Street Legal (Canadian TV series)

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Street Legal
File:Street Legal (Reboot).jpg
Season 9 poster
Starring Sonja Smits
C. David Johnson
Eric Peterson
Cynthia Dale
Country of origin Canada
No. of seasons 9
No. of episodes 132
Production
Running time 60 minutes
Production company(s) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Distributor CBC TV Program Sales
Release
Original network CBC Television
Original release January 6, 1987 (1987-01-06) –
April 8, 2019 (2019-04-08)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Street Legal is a Canadian legal drama television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1987 to 1994 before returning with six new episodes starting March 4, 2019.[1] Street Legal was the longest-running one-hour scripted drama in the history of Canadian television, holding the record for twenty years before being surpassed by Heartland's 139th episode on March 29, 2015.[2]

Synopsis

Street Legal focuses on the professional and private lives of the partners in a small Toronto, Ontario law firm. The primary stars are Sonja Smits, Eric Peterson and C. David Johnson, and the cast also includes Julie Khaner, Albert Schultz, Cynthia Dale, Maria del Mar, Ron Lea, Anthony Sherwood and Diane Polley.

The series is distinctively Canadian, in the use of Canadian court customs and procedures. Much of the show's music was composed by Eric Robertson who was nominated for a Gemini Award in 1987 for his work on the show.

Cast and characters

In the early episodes, the show's three core characters were Carrie Barr (Smits), Leon Robinovitch (Peterson) and Chuck Tchobanian (Johnson), partners in the small downtown Toronto law firm of Barr, Robinovitch and Tchobanian. The three did not necessarily always see eye to eye on things: Tchobanian was a flashy, confident and conservative lawyer who was most interested in taking high-profile cases that would get his name into the media; Robinovitch was an activist labour lawyer who believed in defending the little guy and mounted a campaign for Mayor of Toronto during the series run; Barr was a soft-spoken and initially naïve young lawyer who was sometimes forced to mediate between her more opinionated partners. According to series producer Maryke McEwen, "if you want to label the characters I'd call them Liberal, Conservative and NDP."[3]

Characters introduced later included Mercedes (Sealy-Smith), the firm's no-nonsense office manager; Olivia Novak (Dale), an aggressive, risk-taking new lawyer with the firm who was a foil for Carrie and a love interest for Chuck; Alana Newman (Khaner), a judge who was married to Leon; Rob Diamond (Schultz), who joined the firm as a junior lawyer; Dillon Beck (Sherwood), a crown prosecutor who married Carrie; and Laura Crosby (del Mar), a new lawyer who joined the firm after Carrie was killed by a drunk driver.

In the 2019 revival, Olivia loses her job with a Bay Street firm, and joins RDL Legal, a boutique firm with whom she was formerly competing to land a major case.

Original cast

2019 revival cast

Show history

The original series pilot aired on CBC Television in 1986 as Shellgame, a television film written by William Deverell which starred Brenda Robins as a lawyer defending accused murderer André (Germain Houde).[4] The film was not well received by audiences or critics, however, and the project was retooled and recast before premiering as a series in 1987.[5]

The series debuted on January 6, 1987, with a six-episode run that season.[3] Maryke McEwen was the executive producer. Early critical response to the series frequently compared it to the contemporaneous American series L.A. Law, with some reviewers even coining the dismissive epithet T.O. Law.[6] The series then returned for a longer second season in September 1987.[7]

From the third through the seventh seasons, Brenda Greenberg was first senior producer, then executive producer, with Nada Harcourt taking over for the final season.

The show's last regular weekly episode aired on February 18, 1994.[8]

Production wrapped up with the two-hour television film Last Rights, which aired on November 6, 1994. Loosely based on the case of Sue Rodriguez, an assisted suicide activist who died a week before Street Legal's final regular episode aired, the film centred on Olivia's criminal trial after helping a terminally ill friend (Brent Carver) commit suicide.[9] The film drew 1.6 million viewers.[10]

Revival

The concept for a 2019 revival of Street Legal was first discussed during a lunch including Cynthia Dale and Sally Catto, CBC's general manager of programming. During a subsequent lunch, producer Bernie Zukerman and Catto began to plan specifics for a relaunch.[11] The revival centres on Olivia Novak (Dale), joining a small boutique law office, RDL Legal, after losing her job with a powerful Bay Street firm.[1] In addition to Dale reprising her original role, the cast also includes Cara Ricketts, Steve Lund and Yvonne Chapman.[2] Eric Peterson and Anthony Sherwood made guest appearances reprising their roles as Leon Robinovitch and Dillon Beck, but were not part of the full-time cast. Actors Allan Hawco, Patrick Labbé, Leni Parker, Rosemary Dunsmore and Tom McCamus also appeared in supporting roles.

The new season of six episodes premiered on March 4, 2019, on CBC Television.[2] After each episode was broadcast, it also became available for viewing on the CBC Gem streaming service. The primary theme of the six episodes is the opioid crisis in Canada,[12] including a class action lawsuit against a major pharmaceutical company that manufactures a highly addictive drug.[2][13]

In April 2019, the CBC announced that the reboot would not be renewed for a second season.[14] The ninth season premiered on June 21, 2021, on Ovation in the United States and was also be released on the Ovation NOW app streaming service in the "Mystery Alley" channel section early before its premiere.[15]

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 6 January 6, 1987 (1987-01-06) February 10, 1987 (1987-02-10)
2 13 September 27, 1987 (1987-09-27) December 20, 1987 (1987-12-20)
3 19 October 7, 1988 (1988-10-07) February 24, 1989 (1989-02-24)
4 16 October 13, 1989 (1989-10-13) February 9, 1990 (1990-02-09)
5 16 October 5, 1990 (1990-10-05) February 1, 1991 (1991-02-01)
6 18 October 4, 1991 (1991-10-04) January 31, 1992 (1992-01-31)
7 18 October 4, 1992 (1992-10-04) January 31, 1993 (1993-01-31)
8 20 October 8, 1993 (1993-10-08) November 6, 1994 (1994-11-06)
9 6 March 4, 2019 (2019-03-04) April 8, 2019 (2019-04-08)

Season 1 (1987)

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1 1 "Birds of a Feather" Alan Erlich Tom Scheinbeck January 6, 1987 (1987-01-06)
2 2 "Even Lawyers Sing the Blues" Randy Bradshaw Larry Gaynor & Don Truckey January 13, 1987 (1987-01-13)
3 3 "A Little Knowledge" Marc Strange Ian Sutherland January 20, 1987 (1987-01-20)
4 4 "Sting Like a Butterfly" Sturla Gunnarsson Don Truckey January 27, 1987 (1987-01-27)
5 5 "A Matter of Honour" Mort Ransen Marc Strange February 3, 1987 (1987-02-03)
6 6 "Tango Bellarosa" Randy Bradshaw Ian Adams & Marc Strange February 10, 1987 (1987-02-10)

Season 2 (1987)

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
7 1 "Baby Talk" TBA TBA September 27, 1987 (1987-09-27)
8 2 "Star Struck" TBA TBA October 4, 1987 (1987-10-04)
9 3 "Desperate Alibi" TBA TBA October 11, 1987 (1987-10-11)
10 4 "Assault" TBA TBA October 18, 1987 (1987-10-18)
11 5 "Mr. Nice Guy" TBA TBA October 25, 1987 (1987-10-25)
12 6 "Just One Kiss" TBA TBA November 1, 1987 (1987-11-01)
13 7 "Judgement Call" TBA TBA November 8, 1987 (1987-11-08)
14 8 "Fever of the Blood" TBA TBA November 15, 1987 (1987-11-15)
15 9 "Lost and Lonely Hearts" TBA TBA November 22, 1987 (1987-11-22)
16 10 "Take My Jokes, Please" TBA TBA November 29, 1987 (1987-11-29)
17 11 "Gold Rush" TBA TBA December 6, 1987 (1987-12-06)
18 12 "Romeo and Carol" TBA TBA December 13, 1987 (1987-12-13)
19 13 "I'll Be Home for Christmas" TBA TBA December 20, 1987 (1987-12-20)

Season 3 (1988–89)

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
20 1 "A Powerful Prison Story" TBA TBA October 7, 1988 (1988-10-07)
21 2 "The Waiting Chair" TBA TBA October 14, 1988 (1988-10-14)
22 3 "Elliot vs. McTavish" TBA TBA October 21, 1988 (1988-10-21)
23 4 "State of Mind" TBA TBA October 28, 1988 (1988-10-28)
24 5 "The Homecoming" TBA TBA November 4, 1988 (1988-11-04)
25 6 "Mondo Condo" TBA TBA November 11, 1988 (1988-11-11)
26 7 "Murder by Video" TBA TBA November 18, 1988 (1988-11-18)
27 8 "Whose Woods Are These" TBA TBA November 25, 1988 (1988-11-25)
28 9 "Act of Silence" TBA TBA December 2, 1988 (1988-12-02)
29 10 "Equal Partners" TBA TBA December 9, 1988 (1988-12-09)
30 11 "Cat and Mouse" TBA TBA December 16, 1988 (1988-12-16)
31 12 "Basketball Story" TBA TBA January 6, 1989 (1989-01-06)
32 13 "Principles" TBA TBA January 13, 1989 (1989-01-13)
33 14 "Brotherhoods" TBA TBA January 20, 1989 (1989-01-20)
34 15 "Beauties and Beasts" TBA TBA January 27, 1989 (1989-01-27)
35 16 "In Search of a Dream" TBA TBA February 3, 1989 (1989-02-03)
36 17 "Slipping Through the Cracks" TBA TBA February 10, 1989 (1989-02-10)
37 18 "Conflict of Interest" TBA TBA February 17, 1989 (1989-02-17)
38 19 "World-Class City" TBA TBA February 24, 1989 (1989-02-24)

Season 4 (1989–90)

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
39 1 "Soul Custody" TBA TBA October 13, 1989 (1989-10-13)
40 2 "Partners and Other Strangers" TBA TBA October 20, 1989 (1989-10-20)
41 3 "Without Prejudice" TBA TBA October 27, 1989 (1989-10-27)
42 4 "See No Evil" TBA TBA November 3, 1989 (1989-11-03)
43 5 "The Cradle Will Rock" TBA TBA November 10, 1989 (1989-11-10)
44 6 "Complex Offer" TBA TBA November 17, 1989 (1989-11-17)
45 7 "Film Noir" TBA TBA November 24, 1989 (1989-11-24)
46 8 "Confession" TBA TBA December 1, 1989 (1989-12-01)
47 9 "Home" TBA TBA December 8, 1989 (1989-12-08)
48 10 "Blue Collar" TBA TBA December 15, 1989 (1989-12-15)
49 11 "Security Exchange" TBA TBA January 5, 1990 (1990-01-05)
50 12 "The Bracelet" TBA TBA January 12, 1990 (1990-01-12)
51 13 "Leon's Story" TBA TBA January 19, 1990 (1990-01-19)
52 14 "Wedding" TBA TBA January 26, 1990 (1990-01-26)
53 15 "Godfather of Mimico" TBA TBA February 2, 1990 (1990-02-02)
54 16 "Suite Sixteen" TBA TBA February 9, 1990 (1990-02-09)

Season 5 (1990–91)

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
55 1 "Holy Thursday" TBA TBA October 5, 1990 (1990-10-05)
56 2 "Spare Parts" TBA TBA October 12, 1990 (1990-10-12)
57 3 "Double Agenda" TBA TBA October 19, 1990 (1990-10-19)
58 4 "Shadow Boxing" TBA TBA October 26, 1990 (1990-10-26)
59 5 "Standard of Care" TBA TBA November 2, 1990 (1990-11-02)
60 6 "The Psychic" TBA TBA November 9, 1990 (1990-11-09)
61 7 "Softsell" TBA TBA November 16, 1990 (1990-11-16)
62 8 "Divine Image" TBA TBA November 23, 1990 (1990-11-23)
63 9 "Sanctuary" TBA TBA November 30, 1990 (1990-11-30)
64 10 "Lies" TBA TBA December 7, 1990 (1990-12-07)
65 11 "Tyger, Tyger" TBA TBA December 14, 1990 (1990-12-14)
66 12 "Murder" TBA TBA January 4, 1991 (1991-01-04)
67 13 "The Cookies Crumble" TBA TBA January 11, 1991 (1991-01-11)
68 14 "The Prosecution" TBA TBA January 18, 1991 (1991-01-18)
69 15 "Election Day" TBA TBA January 25, 1991 (1991-01-25)
70 16 "The Truth" TBA TBA February 1, 1991 (1991-02-01)

Season 6 (1991–92)

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
71 1 "The Legacy of Stanley Wall" TBA TBA October 4, 1991 (1991-10-04)
TBA 2 "The Harley" TBA TBA October 11, 1991 (1991-10-11)
72 3 "Presumed Toxic" TBA TBA October 18, 1991 (1991-10-18)
73 4 "Reasonable Doubt" TBA TBA October 25, 1991 (1991-10-25)
74 5 "Shades of Difference" TBA TBA November 1, 1991 (1991-11-01)
75 6 "Questions of Dignity" TBA TBA November 8, 1991 (1991-11-08)
76 7 "Sing for Me, Olivia" TBA TBA November 15, 1991 (1991-11-15)
77 8 "Keeping Secrets" TBA TBA November 22, 1991 (1991-11-22)
78 9 "The Good Lawyer" TBA TBA November 29, 1991 (1991-11-29)
79 10 "Hollywood North" TBA TBA November 29, 1991 (1991-11-29)
80 11 "Eye of the Beholder" TBA TBA December 6, 1991 (1991-12-06)
81 12 "Too Many Cooks" TBA TBA December 13, 1991 (1991-12-13)
83 13 "On Women and Independence" TBA TBA December 20, 1991 (1991-12-20)
84 14 "Children's Hour" TBA TBA January 6, 1992 (1992-01-06)
85 15 "Breach of Trust" TBA TBA January 10, 1992 (1992-01-10)
86 16 "November" TBA TBA January 17, 1992 (1992-01-17)
87 17 "After the Fall" TBA TBA January 24, 1992 (1992-01-24)
88 18 "The Phoenix" TBA TBA January 31, 1992 (1992-01-31)

Season 7 (1992–93)

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
89 1 "BRT and Associates: A New Beginning" TBA TBA October 30, 1992 (1992-10-30)
90 2 "Affairs of the Heart" TBA TBA November 6, 1992 (1992-11-06)
91 3 "Break-ups and Mergers" TBA TBA November 13, 1992 (1992-11-13)
92 4 "Persistence of Vision" TBA TBA November 20, 1992 (1992-11-20)
93 5 "It's a Wise Child" TBA TBA November 27, 1992 (1992-11-27)
94 6 "Rules of the Game" TBA TBA December 4, 1992 (1992-12-04)
95 7 "Never Say Die" TBA TBA December 11, 1992 (1992-12-11)
96 8 "Lefter Than Thou" TBA TBA December 18, 1992 (1992-12-18)
97 9 "Believe the Children" TBA TBA January 1, 1993 (1993-01-01)
98 10 "Thicker Than Water" TBA TBA January 8, 1993 (1993-01-08)
99 11 "Best Interest of the Child" TBA TBA January 15, 1993 (1993-01-15)
100 12 "Pride and Prejudice" TBA TBA January 22, 1993 (1993-01-22)
101 13 "Forgiveness" TBA TBA January 29, 1993 (1993-01-29)
102 14 "Sec and Death" TBA TBA February 5, 1993 (1993-02-05)
103 15 "Conduct Unbecoming" TBA TBA February 12, 1993 (1993-02-12)
104 16 "The Price" TBA TBA February 19, 1993 (1993-02-19)
105 17 "Strange Bedfellows" TBA TBA February 26, 1993 (1993-02-26)
106 18 "Faking It" TBA TBA March 5, 1993 (1993-03-05)

Season 8 (1993–94)

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date
107 1 "Strictly Business" TBA TBA October 8, 1993 (1993-10-08)
108 2 "Hasta La Vista" TBA TBA October 15, 1993 (1993-10-15)
109 3 "Truth or Dare" TBA TBA October 22, 1993 (1993-10-22)
110 4 "But Not Forgotten" TBA TBA October 29, 1993 (1993-10-29)
111 5 "Black and White in Color" TBA TBA November 5, 1993 (1993-11-05)
112 6 "Fit Punishment" TBA TBA November 12, 1993 (1993-11-12)
113 7 "What's Love Got to Do with It?" TBA TBA November 19, 1993 (1993-11-19)
114 8 "Truth, Lies and Consequences" TBA TBA November 26, 1993 (1993-11-26)
115 9 "Do the Right Thing" TBA TBA December 3, 1993 (1993-12-03)
116 10 "Feared by the Bad, Loved by the Good" TBA TBA December 10, 1993 (1993-12-10)
117 11 "The Cost of Love" TBA TBA December 17, 1993 (1993-12-17)
118 12 "Fair Is Foul" TBA TBA January 7, 1994 (1994-01-07)
119 13 "The Firm" TBA TBA January 14, 1994 (1994-01-14)
120 14 "Persons Living or Dead" TBA TBA January 21, 1994 (1994-01-21)
121 15 "Crossroads" TBA TBA January 28, 1994 (1994-01-28)
122 16 "The Morning After" TBA TBA February 4, 1994 (1994-02-04)
123 17 "No Holds Barred" TBA TBA February 11, 1994 (1994-02-11)
124 18 "The Long and Winding Road" TBA TBA February 18, 1994 (1994-02-18)
125 19 "Last Rites: Part 1" TBA TBA November 6, 1994 (1994-11-06)
126 20 "Last Rites: Part 2" TBA TBA November 6, 1994 (1994-11-06)

Season 9 (2019)

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Title [16] Directed by Written by Original air date [16] Canada viewers
(millions)
127 1 "Glass Floor" Sturla Gunnarsson Bruce M. Smith March 4, 2019 (2019-03-04) 0.37[17]
128 2 "Moving Day" Sturla Gunnarsson Lynne Kamm March 11, 2019 (2019-03-11) 0.34[18]
129 3 "Neighbours" Sturla Gunnarsson Nikolijne Troubetzkoy March 18, 2019 (2019-03-18) 0.30[19]
130 4 "Homecoming" Chloé Robichaud Nicolas Billon March 25, 2019 (2019-03-25) 0.20[20]
131 5 "Cracks" Chloé Robichaud Lynne Kamm April 1, 2019 (2019-04-01) 0.27[21]
132 6 "Leap" Chloé Robichaud Bruce M. Smith April 8, 2019 (2019-04-08) 0.25[22]

Production

The creators of the 2019 series are Bruce M. Smith and Bernie Zukerman.[23] The series is co-produced by IGP Productions and Broken Clown Company. The executive producers are Zukerman and Smith while the producers are listed as Cynthia Dale and Rayne Zukerman. Filming of the six episodes was completed primarily in Montreal with some work done in Toronto.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "'Street Legal' reboot among new shows in CBC's 2018/19 lineup". National Post, May 24, 2018.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Cynthia Dale says new Street Legal is no nostalgia trip". Toronto Star, March 1, 2019.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "'Toronto' Law joins the ranks". Windsor Star, January 6, 1987.
  4. ↑ "An effortless attempt to weld Miami's vice to Toronto's virtue: Glitz and gimmicks not enough to save Shellgame". The Globe and Mail, January 4, 1986.
  5. ↑ "CBC offers last year of plenty". Toronto Star, July 10, 1986.
  6. ↑ "No defence offered in support of CBC's Street Legal show". Vancouver Sun, January 6, 1987.
  7. ↑ "Give Street Legal a chance - it's not bad". Montreal Gazette, September 25, 1997.
  8. ↑ "Actors heading out in new directions as Street comes to end". Financial Post, February 26, 1994.
  9. ↑ "Street Legal finale provides an argument for an appeal". Toronto Star, November 6, 1994.
  10. ↑ "Street Legal fans loyal to the end". Toronto Star, November 11, 1994.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ "Street Legal reboot cancelled after one season". CBC News, April 6, 2019.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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