Netflix is not only the place where “concluded” shows go to find new life with a binge-happy audience and receive spin offs or get inexplicably resurrected. The streaming service is also where feature films of book adaptations get left in the dust when a series unlocks the full power of the source material. Such is the case for The Lincoln Lawyer, which will soon return for a third season and further eclipse the 2011 Matthew McConaughey movie. The show’s initial outing took over Nielsen streaming charts, and this series trounced The Witcher with a second season of the new Mickey Haller’s backseat manner.
No offense to McConaughey, but Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is the Mickey Haller of television, and viewers have watched this iconoclastic lawyer expand his professional settings as his practice progresses through Michael Connelly’s same-named book series. Let’s talk about what Mickey will do now.
Plot
LA’s most sensational defense attorney will begin a third season based upon Connelly’s fifth The Lincoln Lawyer book, The Gods of Guilt. As executive producer Ross Fineman hinted following the second season finale, Mickey will go up against “the toughest case he’s ever had,” and “and there’s a nagging sense that he might have been responsible in some way.” That suggests a shattering response to Mickey (in the book) receiving a “187” text message referring to the California penal code for murder. The victim will apparently be somebody that Mickey knows and has previously helped as a client.
As written by Connelly, the circumstances of the murder could actually be roundabout-connected to Mickey through “the ghosts of his past,” suggesting that he contributed to fatal circumstances through these connections. This, of course, sounds murky as can be, plotwise, but the narrative should propel a case through Mickey’s internal battlefield, which leads to the question of whether this case will be his downfall or a form of redemption. We’ll have to wait and see whether the show takes the same route, but the second season did end with Mickey learning of Glory Days’ death.
Of equal (or potentially even greater) interest to viewers is how much of Neve Campbell’s character, Maggie ^^^ (Mickey’s ex wife), will be in this season. As reported a year ago, Campbell was downgraded from series regular since her character does not substantially figure into The Gods Of Guilt book. As well, the show has already seen Maggie move to a different city for a new job, but she will appear somehow. Netflix did provide the above still as proof.
How much of Maggie will we see, and in what context? There were previous suggestions that this wouldn’t simply be a goodbye hug — which honestly could feel “off” considering that Mickey will be embroiled in a consuming case that could make or break his career — and Netflix’s Tudum blog let slip (about a year ago) that Maggie’s scenes will deliver “some insight into how Mickey Haller became Mickey Haller — not just the brilliant criminal defense lawyer, but the husband, the father, and the man that he would come to be” as well as “propel us into the rest of Season 3.” So, perhaps we see Maggie in the present, but it sounds more likely that we’ll see more of her from Mickey’s past. This could provide some important context on how he carries himself in this do-or-die case.
Cast
If you’re reading this, you know that Manuel Garcia-Ruflo has grabbed onto the Mickey Haller with McConaughey being an essential but distant memory. As already mentioned, Neve Campbell will also return in some way. Other returning cast members include Becki Newton (Lorna), Yaya DaCosta (Andrea), Jazz Raycole (Izzy), and Angus Sampson (Cisco), and Jon Tenney (Mickey Haller, Sr.). Other recurring faces include Fiona Rene (Glory Days), Elliott Gould (Legal Siegal), Krista Warner (Hayley), and Devon Graye (Julian La Cosse),
New cast additions include Michael Kirby (Mayans M.C.) as DEA Agent James De Marco. Don’t plan on seeing him become good friends with Mickey. Wolé Parks steps in as defendant David Lyons, and Maisie Klompus will portray witness Annabeth Stephens. New roles will also be portrayed by Allyn Moriyon, John Pirruccello, Merrin Dungey, and Philip Anthony-Rodriguez.
Release Date
The crowd-pleasing Netflix series will return on October 17, which keeps the show pretty darn close to a yearly release schedule again.
Trailer
Although Netflix hasn’t delivered a trailer yet, the show’s announcement teaser will do for now: