Street Legal (Canadian TV series)

Street Legal is a Canadian legal drama television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1987 to 1994, followed twenty-five years later by a six-episode season with a substantially different cast. 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 the 139th episode of Heartland on March 29, 2015.

Synopsis

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

The series was distinctively Canadian, particularly 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." 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.

The series debuted on January 6, 1987, with a six-episode run that season. 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. The series then returned for a longer second season in September 1987.

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.

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. The film drew 1.6 million viewers.

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. 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. including a class action lawsuit against a major pharmaceutical company that manufactures a highly addictive drug.

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

Episodes

Season 1 (1987)

Season 2 (1987)

Season 3 (1988–89)

Season 4 (1989–90)

Season 5 (1990–91)

Season 6 (1991–92)

Season 7 (1992–93)

Season 8 (1993–94)

Season 9 (2019)

Production

The creators of the 2019 series were Bruce M. Smith and Bernie Zukerman. Smith and Zukerman were also the executive producers. The series was co-produced by IGP Productions and Broken Clown Company. Cynthia Dale and Rayne Zukerman were producers. Filming of the six episodes was completed primarily in Montreal with some work done in Toronto.