Presume this one is compelling

Many of us like writers a lot and lawyers a lot less.
But lawyers who become writers? That can be John Grisham or Erle Stanley Gardner or Scott Turow or David E. Kelley; it can sometimes be wonderful.
And now two of the best have combined: Kelley has adapted Turow’s novel, “Presumed Innocent” (shown here), into an eight-part mini-series that starts Wednesday (June 12) on Apple TV+.
Yes, that’s the same book that was a movie – a good one – in 1990, with Harrison Ford and Bonnie Bedelia. But now Kelley has extra time, which he uses wisely, adding plot twists and deepening characters.
The basic idea remains: A skilled prosecutor finds himself as the defendant, with ex-colleagues working for and against him.
Jake Gyllenhall (center) gives him a coiled intensity. The can seem shattered and fragile one moment, explosive the next.
But the real surprises involve all the people around him. The cliché would be for his wife to rage outwardly; Ruth Negga makes her much more interesting. The cliché would be for his courtroom opponents to be foolish and corrupt; with Peter Sarsgaard and O-T Fagbenie, they’re a complex bundle of traits.
All of this is a testimony to the cast, the directors (Anne Sewitsky and Greg Yaitanes) and, especially, the writers.
Kelley wrote the first two episodes (both airing June 12) by himself, then was merely a co-writer on the others. They continue weekly to the July 24 finale – the one episode I haven’t seen. And no, I still have no idea whodunit.