Second “Lincoln Lawyer”: same charm, a bit less fun

It might be difficult to pass a rule requiring David E. Kelley to write all TV mini-series.
That would raise constitutional questions. Also, the unions haven’t yet approved the cloning of writers.
Still, it sometimes seems like a good idea. The latest example involves the second season of Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” (shown here).
The first half of the 10-episode season has just arrived, with the second half coming Aug. 3. It’s still enjoyable – great characters, crisp settings – but no match for the previous season.
Kelley wrote that first season’s opening episode (adapting a Michael Connelly novel) and set it on the right path. Like everything he does – from “L.A. Law” and “Boston Legal” to “Big Little Lies,” “Goliath” and “Nine Perfect Strangers” – it blended humor, intrigue and smart character drama.
He’s still listed as a producer of the second season, but there’s little evidence of the Kelley touch. The crises feel too contrived, the solutions too convenient, the humor too scarce; the dialog feels flat.
But yes, we’ll keep watching. That’s how good the characters and cast are.
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo grew up on a Mexican ranch, did some studies in the U.S., then became a star in Mexico and the U.S. He plays Mickey Haller, whose legal practice was wobbling; his clients were low-life schemers, his files were in the back of a Lincoln.
Then a lawyer was killed and Mickey was given his practice – complete with cases, complications and a real office. Helping him are his second ex-wife (Becki Newton), her biker boyfriend and a former client he hired as a driver. His first ex-wife (Neve Campbell, shown here with Garcia-Rulfo) is a prosecutor who likes him, but not his clients; they share a daughter who resists all of the bratty-teen cliches.
Most people tend to like Mickey, actually His heart is in a good place, even if his clients aren’t. He bends a lot of rules and makes a lot of trouble.
That’s where we are in this second season. Fresh from a success, Mickey has new fame. But he still keeps files in that Lincoln (one of several absurd plot twists); he deals with details from the first-season case, then tackles a new one that has a strong personal connection.
It’s a fairly good story, riddled with so-so detours. Then – atypical for Netflix – it stops abruptly, with the rest coming Aug. 3. We’ll catch it then; we’ll also wish Kelley was more involved with it.