Netflix is attempting to corner the market on flipping successful box office movies into even more enduring and compelling stories. Granted, Amazon is earning dark-horse status with Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Dead Ringers, but Netflix got an early start, and they are keeping that trend going with The Lincoln Lawyer, which is gearing up for a third season (the streaming world can be kind to us, sometimes) after sweeping up the Nielsen charts upon debut and deftly ousting The Witcher with a sophomore outing.
The Netflix series is ultimately based upon Michael Connelly’s book series of the same name. Those books, interestingly enough, also gave the world “F*cking Bosch,” a.k.a. Detective Harry Bosch of his own rapidly expanding Amazon universe (although the Netflix and Amazon shows are not technically connected). Harry is the half-brother of Mickey Haller, the notorious lawyer who prefers running his law practice from the backseat of his Lincoln. There’s less overhead without an office, you know?
As viewers do know, Mickey had to switch course from his preferred practice location in the show, but let’s not get lost in the sticks. Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer has surpassed the 2011 Matthew McConaughey film, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo now embodies Mickey Haller for the long haul. Let’s talk about what’s going on for the next season.
Plot
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo will once again portray the legal iconoclastic-idealist of the show’s title, and showrunners Ted Humphrey and Dailyn Rodriguez paid tribute to the show’s audience, which “has been so gratifying and wonderful, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to dive back into Michael Connelly’s universe and bring Mickey Haller and his world to the screen again.”
The most-talked about LA Defense attorney will return to the scene of the crime(s) in a third season based upon Connelly’s fifth The Lincoln Lawyer book, The Gods of Guilt. The 2013 novel begins in particularly lawyer-dramatic fashion with Mickey receiving a text message that refers to “187,” which would be the penal code for murder in California. The victim happens to be Mickey’s former client, who is also a former prostitute who returned to that life. Even worse, the allegations might be roundabout-connected to Mickey, who had previously thought that he helped her clean up, but apparently, Mickey could have inadvertently caused her peril via a thread hanging from “the ghosts of his past.” In other words, this case is more than simply personal, it could alternatively redeem or damn him.
Could the TV series differ? Nope, this seems to check out. As Netflix viewers will recall, the second season finale saw Mickey discover the death of Glory Days, and we can expect him to take up that case. Executive producer Ross Fineman has promised, that this is “going to be the toughest case he’s ever had,” and “and there’s a nagging sense that he might have been responsible in some way.”
Additionally, the third season will feature a departure from he book in that it includes Neve Campbell’s character, Maggie (ex-wife of Mickey). She appeared to have left the show in the second season to take a job in San Diego. However, Netflix must have realized that having Campbell back on the scene was good for viewership, so the showrunners decided to include her in flashbacks. As Humphrey and Rodriguez described, these scenes will deliver “some insight into how Mickey Haller became Mickey Haller — not just the brilliant criminal defense lawyer, but the husband, the father, and the man that he would come to be” as well as “propel us into the rest of Season 3.”
Cast
As previously noted, the show has found a way to keep Neve Campbell going. Obviously, Garcia-Rulfo will be back as Mickey, and we can also expect to see Becki Newton (Lorna), Yaya DaCosta (Andrea), Jazz Raycole (Izzy), and Angus Sampson (Cisco) as regulars. Recurring actors include Elliott Gould (Legal Siegal), Krista Warner (Hayley), Devon Graye (Julian La Cosse), and Fiona Rene (Glory Days).
Release Date
The series debuted in May 2022 with a second season arriving in July 2023. Even with the Hollywood strikes in consideration, Netflix is likely to bring the third season before the end of 2024. Filming has been ongoing.
Trailer
No fully trailer exists yet, TV friends. However, here’s an announcement teaser.