The Lincoln Lawyer

Premise

Lawyer Mickey Haller works in the back of his Lincoln Navigator as he takes on cases in Los Angeles.

In the first season, following a recent recovery from a drug addiction, Mickey is called back into action when he inherits all the cases of a recently murdered colleague. The most prominent of these cases is that of Trevor Elliott, a billionaire video game designer accused of the murder of his wife and her lover. While handling the cases, he hires one of the clients, another recovering drug addict, Izzy Letts, as his driver, and they help each other remain sober. In addition to his career, he also attempts to regain joint custody of his daughter Hayley, who currently lives with her mother, his first ex-wife, prosecutor Maggie McPherson, who he has an on-off relationship with and who is currently prosecuting a human trafficking case while deciding who to support in the upcoming election for District Attorney. Meanwhile, his second ex-wife, Lorna Crane, works for him as his legal aide after dropping out of law school and has a platonic relationship with him, while being engaged to Dennis "Cisco" Wojciechowski, a private investigator employed by Mickey who was formerly part of a motorcycle gang. Throughout the season, Mickey also cooperates with the police as they investigate the murder of his colleague, in addition to struggling with the initial reason for his addiction, Jesus Menendez, a client who he forced to plead guilty despite believing he was innocent.

In the second season, following the events of the first, Mickey's career has recovered while Maggie's has stalled. While finishing the case of Menendez, Mickey meets Lisa Trammell, a chef accused of killing a developer who was trying to take her home and business, and represents her. Lorna and Cisco, as their wedding day approaches, struggle with their own problems, as Lorna is overwhelmed due to having returned to law school and Cisco does one last job for his former gang. Maggie, meanwhile, tries to reestablish her career, and Izzy attempts to open her own business.

In the third season, Mickey represents a digital pimp accused of murdering one of his own former clients, who he believes is innocent. While doing so, he enters a relationship with the prosecutor he went against in the last season, Andrea Freemann. Lorna, meanwhile, finishes law school and becomes a lawyer, while Izzy struggles with her business failing.

Cast and characters

Main

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller, a criminal-defense lawyer and recovering addict.

Neve Campbell as Maggie McPherson, Mickey's first ex-wife and a criminal prosecutor.

Becki Newton as Lorna Crane, Mickey's second ex-wife and his legal aide, and later an associate at his law firm.

Jazz Raycole as Izzy Letts, a former addict and client of Mickey, whom he hires as his personal driver. She later becomes the firm's office manager.

Angus Sampson as Dennis "Cisco" Wojciechowski, Mickey's friend and go-to investigator, and Lorna's boyfriend, then husband.

Yaya DaCosta as Andrea "Andy" Freemann, a formidable criminal prosecutor in Trammell's case. She later becomes Mickey's lover (season 3; recurring season 2).

Cobie Smulders as Artemisia "Emi" Finch, Mickey's half-sister whom Mickey had no knowledge of (season 5; guest season 4).

Recurring

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine as Detective Raymond Griggs (replacing Harry Bosch from the novels), a detective investigating Jerry Vincent's murder case (seasons 1–2)

Christopher Gorham as Trevor Elliott, a billionaire video game developer suspected of a double murder (season 1)

LisaGay Hamilton as Judge Mary Holder, the Chief Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court (season 1)

Jamie McShane as Detective Lee Lankford, a detective investigating Angelo Soto with Maggie (season 1)

Reggie Lee as Angelo Soto, a business owner suspected of using slave labor, being prosecuted by Maggie (season 1)

Carlos Bernard as Robert Cardone, a District Attorney running for re-election (season 1)

Kim Hawthorne as Janelle Simmons, also running for District Attorney (season 1)

Michael Graziadei as Jeff Golantz, a Deputy District Attorney and prosecutor in the Trevor Elliott trial (season 1)

Krista Warner as Hayley Haller, Mickey and Maggie's daughter

Lamont Thompson as Judge James P. Stanton, the judge presiding over the Trevor Elliott trial (season 1)

Saul Huezo as Jésus Menendez, an old client of Mickey's, whom Mickey encouraged to plead guilty despite believing he was innocent (seasons 1–2)

Katrina Rosita as Tanya Cruz, Soto's girlfriend (season 1)

Heather Mazur as Carol Dubois, an insurance agent who had an affair with Jan Rilz (season 1)

Episodes

Production

Development

In 2018, David E. Kelley wrote a spec script for a television series set up at Epix by A&E Studios. When the script failed to move forward, he decided to work on a different project with A&E, ultimately adapting The Lincoln Lawyer after sharing his interests in working on legal dramas. In June 2019, the project was given a series production commitment by CBS. In February 2020, Ted Humphrey came aboard as showrunner and Kiele Sanchez joined the cast as Lorna, with Angus Sampson and Jazz Raycole joining a few weeks later as Cisco and Izzy, respectively. In May 2020, it was reported that the series would not be going forward at CBS due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

At the time of the decision, which CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl called a "tough call", two scripts for the series had been written, with two more in development, and Logan Marshall-Green had been in negotiations to star as main character Mickey Haller. On January 11, 2021, Netflix picked up the series with a 10-episode order, down from the original 13-episode plan, and announced that Manuel Garcia-Rulfo would star as Haller. In February 2021, Neve Campbell and Becki Newton joined the cast, with Raycole and Sampson returning to the series. Christopher Gorham was cast in March. In April, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine was cast in a role created specifically for the series, with LisaGay Hamilton, Jamie McShane, and Reggie Lee joining the cast in recurring roles. Krista Warner was cast in May.

On June 14, 2022, Netflix renewed the series for a second season, based on The Fifth Witness. On August 30, 2023, Netflix renewed the series for a third season, based on The Gods of Guilt. On January 21, 2025, Netflix renewed the series for a fourth season with Neve Campbell coming back as a main character. On June 2, 2025, Cobie Smulders was cast to appear on the fourth season finale in an undisclosed role with the possibility of appearing on the fifth season. On January 28, 2026, Netflix renewed the series for a fifth and final season, which will be based on Resurrection Walk.

Filming

The Lincoln Lawyer began filming in Los Angeles on March 30, 2021. That same day, author Michael Connelly revealed on social media that the COVID-19 pandemic had previously delayed principal photography for around a year. On June 8, 2021, Connelly said in an interview that six out of the ten episodes had been filmed, of which three of them had been edited completely, while also confirming that characters in the Amazon Prime Video series Bosch, including Haller's half-brother Harry Bosch (portrayed by Titus Welliver), would not be making appearances as both shows are from different networks. Filming concluded on August 3, 2021. Notable filming locations included Admiralty Way in Marina del Rey, Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles, Grand Avenue, the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, and Wilshire Boulevard.

Filming on season 2 was due to begin on October 31, 2022, and run through March 2023. Filming locations for season 2 included the Paseo Club in Valencia, The Cowboy Palace Saloon in Chatsworth, Sixth Street Bridge, and the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

Filming on season three began on January 18, 2024 and had wrapped by June 2024.

Filming of season four began in early 2025 and had wrapped in mid-2025.

Filming on season five began on March 17, 2026 and concluded on July 15, 2026.

Lawsuit

In August 2021, A+E Studios subsidiary Frankl & Bob Films II, LLC filed a lawsuit against ViacomCBS for "millions of dollars" in losses after it decided to not move forward with the series the previous year. Citing the company's creation on December 4, 2019, the documents state that "after the merger, ViacomCBS's new leadership, led by George Cheeks had second-guessed CBS Network's decision to enter into the 13-episode series commitment," and that after finding it "was not valuable to ViacomCBS ... Mr. Cheeks and his fellow ViacomCBS executives decided that it would be better for ViacomCBS as a whole if CBS Network breached that commitment." The documents also claim that ViacomCBS rejected the series because the first episode had not been filmed and said "that breach ensured that the series would never make it onto broadcast television."

Release

The first season premiered on Netflix on May 13, 2022. The first 5 episodes of the second season released on July 6, 2023, and the remaining episodes released August 3, 2023. The third season premiered on October 17, 2024. The fourth season premiered on February 5, 2026.

Reception

Audience viewership

By its first three days of release, the series finished No. 2 on Netflix's weekly ratings. In its first full week of streaming, it was the platform's most-watched English-language series globally, with over 108 million viewing hours, more than three times the second-place show. Between May 8 and June 5, 2022, the series was watched 260.53 million hours globally.

Following its premiere, the series performed strongly in viewership rankings. According to Netflix’s weekly Top 10 data, the first season ranked among the platform’s most-watched English-language television programs globally during its initial release period. The series continued to perform well with subsequent seasons, frequently appearing in Netflix’s global streaming rankings. Critics generally praised the show’s performances, particularly Manuel Garcia-Rulfo’s portrayal of Mickey Haller, as well as its courtroom storytelling and procedural format.

Critical response

For season 1, On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 35 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.50/10. The website's consensus reads: "David E. Kelley's adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer relies too much on quirk to paper over its lack of true novelty, but this is a reliable enough vehicle for fans of legal pulp." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 62 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

For season 2, On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10. Metacritic assigned a score of 59 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

For season 3, On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. Metacritic assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

For season 4, On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 7 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic assigned a score of 76 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".