Portia Doubleday (Mr. Robot), Christine Adams (Black Lightning) and Ken Kirby (Good Trouble) are set as series regulars in the ABC drama pilot “Judgement.” The pilot was just ordered last December and hails from former Charmed showrunner Joey Falco.
The pilot also stars Sarah Shahi (Sex/Life), Reid Scott (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), and François Arnaud (Midnight, Texas).
“Judgement” is a high-stakes legal soap that redefines the genre by playing out over two timelines. Fifteen years from now, a woman (Shahi) being vetted for a Supreme Court seat recounts her experience at a prominent D.C. law firm in 2023, where the only thing more controversial than the cases was her messy love life, caught between two feuding brothers (Scott, Arnaud). Now, with a Supreme Court seat on the line, all of her darkest secrets are at risk of coming out, threatening her nomination, her reputation and her marriage.
We meet Shahi’s Mia Bahari in two distinct periods of her life. In one, she’s a brilliant, successful Appeals Court judge being vetted for the U.S. Supreme Court — so long as her dark and painful secrets don’t derail the nomination. In another, she’s a young spitfire of an attorney, painfully awkward at times but ingenious when it comes to navigating the many nuances of the law. She’s also caught romantically between two feuding brothers who are at the root of the very things she’s trying to hide from her Supreme Court investigators.
According to Deadline,
Doubleday will play Eloise ‘Ellie’ Roth, a quirky, eternally optimistic, up-and-coming associate who strikes an immediate friendship with her new colleague, Mia (Shahi). She also happens to be the daughter of the firm’s founder, leading many to see her as a classic nepo-baby; but the brilliant, determined Ellie sees proving herself as an exciting challenge (almost as exciting as her favorite reality TV show, which she will not shut up about).
Adams portrays Special Agent Monica Moore, who has a fearless intensity thanks to a long career with the FBI, where she’s had to dodge both bullets and institutional misogyny. Moore is in charge of vetting Judge Mia Bahari (Shahi) for a seat on the Supreme Court, but rather than talk about her judicial philosophy, she’s laser-focused on getting Mia to discuss her time working with Danny Quinn (Scott). Because the truth is, Moore is hiding a secret agenda of her own, and her mysterious goals make her a dangerous antagonist to Mia in her quest to get on the Court.
Kirby is Andrew Chang. With a friendly demeanor and upbeat energy, Andrew Chang is the Deputy White House Counsel who joins FBI agent Monica Moore (Adams) in interrogating Judge Mia Bahari (Shahi) as part of the vetting process for a possible Supreme Court seat. He’s a bundle of nerves desperately trying to appear professional, and much more empathetic than the relentless Moore, but this being the White House, everyone has secrets…and even the seemingly innocuous Andrew is no exception.
Joey Falco is the writer and executive producer on the pilot. Falco executive produces with Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan and Jordan Cerf. Paul McGuigan directs and also executive produces.
20th Television is the studio. Mar and Kasdan are currently under an overall deal at 20th TV via The Detective Agency.
If the pilot receives a series order, the show will air on ABC and stream on Hulu in the US and is expected to release on Disney+ internationally.
Doubleday’s credits include playing Angela, on Mr. Robot, ABC’s Mr. Sunshine, Youth In Revolt.
Adams can be seen next in Apple TV+’s action-thriller Kingdom and is known for playing Lynn Pierce on DC Comics/CW’s Black Lightning.
Kirby’s credits include Good Trouble, Dynasty, Grand Hotel, The Gifted and the Gotham/Tribeca nominated LGBTQ series The Gay and Wondrouse Life of Caleb Gallo.
Source: Deadline