NBC has ordered additional scripts for upcoming series “Bluff City Law” ahead of its September 23 premiere.
The Jimmy Smits-led legal drama was ordered for 13 episodes, but the network has asked for six more scripts as of Thursday.
Smits is set to play Elijah Strait, the legendary defense lawyer from Tennessee who is well-known to all in the Memphis community. He joins Caitlin McGee on the pilot, who will play his daughter.
According to NBC, “Bluff City Law” follows lawyer Sydney Strait (McGee), who after a falling out with her father is suddenly thrust back into the family fold when her philanthropist mother passes away unexpectedly. In the wake of her loss, hoping to reconnect with the daughter he loves, Elijah (Smits) asks Sydney to rejoin his firm. She agrees because despite her lingering resentment and distrust, she knows that working alongside her father is her best hope at changing the world … if they can ever get along.
Smits starred as Victor Sifuentes for more than 100 episodes on the NBC’s legal drama “L.A. Law,” which ran from 1986 to 1994. He also had a recurring role on NBC’s “The West Wing” as Matt Santos, a congressman and later president-elect. Smits was nominated for Best Actor in a Drama at the Emmys for six consecutive years, winning in 1990.
The project is set up at Universal Television, and co-created by Dean Georgaris and Michael Aguilar, with David Janollari as an executive producer.
The Hollywood Reporter was first to break the news.