Canterbury's Law

Canterbury's Law is an American legal drama television series, which aired from March 10 to April 18, 2008 as a mid-season replacement on Fox. The show was created by Dave Erickson and executive produced by Denis Leary, Jim Serpico, Walon Green, John Kane, and Mike Figgis, who also directed the pilot. The series revolved around Elizabeth Canterbury (portrayed by Julianna Margulies), a rebellious defense attorney willing to bend the law if it protects the wrongfully accused. A rising star, she puts her career on the line to take on risky and unpopular cases, even when they take a toll on her personal life.

Produced by Sony Pictures Television and Apostle, the series aired Mondays at 9:00 pm and was broadcast in Australia and Canada on Nine Network and Global respectively. Due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, only six of the 13 episodes ordered were able to be produced.

On March 20, 2008, Fox announced that Canterbury's Law would move to the Friday 9:00 pm slot for the remaining episodes.

On May 15, 2008, Fox officially canceled the series.

Plot
Elizabeth and her law professor husband, Matthew (Aidan Quinn), are both haunted by the disappearance of their young son (Jeremy Zorek) and have just settled in Providence, Rhode Island, in an attempt to distance themselves from the tragedy and put their relationship back together. But even as they try to move on beyond the tragedy, those goals become elusive whenever Elizabeth's work provides a stark reminder of the justice absent in their own lives.

At work, Elizabeth must also deal with coworkers Russell Krauss (Ben Shenkman), a former district attorney, who was forced out of his job by his financially strapped boss and whose knowledge will guide Elizabeth in their cases, even if she doesn't want to hear his reasoning or logic; Chester Fields (Keith Robinson), a congressman's son who wants to distance himself from his political family; and Molly McConnell (Trieste Dunn), a headstrong individual who's not afraid to switch sides, even if it's against Elizabeth.

Frank Angstrom (James McCaffrey) is a private investigator with whom Elizabeth has a sometime affair.

Main characters

 * Julianna Margulies as Elizabeth Canterbury
 * Ben Shenkman as Russell Krauss
 * Trieste Dunn as Molly McConnell
 * Keith Robinson as Chester Fields
 * Terry Kinney as Deputy Attorney General Zach Williams
 * Aidan Quinn as Matthew "Matt" Furey
 * James McCaffrey as Frank Angstrom

Recurring characters

 * David Call as Martin, the receptionist

Jocko Sims was originally cast as Chester Fields but the role was re-cast in June 2007. Linus Roache was also replaced by Aidan Quinn in August 2007 after the former landed a regular starring role in Law & Order.

Reception
The show received mixed to positive reviews from television critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 58% approval rating, based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads, "While Canterbury's Law births an amoral and intriguing antihero that Julianna Margulies plays with aplomb, the series is weighed down by uninspired courtroom drama." Metacritic gave the show 66 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".