Doubt

Doubt isn't art, but it's a well-done piece of popular entertainment that, for Heigl, represents a welcome return to form.

Think of this as “Grey’s” in a courtroom, with a good New York cast, two legends (Gould and Bill Irwin, who plays a judge), a TV star and a TV pioneer.

The cases are what propel the drama, but it's the high-profile cast that will keep viewers coming back.

The show is competent for what it is. (Phelan and Rater know the territory.) And the series manages to address some real issues in evenhanded ways. So while it’s not my cup of tea, I wouldn’t write Doubt off.

It is a worthy, highly watchable effort. While a bit tonally uneven in early episodes and not especially groundbreaking--it is, at its core, yet another legal procedural--Doubt is elevated by witty banter and a stellar supporting cast.

At first glance, it seems like just another glossy, TV exploration of law and order, with Heigl in the role of fireball attorney crusading for justice while click-clacking through courtrooms in high heels. In a lot of ways, that’s exactly what Doubt is. But it also happens to be a solid showcase for Heigl and her fellow actors, including Laverne Cox.

There’s a brazen quality to Doubt that is frothy enough to be silly but grounded enough to take on topical, controversial subjects. It doesn’t require too much effort to let unfold, and with such a talented, deep bench of actors, it’s usually enough to watch them bounce off of each other while flaunting their impossibly stylish accessories.

As a soap opera, Doubt is pretty good. It's filled with likable characters played by a nice cast and features relatively interesting cases handled by a boutique New York law firm.

The conflict between idealism and reality runs through Doubt like a bright thread, sometimes restated in explicitly political terms. Sometimes the firm's lawyers seem to be giving their clients short shrift in deference to dubious leftist shibboleths about community. Is "snitching" really the word for testifying against a gang-banger murderer? That piquant political dilemma, coupled with the increasingly jagged story line of Sadie's dubious romance, keep Doubt more watchable than it probably has a right to be.