For a second season, Netflix has picked up David E. Kelley’s drama based on Michael Connelly. Tuesday at the Banff World Media Festival, Netflix’s head of international television Bela Bajaria made the announcement.
The Fifth Witness, the fourth book in Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer series, will serve as the basis for the second season’s batch of 10 episodes. (The Brass Verdict, the second book, served as the basis for season one.) Also joining the drama as co-showrunner and executive producer is Dailyn Rodriguez (Queen of the South). As co-showrunner and executive producer, Ted Humphrey, who co-created the series with David E. Kelley, will also be back. As he did with ABC’s Big Sky, Kelley is anticipated to play a smaller role in the second season.
The 2019 pilot for Lincoln Lawyer, which had a series commitment penalty, was created for CBS originally. Following the unexpected rejection by CBS, A+E Studios shopped the show, which eventually found a home at Netflix. There, it underwent redevelopment and had its star, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, replace the original Mickey Haller. Along with Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, and Angus Sampson, the actor will reprise his part in season two.
After the series gained popularity on the streamer, the renewal was taken for granted. Following its May 13 release, Lincoln Lawyer has been cruising along in Netflix’s Global Top 10, making the list in 90 nations with a total of 260.53 million hours seen as of June 5.
Producing executives include Kelley, Humphrey, Michael Connelly, Rodriguez, Ross Fineman, Barry Jossen, and Tana Jamieson.
Kelley has a long list of creative projects in development on several platforms, including Lawyer. The former star of Ally McBeal and Boston Public is also responsible for Big Shot at Disney+, Peacock’s Missing File, ABC’s Avalon, Netflix’s A Man in Full, Apple’s Presumed Innocent, and HBO Max’s Love and Death. A second season of his Hulu drama Nine Perfect Strangers is also anticipated.