The Defenders (2010 TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Defenders is a 2010 American legal
comedy-drama
that was ordered to series by CBS
for the 2010–11 television season. The series originally ran from September 22, 2010 to March 11, 2011.
Set in Las Vegas
, Nevada
, this version involves a pair of defense attorneys who go all out to help their clients while keeping their personal lives in order. The show is loosely based on real-life Vegas lawyers Michael Cristalli and Marc Saggese.
In October 2010, CBS announced that the show had been picked up for a 19-episode season with the option to produce a full 22-episode season. In January 2011, CBS announced that The Defenders was moving from its Wednesday timeslot to the Friday timeslot vacated by Medium
, with Blue Bloods
temporarily moving to the timeslot The Defenders vacated. Blue Bloods returned to its Friday timeslot in February 2011 owing to the series premiere of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
. The Defenders aired the last six episodes of its season on Fridays at 8:00 pm Eastern/7:00 pm Central. Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell
star as the defense attorneys of the show's title.
On May 15, 2011, The Defenders was canceled by CBS. On August 22, 2011, the show was picked up by the Netflix
"Watch Instantly" streaming service in the U.S.
, FX
has acquired the rights to the series and began showing episodes on April 8, 2011. The series premiered in Australia
on June 1, 2011 on the free to air station Channel Ten. In Poland, the show starts on November 15 on AXN and AXN HD Polska. Fox Portugal have also confirmed the broadcasting rights of the series. In Germany kabel eins has acquired the rights but later Sat 1 air the series since March 27, 2011. 27 January has launched in Russia on channel SET
. In Austria the series is shown on ORF
. It began airing on Malaysia's national broadcast station RTM
's channel tv2
premiering on May 18, 2011 at the midnight time slot. On September 12, 2011 network Rai3 started broadcasting the show in Italy
. In South Africa
the series started airing on DSTV
on November 3, 2011.
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
that was ordered to series by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
for the 2010–11 television season. The series originally ran from September 22, 2010 to March 11, 2011.
Set in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, this version involves a pair of defense attorneys who go all out to help their clients while keeping their personal lives in order. The show is loosely based on real-life Vegas lawyers Michael Cristalli and Marc Saggese.
In October 2010, CBS announced that the show had been picked up for a 19-episode season with the option to produce a full 22-episode season. In January 2011, CBS announced that The Defenders was moving from its Wednesday timeslot to the Friday timeslot vacated by Medium
Medium (TV series)
Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
, with Blue Bloods
Blue Bloods (TV series)
Blue Bloods is an American police procedural/drama series on CBS, filmed on location in New York City. The show premiered on September 24, 2010, with episodes airing on Fridays at 10:00 pm Eastern and Pacific/9:00 PM Central and Mountain....
temporarily moving to the timeslot The Defenders vacated. Blue Bloods returned to its Friday timeslot in February 2011 owing to the series premiere of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior was an American police procedural drama on CBS. The show debuted in 2011 as a spin-off from the successful Criminal Minds, which premiered in 2005. This edition's profiling team also works for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Analysis Unit in...
. The Defenders aired the last six episodes of its season on Fridays at 8:00 pm Eastern/7:00 pm Central. Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell
Jerry O'Connell
Jeremiah "Jerry" O'Connell is an American actor, best known for his roles in the TV series Sliders, Andrew Clements in My Secret Identity, Vern Tessio in the film Stand by Me, Charlie Carbone in Kangaroo Jack, and Detective Woody Hoyt on the drama Crossing Jordan...
star as the defense attorneys of the show's title.
On May 15, 2011, The Defenders was canceled by CBS. On August 22, 2011, the show was picked up by the Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
"Watch Instantly" streaming service in the U.S.
Main characters
- Jerry O'ConnellJerry O'ConnellJeremiah "Jerry" O'Connell is an American actor, best known for his roles in the TV series Sliders, Andrew Clements in My Secret Identity, Vern Tessio in the film Stand by Me, Charlie Carbone in Kangaroo Jack, and Detective Woody Hoyt on the drama Crossing Jordan...
as Pete Kaczmarek, a freewheeling playboy lawyer - James BelushiJames BelushiJames Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
as Nick Morelli, Pete's partner, who is very passionate about his work and the clients he helps - Jurnee Smollett-BellJurnee SmollettJurnee Diana Smollett-Bell is an American actress. She is best known for the role of Jess Merriweather on the critically acclaimed television series Friday Night Lights...
as Lisa Tyler, a young lawyer who worked her way through law school as a stripper - Tanya FischerTanya FischerTanya Fischer is an American actress best known for her role as Zoey Waters on the crime-lawyer series The Defenders.- Career :...
as Zoey Waters, Pete and Nick's assistant
Supporting cast
- Gillian VigmanGillian VigmanGillian Vigman is an American comic actress. Vigman is most notable for her membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv. She also starred in the ABC comedy, Sons & Daughters. Vigman plays a supporting role on The Defenders.-Biography:Vigman started her professional...
as Jessica, Nick's estranged wife - Teddy SearsTeddy SearsEdward M. "Teddy" Sears is an American television actor, best known for his roles on One Life to Live and the TNT series Raising the Bar.- Early life :...
as Thomas Cole, a prosecuting attorney - Glynn TurmanGlynn TurmanGlynn Russell Turman is an American stage, television, and film actor as well as a writer, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson in the 1975 coming-of-age film Cooley High, math professor and retired Army colonel Bradford...
as Judge Bob Owens - Dan AykroydDan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
as Judge Maximus Hunter
International broadcasters
In the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, FX
FX (UK)
FX is a television channel in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, owned by Fox, launched in 12 January 2004. It was originally branded as FX289 in reference to its Sky EPG number. It was rebranded to FX in May 2005 as the channel moved in the Sky EPG.FX targets a demographic between 25...
has acquired the rights to the series and began showing episodes on April 8, 2011. The series premiered in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on June 1, 2011 on the free to air station Channel Ten. In Poland, the show starts on November 15 on AXN and AXN HD Polska. Fox Portugal have also confirmed the broadcasting rights of the series. In Germany kabel eins has acquired the rights but later Sat 1 air the series since March 27, 2011. 27 January has launched in Russia on channel SET
Sony Entertainment Television
Sony Entertainment Television is a series of general entertainment television channels, owned by Sony Pictures Television. At least 9 International versions of this channel exist:*Sony Entertainment Television Asia...
. In Austria the series is shown on ORF
ORF
ORF may refer to:* ORF , the Austrian public service broadcaster.* Open reading frame, a portion of the genome.* The IATA airport code for Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.* ORF format , Olympus raw image file format....
. It began airing on Malaysia's national broadcast station RTM
Radio Televisyen Malaysia
The Department of Broadcasting, Malaysia, DBA Radio Televisyen Malaysia , is a Malaysian state-owned public broadcaster. It owns and operates a number of radio and television stations in Malaysia, based in Kuala Lumpur...
's channel tv2
TV2 (Malaysia)
RTM2, also known as TV2 is a television station in Malaysia owned and operated by the Radio Television Malaysia, a division of the Malaysian Government. RTM2 is now broadcasting for 24 hours a day effective January 2006.- History :...
premiering on May 18, 2011 at the midnight time slot. On September 12, 2011 network Rai3 started broadcasting the show in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
the series started airing on DSTV
DStv
DStv is MultiChoice's multi-channel digital satellite TV service in Africa, launched in 1995. It operates from two satellites over Africa, broadcasting on Ku band via Eutelsat W7 and Intelsat 7 , which only requires a small satellite dish...
on November 3, 2011.