Notorious

This show wants to be a lot of things (behind-the-scenes drama, white- collar romance, mystery, legal procedural), and it might succeed at some of those if it weren't so dedicated to being a laughable soap -- and a girlie one at that. What do I mean by "girlie"? I mean that every woman on this show is self-empowered, while every guy on this show is either a wimp, a schemer, a liar, and/or is trying to figure out how to get the women to give him something. It's a feminist's dream, at the expense of any believability whatsoever. The only even remotely redeeming factor is that the mystery is actually pretty good. Unfortunately you have to wade through a lot of raw sewage to watch it. Not worth it for me.

I was drawn to this show (which is based on the backstage happenings at "Larry King Live") because of Piper Perabo. The premise sounded lame to me, but I was willing to give it a chance.

The first episode opens with a sex scene between Julia George (Perabo) and her fiancé. Louise, the star of the TV show Julia produces, is an attractive cougar who beds almost every younger guy she comes in contact with. Julia's assistant, Megan, used to be an escort. It doesn't take long to realize that titillation will be on the menu (along with the beefcake and the cheesecake).

Julia has a strong relationship with a local attorney, Jake Gregorian (Daniel Sunjata). Together they manipulate public opinion for their own ends. She wants ratings and he is always angling in the best interests of his clients.

In episode two, Julia mines a pro bono legal case for its juicier elements to stimulate viewership. Puff Daddy pops by for a few seconds. And there is a fairly interesting story about a mother whose child was abducted.

As a result, I have mixed feelings about "Notorious". Perabo is believable in her demanding leading role. The rest of the cast is fairly strong. But the subject matter is mostly frivolous. And it is not clear yet whether the stars of the show are likable enough to truly care about. I do know that Ms. Perabo's talents can be better used.

Update 10/18/16: After watching a few episodes, my worst fears have been confirmed. There is a smarmy yet sensitive vibe at the center of the show. The staff of the television news show pretend to be the conscience of America, the judge who hands their facts over to the public (jurors) in search of justice. They use their power to bully and coerce. They repeatedly drag the national conversation down into the gutter then seek the moral high ground. Their sources are shadowy and (conveniently) never ending. They cast themselves as the (pseudo-) custodians of conscience, but Julia is reckless and "a self-centered little bitch" according to her own on-air talent.

The worst thing about this show is that tries to normalize the sordid practices of TV news program that specializes in sensationalism, sex, celebrity and sin. We don't need to celebrate that and we don't need to accept it as the rightful and best practices of journalism.

Perabo (and others) can do better. I look forward to her next show. I am lowering my grade to "4".

...most of 2.5K reviewers liked this show, and that's well better than a majority of similar productions. It's one of those shows that maybe takes awhile getting used to, but it definitely got better as the season progressed. It now shows as being canceled.. but were I in the business, I'd be willing to give it new life. There's lots of good characters here, and the story-line has gotten much more solid over time. Many times network executives are too quick to pull the plug on what could morph into better works. All involved in this production deserve more of a chance.. maybe someone with wider vision will uncover an opportunity here. Only time will tell... anyway, it was good fun for the times of S1.

This new ABC series so far called "Notorious" I like as it's a legal drama with some sugar and spice and it blends well with headline themes of the media and the law dealing with high profile cases that involve themes of hype, drama, and scandal all while showing how the legal system has holes in it. Set in sunny and beautiful Los Angeles, California it involves the workings of a young hot shot criminal defense lawyer named Jake(Daniel Sunjata)who takes only the cases of the most high profile incidents and his clients are well known and rich. And to build up the hype and drama Jake features his cases on the network of powerhouse TV producer Julia George(Piper Perabo)who as a young hunger type ratings seeker features the stories and interviews on a show with a red head type cougar host who's one sexy colored bra wearing woman! This series is filled with sex, drama, and plenty of scandal showing that's how the law and media works when it involves the high profile as it's all about greed and hype to obtain ratings and money along with a good story!

It boggles the mind a show like Two Broke Girls can go on seemingly forever but something watchable gets canned after just one season, probably because, once again, the dumbasses the look at the ratings/viewers aren't also counting people who stream shows.

I hope Netflix revives this and Limitless, because at this point i think they're the only ones who know what their doing anymore.