Television has always been the stronghold of female-driven programming. In the past few years, increasingly complex roles attracting A-list talent such as Glenn Close (as Patty Hewes of Damages), Mary-Louise Parker (Nancy Botwin of Weeds), and Holly Hunter (Grace Hanadarko of Saving Grace) have established the serial format as a proper platform for serious acting.
Unlike many 'converted' film actresses, Julianna Margulies made her name in television - her on-screen romance as nurse Carol Hathaway with George Clooney's Dr Doug Ross spiced up the six most popular seasons of medical drama ER.
Producers of the show were so desperate to keep her on that they offered her US$27 million to stay for three more seasons, which she turned down and then proceeded to star in a handful of studio flops and, eventually, episodic appearances on a few other TV shows.
Now Margulies is back as Elizabeth Canterbury in Canterbury's Law (Sony Entertainment Television; Wednesday, 10pm), trading in scrubs for power suits, the commuter bus for a vintage Porsche, and romance for the love of a good fight in and out of the courtroom.
Canterbury's calling cards are the powerful rev of her sports car and a mouth to match. 'I could love the person on the stand, body and soul, and still rip their throat out during cross (examination),' is how she explains her attitude to a younger lawyer. Her relentless and sometimes questionable methods in pursuit of an acquittal are saved from distastefulness by her uncanny ability to pick only clients who are actually innocent. Canterbury's professional success belies a failing relationship with her law professor husband, Matt Furey (Aidan Quinn), and the tragedy that caused the rift - which she tries to repress with daily doses of vodka.
Margulies, who plays both aggressive and vulnerable, acquits her role with convincing wit - but the show is still guilty of implausible cause.
