Well, I’m a binge- TV Show watcher. I watch at least 10 shows weekly at any given point in time. So this is kind of my favourite topic.

Well, I’ve watched Boston Legal, Ally McBeal, Suits and the Good Wife. Ally and BL are much older shows, but were a rage when my Professor’s were in Law School, while Suits and the Good wife are the current crop. Comparing the shows might be slightly difficult because although all of them are based on the legal fraternity, all of them have a different premise or genre, so to say. Ally was mostly a rom- com, which I would rank the lowest, despite enjoying it thoroughly. I LOVED BL, and I’m watching the show again since it’s on TV currently. Suits was really good for the first two seasons, but now it just seems like office politics, which is kind of boring. I agree that the Good Wife is very underrated. You will be surprised to know that it is also much less watched in India by the legal community. Almost every firm I’ve interned in has Suits- fans. So much so, that an associate would download every new episode online in office (everyone would wonder how he bypassed the firm’s IT Security) and upload it on the firm Cloud for everyone. suits is also a rage amongst my friends who are not law students and they’re in awe of lawyers (haha!!) The Good Wife has been consistently good yet, but has not caught on as much. I really love it though. So I would rate GW and Suits ( only for Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty)on top with BL a close second.

Some other non legal dramas currently on air that are awesome- Newsroom (journalism- a MUST watch) and house of Cards (political- crime drama).

I remember Ally myself from way back. It was quite fun and super popular, agree but often felt more like Phoebe from Friends working in an office rather than a proper legal show.

I’ve yet to watch Boston Legal - so many people have recommended it on Twitter in response to this query, and some have also mentioned The Practice.

I am really surprised about Good Wife too - some non-lawyer friends watch it, but I’ve yet to meet a lawyer who’s a self-professed fan. Suits on the other hand is like an epidemic. I guess that whole strutting around in power suits and being a bad ass quite appeals to a lot of lawyers.

I’ve stopped watching Suits at some point through the 3rd season, which became a bit ridiculous, but Good Wife has just been getting better and is now coming into S5. And the trials are far better than Suits, legally speaking, though they still stretch credulity a bit sometimes. Suits, however, has barely any law whatsoever, and it’s more about scheming and plotting, it seems to me.

One character I absolutely adore in Suits though, and who I think single-handedly makes the show is Louis Litt. There are few other TV characters, if any, whom in the space of a single episode I’ve hated, loved, pitied, laughed with and at, understood and cried for. If wish they made a show where Louis & Harvey start a firm together. :)

What ultimately clinches GW over Suits for me though, as a law firm geek, are the partnership politics. Both are unrealistic in their own way (the concept of equity partnership in GW changes by the week, 4th year associate seems to be the most senior rung on the career ladder before partnership, and their partnership deed must have been written on toilet paper and lost or something, and where the hell has Julius disappeared to???), but there are many more dynamic interactions between the partners. In Suits it basically boils down to 2 or 3 partners, most of whom are a bit bland (Harvey and Louis excepting of course).

Newsroom is great, agreed, though the last season turned a bit rom-commy for my tastes at times. Will still be watching the second half of the season, of course, when it’s out. House of Cards only seen the first 2 episodes so far but it looks astounding!

If you like journalism and quality TV, and you haven’t seen it yet, I’ve yet to see a better depiction of news than Season 5 of The Wire (especially after watching season 1 to 4, which are a treat)…

I also did some Googling earlier and came across this post, which highly recommends Murder One as quality legal drama:

http://www.pajiba.com/seriously\_random\_lists/the-five-best-legal-shows-of-all-time.php

Anyone seen it?

The Practice, I think is the best ever legal show. It is quite a realistic portrayal of litigation practice and the trials and tribulations of the members of the firm engaged in the same. Though after Season 5, it waters down a bit, it is still brilliant. Additionally, the last season introduces us to Alan Shore, one of the best(if not always realistic) attorneys ever on TV. Boston Legal, in my opinion would come second. Night Court(1984-1992), starring a stellar John Larroquette is also a show I would definitely recommend.

The Good Wife is also pretty good and Suits, well, is not a legal series at all. The law is lost in the wannabe cool.

I’d say The Practice is one of the best legal series I’ve seen.

Whereas Suits and Boston Legal are on the lighter side, The Practice is dark, grimy and covers a lot of grey area. It’s got 8 seasons and I think every law student should give it a try. It will appeal to some and may not appeal to some. There’s some fine acting by Dylan McDermott. I particularly enjoyed the episode where they wish to go behind the Attorney-client privilege because the cigarette companies get tests done by their lawyers, and to prove smoking is harmful, they need to get those reports which are protected by privilege.

Suits is fun, as is Boston Legal, they’re good to watch with a group of friends as chances are, everyone will enjoy them, they’re light and easygoing. There’s another series called The Defenders, starring James Belushi that people might like, as it’s pretty humorous. And lastly, Franklin and Bash. Franklin and Bash is pretty funny, and deals with 2 lawyers who get hired by a big firm.

Just my 2 cents.

How come you fellas missed Scandal?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1837576/

And yes Scandal is a lawyer’s show