TNT's Franklin and Bash Review

TNT is quickly becoming one of the best cable networks in terms of prime time programming. They have another offering starting soon and looks to be a great show. But here they have a new show that takes the idea of a legal drama and serves it up with a little twist. The focus is on a team of defense lawyers who hold their practice in the city of Los Angeles. The key to their charm is that they go off the wall when it comes to defending a case in court. Their courtroom manner is not what you would call orthodox. But in the long run that is what you need to make a show that is using a format that has been done too many times already be successful. You need to give it a twist that is going to bring the viewers in and get them hooked. I know I am.

“Franklin and Bash” stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Peter Bash and Breckin Meyer as Jared Franklin. These guys are what you would call as fly by the seat of their pants lawyers, who have their own firm called “Franklin and Bash” In the pilot episode we see them as a group who go to extreme lengths to make things interesting in the courtroom and in the office. In so doing they use a lot of questionable tactics to win their case. In the pilot, they are defending a guy who caused an accident on Sunset Blvd because he was distracted by a very racy mattress ad on a billboard. They are questioning the actress/model who was in that ad and Jared eyes her to do something. What does she do, she proceeds to take her blouse off on the witness stand thus flashing herself to everybody in the courtroom. This act serves as the basis for their defense in that their client was very much distracted as was everybody in the courtroom. Upon winning this case they are invited to join the lawfirm Infeld Daniels, headed by Stanton Infeld (Malcolm McDowell). Stanton believes that they can bring great amounts of energy to his lawfirm and really bring in the clients.This is what the premiere episode was all about, establishing its main characters and getting them off to a good start.

The pilot episode was a good premiere but like any pilot to any show there is always room to get better. I have absolute faith that this show will be ten times better by the time it reaches its first season finale. But first and foremost the real kicker for this show is that it takes a used format and shakes it into something fresh and different. As I said before that is the only way that you get a television audience hooked to a new show, you deliver something new and with a twist.

In the end, “Franklin and Bash” got off to a great start. The pilot was great in establishing its main characters and setting the main story in motion. But as always the show will get better as it goes along and by that time we will have a greater understanding of these characters. It has a great cast to boost it. Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who we all know as the immortal Zack Morris from the classic 1990s teen sitcom Saved by the Bell , and Breckin Meyer, who was the guy who sent an X-rated video to his girlfriend in the film Road Trip , have great chemistry together. They are also aided by a great supporting cast that includes the great Malcolm McDowell. But also Dana Davis and Kumail Nanjiani who supply some comic relief as the assistants to Franklin and Bash. All in all this is a good show and it really has a lot of potential of being a huge asset to TNT.

Adam Miller

Movies Correspondent and Associate Producer, The RPM Show

If you want to learn more about this show or want to share your thoughts about it, send me an email to adam@therpmshow.com. Also visit our website www.therpmshow.com to learn more about movies and television.