After a tumultuous second season that had more drama offscreen than on it, the cast and crew of “All Rise” are thrilled to be embarking on a third season at the Oprah Winfrey Network.
The cabler picked up the legal drama when it was canceled after two seasons at CBS amid shake-ups that saw several writers resign and showrunner Greg Spottiswood fired for misconduct.
“I thought we were over,” said current showrunner and executive producer Dee Harris-Lawrence, who took over after Spottiswood’s exit.
“There’s not that many shows like our show that tell these type of stories. So I’m excited to continue them at OWN,” she said during a Television Critics Association panel on Wednesday, in which she gushed that 80% of the staff are back for the series’ new beginning.
Having the show land at Oprah’s network was “kismet,” according to lead Simone Missick, who plays Judge Lola Carmichael, and is also serving as executive producer on the series for the first time.
“So many people rallied behind the show. Warner Bros., especially from the very beginning, were like, ‘We don’t want to let this go.’ And they told us, personally, it was the cast. It was the way we feel about each other and the way we feel about the show as a whole and the family environment on set,” she said. “And the stories we are telling. Once we found out [it has been bought by] OWN, it felt like kismet. It felt like what was supposed to be the next step for this show, because OWN is so interested in telling these kinds of stories, these passionate stories of real life.”
She added, “It’s exciting to bring the ‘All Rise’ audience to OWN and then to have OWN’s audience that might not have discovered our show before get to know it.”
Season 3, which will debut in June, welcomes two new recurring cast members including Spike Lee regular Roger Guenveur Smith as Judge Marshall Thomas and “The Boys” star Christian Keyes, who takes over the role of Lola’s husband Robin from Todd Williams. Harris-Lawrence also promised Marg Helgenberger will be recurring in Season 3 as Supervising Judge Lisa Benner, despite earlier reports she was otherwise committed.
Harris-Lawrence also teased a few upcoming storylines from the new season, including episodes revolving around consent and a serial killer.
Many of the characters are in new places when in the season opener, which is set six months after the Season 2 finale. Public defender Emily Lopez (Jessica Camacho) returns from Puerto Rico with a renewed sense of purpose to the job. As Camacho said during the panel, Emily’s love life is “a wreck,” but “her first love is her work.” Meanwhile, Luke Watkins (J. Alex Brinson) has left the D.A’s office to become a public defender.
Returning cast includes Wilson Bethel as Deputy District Attorney Mark Callan, a longtime friend of Lola’s; Ruthie Ann Miles as Lola’s assistant Sherri Kansky; Lindsay Mendez as former court reporter Sara Castillo; and Lindsey Gort as private defense attorney Amy Quinn. Recurring cast also includes Samantha Marie Ware as law clerk Vanessa “Ness” Johnson, winner Paul McCrane as Judge Laski, and Suzanne Cryer as Deputy District Attorney Maggie Palmer.
This series is produced by Warner Bros. Television. Michael M. Robin and Len Goldstein also serve as executive producers.
Episodes from the first two seasons currently air every Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET/PT on OWN. The first two seasons are available to stream on HBO Max and Hulu.