the head of an organized crime family in New Orleans. *

Hope Davis Hope Davis (born March 23, 1964) is an American actress. Her performances on stage and screen have earned various awards. She made her film debut in Joel Schumacher's '' Flatliners'' in 1990. She then starred in the critically acclaimed films ...

as Gina Baxter, the ruthless wife of a New Orleans mob boss and the mother of the boy whom Adam killed *

Sofia Black-D'Elia Sofia Black-D'Elia (born December 24, 1991) is an American actress. She is known for her television roles, such as Tea Marvelli in '' Skins'', Sage Spence in ''Gossip Girl'', Andrea Cornish in ''The Night Of'', and Frannie Latimer in '' Your Ho ...

as Frannie Latimer (season 1), Adam's love interest and teacher who knows his secret * Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Charlie Figaro, a politician with connections to organized crime and Michael's best friend *

Michael Stuhlbarg Michael Stuhlbarg ( ; born July 5, 1968) is an American actor. Known for his character roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition ...

as Jimmy Baxter, the boss of an organized crime family, Gina's husband and the father of the boy whom Adam killed *

Carmen Ejogo Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo (; born 22 October 1973)

as Lee Delamere (season 1; recurring season 2), Michael's former protégé and a lawyer whom he convinces to take Kofi's case * Andrene Ward-Hammond as "Big Mo" (season 2; recurring season 1), the leader of Desire, a criminal gang in the

Lower Ninth Ward The Lower Ninth Ward is a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As the name implies, it is part of the 9th Ward of New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward is often thought of as the entire area within New Orleans downriver of the Ind ...

* Keith Machekanyanga as Trey "Little Mo" Monroe (season 2; recurring season 1), Big Mo's nephew and right-hand man *

Benjamin Flores Jr. Benjamin Christopher Flores Jr. (born July 24, 2002), also known as BNJII (formerly known as Lil’ P-Nut), is an American rapper & actor. In music, he is known for his song "You Might Be the One". In acting, Flores starred as Louie Preston on t ...

as Eugene "Little Man" Jones (season 2; recurring season 1), the younger brother of Kofi Jones and a member of Desire *

Lilli Kay Lilli Kay is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Penelope Fowler in the Netflix series '' Chambers'' (2019) and Sofia "Fia" Baxter in the Showtime drama series '' Your Honor'' (2020–2023). She also appeared on the fifth season ...

as Sofia "Fia" Baxter (season 2; recurring season 1), Gina and Jimmy's daughter who becomes Adam's girlfriend unaware that Adam killed her brother Rocco * Jimi Stanton as Carlo Baxter (season 2; recurring season 1), Gina and Jimmy's eldest son, who was released from

Angola Prison The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

after Adam killed his brother Rocco

Special guest stars

Margo Martindale Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on '' ...

as Elizabeth Guthrie, a state senator, Michael's mother-in-law and Adam's maternal grandmother *

Maura Tierney Maura Lynn Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom ''NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama '' ER'' (1999–2009) and Helen Solloway on the myst ...

as Fiona McKee (season 1), a prosecutor at the same courthouse where Michael works

Recurring

Amy Landecker Amy Lauren Landecker (born September 30, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Sarah Pfefferman on the Amazon Prime Video, Amazon comedy-drama series ''Transparent (TV series), Transparent'' (2014–2019), as well as her supp ...

as Nancy Costello, a detective Michael turns to for help *

Tony Curran Tony Curran is a Scottish actor who has appeared in the film '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006), the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010), the miniseries ''Roots'' (2016), and the Netflix historical drama film ''Outlaw King'' (2018). He appear ...

as Frankie, an associate of Jimmy's criminal organization * Lamar Johnson as Kofi Jones (season 1), a young man who was forced by Little Mo to take the fall for Adam's hit and run *

Chet Hanks Chester Marlon Hanks (born August 4, 1990) is an American model, actor and musician. The son of actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, he has had recurring roles on television series ''Empire'', '' Shameless'' and '' Your Honor'', as well as guest ro ...

as Joey Maldini, Carlo's best friend who also works for Jimmy * David Maldonado as Lieutenant Brendan Cusack, a corrupt

NOPD The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Orleans Parish, while the city itself is div ...

officer with ties to Jimmy, the Desire gang and Charlie *

Cullen Moss Cullen Moss (born July 8, 1975) is an American film, television and voice actor. He is best known for his roles on ''Outer Banks (2020-present),'' '' One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012) and ''The Notebook'' (2004). Early life Moss is a native of Wins ...

as Detective Rudy Cunningham, a corrupt officer who is connected to various crimes committed throughout New Orleans *

Melanie Nicholls-King Melanie Nicholls-King is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for playing Cheryl in the drama series ''The Wire'', and for her portrayal of Officer Noelle Williams in the drama series ''Rookie Blue''. Personal life Nicholls-King is from Toron ...

as "Female" Jones (season 1), Kofi and Eugene's mother * Sampley Barinaga as Wesley (season 1), Adam's best friend *

Lorraine Toussaint Lorraine Toussaint ( born April 4, 1960) is a Trinidadian–born actress based in the United States. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. To ...

as Judge Sara LeBlanc (season 1), the chief justice at the same courthouse where Michael works * Benjamin Wadsworth as Rocco Baxter (season 1), Gina and Jimmy's youngest son who was accidentally killed by Adam. *

Rosie Perez Rosa Maria Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came at age 24 with her portrayal of Tina in the film '' Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's performance in '' Fear ...

as Olivia Delmont (season 2), an assistant U.S Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana *

Mark Margolis Mark Margolis (, ; November 26, 1939 – August 3, 2023) was an American actor known for his portrayal of the character Hector Salamanca in ''Breaking Bad'' (2009–2011) and '' Better Call Saul'' (2016–2022). His performance in ''Breaking Ba ...

as Carmine Conti (season 2), Gina's father * Mark O'Brien as Father Jay (season 2), the Roman Catholic priest of the Baxter family *

Ciara Renee Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, '' Goodies ...

as Janelle (season 2), Big Mo's love interest who is a singer * Gavin 'Chief' Meredith as Chris (season 2), a former Desire member who becomes disgruntled with the way Big Mo does business

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2020–21)

Season 2 (2023)

Production

The series was first announced as being developed by CBS Studios in August 2017, with a series commitment in October 2017. Bryan Cranston was announced to headline the series in late January 2019. In August 2019,

Carmen Ejogo Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo (; born 22 October 1973)

and Isiah Whitlock Jr. were added to the cast. In September 2019,

was cast in a leading capacity, with Lilli Kay and

joining in a recurring role.

, Keith Machekanyanga, Lamar Johnson and

Benjamin Flores, Jr. Benjamin Christopher Flores Jr. (born July 24, 2002), also known as BNJII (formerly known as Lil’ P-Nut), is an American rapper & actor. In music, he is known for his song "You Might Be the One". In acting, Flores starred as Louie Preston on t ...

were added in October 2019, with

joining in December 2019. In October 2020,

joined the cast in a recurring role. Principal photography for the series began on September 16, 2019, in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, but was suspended in March 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Production resumed on October 7, 2020, and concluded on November 25, 2020. The series premiered on December 6, 2020 on Showtime. On August 24, 2021, Showtime renewed the series for a second season. On July 5, 2022, it was reported that Cranston said that the second season would be its final season on

Dax Shepard Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker and podcaster. Since 2018, he has hosted '' Armchair Expert'', a podcast in which he interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives. Shepa ...

's ''

Armchair Expert ''Armchair Expert'' is a weekly podcast hosted by American actors Dax Shepard and Monica Padman. Each podcast features Shepard and Padman interviewing celebrities, journalists, and academics about "the messiness of being human". The podcast pr ...

'' podcast. On the same day, it was also announced that filming for the second season has begun, and that Joey Hartstone had been named the new showrunner with Keith Machekanyanga promoted to a series regular for the second season. The following week, it was reported that

was cast in a recurring role while Andrene Ward-Hammond was promoted to as a series regular for the second season. On August 1, 2022, Jimi Stanton, Kay, and Flores were promoted as series regulars for the second season. On October 11, 2022,

and Mark O'Brien joined the cast in recurring capacities for the second season. Filming for the second season began on July 18, 2022 and concluded on December 16, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The second season premiered on January 15, 2023 on Showtime.

Reception

Critical response

For the first season, review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported an approval rating of 50% based on 50 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Bryan Cranston is powerful as yet another father with nothing to lose, but ''Your Honor'' too closely resembles other, better shows about good men doing bad things to warrant its relentlessly grim proceedings."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

gave the first season a weighted average score of 60 out of 100 based on 29 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has an approval rating of 67% based 6 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.

Ratings

Season 1

Season 2

Future

In a panel discussion hosted by ''

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

'' in April 2023, Cranston indicated that his comments on the ''Armchair Expert'' podcast regarding the second season had been misconstrued, and that Showtime was "interested" in a third season, but that he might only be involved as a producer on future seasons. On May 28, 2024, Cranston announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the series would become available to stream on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

beginning May 31. In July 2024, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported that the series had become a

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...

on Netflix, becoming one of the most-viewed shows on the platform that year, performing particularly well with viewers over 35, as well as African-American and Hispanic audiences. In response to its success, new talks began to possibly revive the series for a third season.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Showtime Network programming 2020 American television series debuts 2023 American television series endings 2020s American crime drama television series 2020s American legal television series American television series based on Israeli television series American thriller television series American English-language television shows Showtime (TV network) original programming Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television series about the American Mafia Television series by CBS Studios Television shows filmed in New Orleans Television shows set in New Orleans Works about corruption