A New Celeb Lawyer For an L.A. Murder Steven Bochco's got a hot-shot hero, sort of, for fall TV ALL EDITIONS

HOLLYWOOD THE LEADING MAN is bald, a bit paunchy, middle-aged and not a household name. He plays a celebrity attorney who defends questionable clients. The format is a risk - 23 episodes that follow a single murder case for an entire TV season. And, oh yes, it's a freshman show going up against...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNewsday
Main Author By Rick Du Brow. LOS ANGELES TIMES
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Long Island, N.Y Newsday LLC 11.07.1995
EditionCombined editions
Subjects
HOLLYWOOD
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Summary:HOLLYWOOD THE LEADING MAN is bald, a bit paunchy, middle-aged and not a household name. He plays a celebrity attorney who defends questionable clients. The format is a risk - 23 episodes that follow a single murder case for an entire TV season. And, oh yes, it's a freshman show going up against the hottest series on the air, "ER." So why the buzz about this new fall ABC drama, "Murder One"? Why did it sell to British TV for a reported $250,000 an episode even though only the pilot has been shot? Who will audiences cheer for in this gray area involving an expensive, high-profile, hired-gun lawyer and a wealthy but sleazy defendant? Is there a hero? Does it matter anymore? Just two seasons after breaking TV taboos with rough language and bits of nudity in his hit cop show "NYPD Blue," the producer is about to take on another new direction. For "Murder One" inevitably will test the impact on TV drama - and the public - of several years of ongoing exposure to such cases as the Menendez brothers and O.J. Simpson murder trials and the introduction of the Court TV channel.