Just Legal
WB | The WB | Release Date: September 19, 2005
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Baltimore SunDavid Zurawik
Season 1 Review: Baruchel... plays Ross with a winningly earnest goofiness, while Johnson skillfully navigates the darkly comic territory of being over the hill and irritated by everything and everyone who reminds him of his glory days. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: These attorneys quickly become characters, not just caricatures, and make "Just Legal" very easy to enjoy. Read full review
75
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: There is something extraordinarily appealing about the show's central pair. Read full review
70
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
Season 1 Review: The plotting is OK, the dialogue is better and the two leads are appealing. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
Season 1 Review: If you can ignore for a moment a logical flaw that permeates the series, you'll find an absorbing, well-paced legal drama with both heart and attitude, not to mention cinematography good enough to carry the Jerry Bruckheimer imprimatur. Read full review
70
PopMattersSamantha Bornemann
Season 1 Review: Sure, this has all been done before, but familiarity doesn't make Just Legal any less fun. Read full review
70
The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley
Season 1 Review: Mr. Johnson is surprisingly deft, and even at times poignant, in the part. Even when the plot and other characters turn cartoonish, he manages to strike a deeper chord. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
Season 1 Review: There's promise here, as long as it gets grittier and funnier, and doesn't descend into bombast. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesPaul Brownfield
Season 1 Review: It's rather old-fashioned, except that there's something real about the chemistry. Read full review
60
Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland
Season 1 Review: There's something weirdly charming about the pair's chemistry. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMatt Roush
Season 1 Review: Mostly overcomes its contrived premise and clichéd courtroom theatrics with well-played characters you might actually root for.
50
Detroit Free PressMike Duffy
Season 1 Review: A gimmicky, cliched legal drama that seems to have been unearthed from 20 years ago. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyDalton Ross
Season 1 Review: The constant moral back-patting leaves me feeling, well, limp. [30 Sep 2005, p.87]
50
San Francisco ChronicleTim Goodman
Season 1 Review: By no means is "Just Legal" a top-notch drama as yet, but it certainly has potential to be agreeable lighter fare. Read full review
50
San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesCharlie McCollum
Season 1 Review: Baruchel and Johnson (who is quite appealing in his role) have real chemistry. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian Lowry
Season 1 Review: It's Don Johnson's irascible charm as a boozing, bottom-feeding barrister that occasionally elevates this hour above its mundane legal jockeying. Read full review
40
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: It's a formulaic, lazily devised legal series that fails to surprise or amuse. Read full review
40
Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Season 1 Review: The central issue about Just Legal is that it's such a predictable series. Read full review
30
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 1 Review: "Just Legal" is just tedious. Read full review
10
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm
Season 1 Review: Stunningly flat. Read full review
0
Miami HeraldGlenn Garvin
Season 1 Review: Give it credit for consistency: a bad concept, badly written for bad actors. Read full review
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