The landmark comedy-dramaBetter Call Saulwas surely the best legal show of the 2010s, and its success mirrorsBoston Legal’s. A spinoff from Vince Gilligan’s Gilligan’s earlier groundbreaking crime dramaBreaking Bad, Better Call Saul struck a lighter tone than its forerunner, while existing in the same universe and featuring several of the same major characters, foremost among whom was Bob Odenkirk’s fraudulent lawyer Saul Goodman. ButBreaking Badwasn’t the first hit TV show to spawn a darkly funny law-themed spinoff. A decade earlier, legal drama specialist David E. Kelley did the same thing, with similarly superlative results.
Just as Gilligan took Saul fromBreaking Bad’s extensive cast of charactersand built a new show around him, Kelley placed a relatively minor character from his seminal legal-procedural seriesThe Practiceat the center of a spinoff.Boston Legalis sharper than its parent show, but also more idiosyncratic, starringJames Spader as the greatest TV characterhe played before becoming Robert California inThe Officeand Raymond Reddington inThe Blacklist. Applying the comedy-drama blueprint of crime shows likeMonkto the legal-procedural subgenre,Boston Legallaid the foundations for whatBetter Call Saulachieved the following decade.
The Practice’s Spinoff Boston Legal Was The Best Legal Drama On TV For 4 Years
Boston Legal Was The Outstanding Courtroom Series Of The Mid-2000s
Between 2004 and 2008,Boston Legalwas quite simply thebest legal drama showon television. James Spader’s character Alan Shore had only appeared in one season of its parent seriesThe Practice, during its final 22 episodes, butSpader stole the show to such an extent that David E. Kelley decided he deserved top billing himself. Shore was an unorthodox legal practitioner with an unconventional lifestyle, and a proclivity for breaking the rules to win cases. His various neuroses, including a phobia of clowns, often affected his work in ways perhaps only private investigator Adrian Monk could relate to.
As a maverick defense attorney, however,Shore snatched victories from the jaws of defeatthroughoutBoston Legal’s five seasons, frequently mounting powerful cases for defendants who’d ordinarily be chewed up and spat out by the justice system. At his best, he could articulate passionate arguments in the cause of issues such as women’s rights and climate change, all while captivating a courtroom with clever turns of phrase and bringing a smile to our faces.
Alan Shore’s arrogance and indifference to legal protocols might not have won him many friends in his profession, but his eccentric brilliance as a TV character meant thatBoston Legaldelivered both big laughs and compelling storylines. What’s more, hisOdd Couple-esque camaraderie with law firm superior Denny Crane, who was played by William Shatner, gaveBoston Legalmore heart and depth than most legal dramas could dream of.
Like Better Call Saul, Boston Legal Was Just As Good As Its Parent Show If Not Better
Within fan communities, debate continues to rage about whetherBetter Call Saulactually surpassedBreaking Badas the better seriesof the two. There’s no question that between them, they constitute one of the greatest TV franchises of all time, with perhaps onlyThe Sopranoseven comparable within the crime genre. Similarly,Boston Legalis generally considered to have exceeded its longer-running parent show in terms of quality. WhileThe Practicelargely stuck to tried-and-tested formulas for legal dramas, its spinoff changed the game with its more in-depth character development and tragicomic overtones.
By the time it ended,Boston Legalhad won legions of viewers outside ofThe Practice’s regular audience, and redefined James Spader’s career.Better Call Saulwould likewise attract newcomers to theBreaking Baduniverse several years later, and turn Bob Odenkirk from a comedian with a supprting role in a crime show into one of the small screen’s most celebrated actors. Both shows are rare cases of spinoffs that can claim bragging rights over the series that spawned them.
Boston Legal
Cast
Boston Legal is a legal comedy-drama series created by David E. Kelley and initially premiered in 2004. The series follows the exploits of the Crane, Poole & Schmidt law firm staff helmed by Denny Crane (William Shatner) and Alan Shore (James Spader) as the attorneys dabble into the legal gray area to take on cases deemed “unwinnable.”
Better Call Saul
Better Call Saul follows small-time lawyer Jimmy McGill as he navigates the legal world to make ends meet. The series, set six years before his encounter with Walter White, chronicles Jimmy’s evolution into Saul Goodman, with notable interactions alongside fixer Mike Ehrmantraut.
