The Best Legal Series Of The 80s Is Coming To Streaming
Variety reports that L.A. Law, the venerable legal drama from the 1980s, will soon be streaming on Hulu. But if thinking of watching this series makes you envision fuzzy VHS resolution and less-than-crisp sound, you have a new experience awaiting you. All 172 episodes of the series, comprising its eight seasons, will be streamed in a new, remastered version.
L.A. Law, the smash hit legal series of the 80s that paved the way for Law & Order, is coming to Hulu in a new, remastered format.
The new, high-definition L.A. Law was produced by Disney, which owns a majority share of Hulu and is presented in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Before any film purists start worrying about the series being cropped into a widescreen format, the episodes were originally shot on film at that aspect ratio and were cropped for television screens. So, the new version of the series will be using original film elements, showing more of the image than was originally aired.
In addition, L.A. Law will also feature all of the original licensed music, which was kept in the series and has also received an upgrade. With the newly remastered picture and sound, L.A. Law will begin streaming on Hulu on November 3. However, the series is not exclusive to the popular streaming service. The entirety of the series is also currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, L.A. Law won four of those nominations, as well as five Primetime Emmy Awards, plus seven additional Primetime Emmy nominations.
Originally broadcast from 1986 to 1994 on NBC, L.A. Law is an hour-long drama that depicts the work and personal lives of people working at McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney & Kuzak, a law firm located, surprisingly, in Los Angeles.
Lead actors of the series include Harry Hamlin, Jimmy Smits, Blair Underwood, and Susan Dey, though a younger generation probably now knows Jimmy Smits primarily from his role in the Star Wars films. Other series regulars include Corbin Bernsen, Alan Rachins, Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker, Michele Greene, Larry Drake, Cecil Hoffman, Richard Dysart, Alexandra Powers, Susan Ruttan, Amanda Donohoe, Alan Rosenberg, Conchata Ferrell, Kelley, A. Martinez, John Spencer, Sheila Lisa Zane, and Debi Mazar.
Nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, L.A. Law won four of those nominations, as well as five Primetime Emmy Awards, plus seven additional Primetime Emmy nominations. It was produced by 20th Television and created by Stephen Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher. Fisher was a writer and producer for the 1980s series Cagney and Lacey, whose sequel series she also returned for.
A new L.A. Law pilot was made for ABC last year, but the network passed on picking up the series.
For his part, Bochco includes among his credits not only L.A. Law but also Hill Street Blues, Doogie Howser, M.D., and NYPD Blue. At one point, there were even plans for a sequel series to L.A. Law, but it did not come to fruition. Though a pilot was produced last year, ABC declined to pick up the series for regular production.
Whether there is any chance for a new L.A. Law series to be made elsewhere is not currently known, nor whether there are any plans to make such an attempt. However, the remastered version of the series will be well worth a look for fans of the original, and those who may be new to the series would do well to start with the new version. The remastered L.A. Law comes to Hulu on November 3.
