I read about this series sometime ago on the internet which looked promising from the way it was praised. It was released on Apple TV+ since mid of June and finished before the end of July. But as I was busy with many other series/movies that caught my attention earlier, I only gave this a try last week. OK, why don't I just get right to it then?

Brief Story Line

Rozat "Rusty" Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal - Road House 2024 remake, The Day After Tomorrow etc) was a family man living in Kindle County with his wife Barbara (Ruth Negga - Ad Astra, Loving etc) and their children Jaden (Chase Infiniti) & her brother Kyle (Kingston Rumi Southwick). Rusty who was the Chief Prosecutor of the county was shocked when he was informed about the murder of fellow prosecutor Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve - The Worst Person in the World etc) in her own home.

The District Attorney Raymond Horgan (Bill Camp - Sound of Freedom, The Outsider mini series etc) instructed Rusty to handle the case as opposed to Tommy Molto (Peter Sarsgaard - The Guilty, Shattered Glass etc) who they believed had turned his back to support Horgan's competition for the DA position, Nico Della Guardia (O-T Fagbenle - The Handmaid's Tale TV series, Black Widow etc). Rusty sought the help from Detective Rodriguez (Nana Mensah - Bonding TV series, Queen of Glory etc) to investigate. 

With more information gathered, it would seem that there were secrets related to Carolyn that would impact the DA office. And as the investigation progressed, it would take a toll on Rusty's family, who were already seeing the psychiatrist, Raymond's wife Lorraine (Elizabeth Marvel - Helstrom TV series, News of the World etc). So who actually murdered Carolyn and how would the story conclude? You could find out in the series.

End of Brief Story Line

When I started watching this series, I actually felt it was a bit confusing. The story did not seem to be clear enough at first and the constant camera movement was a little too much for me personally. I am very sure it was intentional by the series maker, perhaps to add a documentary feel, but it was not to my liking. It took me a while before I was finally accustomed to this and also after I got more understanding and feel of the main characters. Through some guessing and clarified at later stage, I was able to see where it was heading, which made the story more exciting.

The subsequent episodes were better for me, although it still feels the focus was too much on the family drama and what the case had done to Sabich family. With few surprises along the way, I could not wait till the really interesting part began, i.e the trial which sadly only started in the 6th episode. From that moment on, we could see the argumentation in the court room by both opposing parties, the twist and turn and the change of tactics by the lawyers. To me the best part of the series was in these last three episodes, particularly the 8th which served as season finale. Yes, I originally thought this one was supposed to be a limited series. After further reading though, I found out it has been renewed for second season.

I was quite familiar with the title of this series but I just could not remember more details. Apparently it was the title of 1990 movie starring Harrison Ford and Brian Dennehy which I had not seen yet and would explain why I could not recall the story at all. Both of the movie and series were adaptation of 1987 novel of the same name written by Scott Turow. However, there were few things that were changed in the series such as gender of the characters, a bit on the plot details and most surprisingly the ending. To be frank, I still do not see why it requires second season. But when I read more on Scott Turow, I could understand why it could be renewed as some of his other novels had several same characters as Presumed Innocent, especially the one published in 2020 titled Innocent which was direct follow up story. Probably the next season would be adapted from that novel.

For crime drama such as this, it would not be interesting without the support of strong cast. To me this was quite good. Gyllenhaal was pretty convincing when he was in the court room, and Sarsgaard was very fine as his counter part. I also like the veteran Bill Camp (no surprises there) and funnily enough he was accompanied by his real life wife Elizabeth Marvel. The rest were just decent to my opinion. Other than the main cast, there were also support characters like the Coroner Dr. Kumagai (James Hiroyuki Liao - The Dropout TV series etc), Judge Lyttle (Noma Dumezweni - The Little Mermaid live version etc), the lawyer Mya (Gabby Beans - The Harbinger etc) and several others. During the credits, I saw the well known name of prolific producer David E. Kelley as the creator, which was not surprising considering he had created some critically acclaimed series such as L. A. Law, Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, Boston Legal and many more. 

Overall this was a pretty decent legal thriller series. It might be entertaining if you are looking for a lot of drama and it also had a surprising twist. But since I was in the mood for a lot of courtroom drama (which felt a bit lacking here), I was not too satisfied. The background story during the first few episodes were OK but I felt it had too much family drama. When I read more details on the 1990 film adaptation, I had a feeling that I might like that one better as it felt straight to the point, while in here it was a bit repetitive (one crisis after another on Rusty family). I personally like another recent David E. Kelley's series better (The Lincoln Lawyer). So if you believe in what the critics are saying, then most likely you would like this one as well. However, if you are like me and prefer more trials and investigations, then this might not be too fulfilling. 

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars