ABC could be returning to the world of “L.A. Law.”
The Disney-owned network is developing a sequel to the iconic series which ran on its rival NBC from 1986 to 1994, Variety has confirmed.
The project has Blair Underwood attached to reprise his role as attorney Jonathan Rollins and is being written by “Arrow” co-creator Marc Guggenheim and “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” scribe Ubah Mohamed. Anthony Hemingway is attached to direct.
In this new take on “L.A. Law,” McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak, the West Coast-based law firm at the heart of the original, is reinventing itself as a litigation firm specializing only in high profile, boundary pushing and incendiary cases. Sources say that Underwood’s character has changed from an idealistic figure to a more conservative one in the intervening years since the original. The sequel will see him clash with a millennial character named J.J. Freeman over the best path forward for the firm in effecting political and legal change.
Underwood, Guggenheim, Mohamed and Hemingway will all executive produce, alongside Jesse Bochco and Dayna Bochco, the son and widow of “L.A. Law” creator Steven Bohco. Original series producer 20th Television is also behind the sequel, as well as Steven Bochco Productions.
This isn’t the first attempt to get another “L.A. Law” series off the ground, as Bochco himself revealed he was working on a reboot of the legal workplace drama back in 2016. That project was taken out to the networks the next year, but failed to find a home.
News of the sequel comes during a busy time for Underwood in the TV space, as the actor is following up turns in “When They See Us” and “Self Made” with a part in Showtime’s “Your Honor,” as Variety reported exclusively. Underwood, who was recently nominated for a Tony, is represented by ICM and Thruline Entertainment.
Deadline first reported the “L.A. Law” news.