Bluff City Law
A father-daughter law firm takes on civil rights cases.
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Bluff City Law is an American legal drama that aired on NBC from September 23 to November 25, 2019, and was canceled after one season in June 2020. Created by Dean Georgaris and Michael Aguilar, the series is set in Memphis, Tennessee, and follows a law firm headed by attorney Elijah Strait (Jimmy Smits) and his daughter Sydney, who take on controversial civil rights cases. Smits, who previously played lawyers on NBC’s L.A. Law and Outlaw, marks his third prime-time role as an attorney with this show.
Cast
Jimmy Smits portrays Elijah Strait, a civil rights lawyer regarded as one of the most accomplished litigators of his generation. Caitlin McGee plays Sydney Strait, Elijah's daughter and a former corporate attorney who returns to her father's firm despite lingering tensions from her departure three years earlier. Barry Sloane appears as Jake Reilly, a senior partner at Strait & Associates. Michael Luwoye plays Anthony Little, a former cop and partner at the firm who attended law school with Sydney.
Stony Blyden portrays Emerson Howe, an introverted paralegal working under Elijah; the pilot episode reveals he is Sydney's half-brother from an affair her father had, who her father has subsequently adopted. Jayne Atkinson plays Della Rose Bedford, a gay senior partner at Strait & Associates and Elijah's oldest friend and confidant. MaameYaa Boafo appears as Briana Logan, a seasoned paralegal and investigator who mentors Emerson. Josh Kelly plays Robbie Ellis, Sydney's ex-husband and the chief of detectives at the Memphis Police Department.
Production
NBC gave the production a pilot order on January 10, 2019, with the pilot written by Dean Georgaris who executive produces alongside David Janollari and Michael Aguilar. Production companies involved include David Janollari Entertainment and Universal Television.
On May 6, 2019, the series received a series order together with Sunnyside. A day after that, it was announced the series would premiere in fall 2019 and air on Monday nights at 10:00 p.m. The Commercial Appeal reported by June that filming would likely take place on location in Memphis starting July 22 for an initial order of 10 episodes.
On August 8, 2019, NBC ordered six extra scripts, bringing the script order to 16. On October 17, 2019, that extra script order was canceled and the order was reduced back to 10 episodes. The series premiered on September 23, 2019. On June 15, 2020, NBC officially canceled the series after one season.
Casting announcements included Jimmy Smits, Caitlin McGee, Barry Sloane, and Michael Luwoye in February 2019, with Stony Blyden, Jayne Atkinson, and MaameYaa Boafo joining in March 2019.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Bluff City Law (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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