If movies have occasionally floundered in the water in recent years, TV is doing better than ever. Coming to the line-up of potential must-watch shows is Goliath, an Amazon Studios series starring Billy Bob Thornton as a washed up lawyer who takes on his old firm.
The show tells the story of Billy McBride, once a high-powered lawyer who has fallen on hard times and become an ambulance chaser. He agrees to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against a client of Cooperman & McBride, a massive law firm that he helped create and that is now apparently run by a rather devilish-looking William Hurt. But all is not as it seems – is it ever? – and McBride’s team begins to uncover a vast conspiracy. It appears that McBride is a little David pitted against a very dangerous, potentially lethal Goliath.
The plot of “washed-up lawyer uncovers corruption” is pretty straightforward and predictable – has there ever been a washed-up lawyer uncovering banal corporate greed, or prosecuting an easy case that doesn’t stretch to the highest echelons of the business and financial world? No? Still, the weighty cast and excellent cinematography on display in this trailer makes Goliath look intriguing.
Thornton and Hurt are joined by Maria Bello, Molly Parker, Harold Perrineau, and Dwight Yoakam, among others. The sun-washed palette of the show highlights the corruption beneath the prettiest of places, as we know that it must. And when I say that William Hurt looks devilish, I mean that literally – there’s at least one shot where his eyes seem to be flaming with a red light.
Amazon has been putting together a pretty a hefty line-up lately, including Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle, both with spectacular casts and high quality production values. So far, Goliath looks like it’ll fit right in.
Goliath will be available on Amazon Prime Video on October 14.