Series premiere: Bull – 2016/17
CBS has a new courtroom show starring Michael Weatherly post-NCIS. Unlike NCIS, Weatherly is “Dr. Bull” aka Phil McGraw, supposedly, and running Trial Analysis Corporation — “trial science” for the snobbish, jury consulting for the layperson. My original prediction would be that it would go half a season, no renewal. Having tested it with the one episode I originally gave it, I’m guessing now that it will go full season but be on the bubble to the end.
It’s basically very similar to “Lie to Me” from a few years ago, and will appeal to the same demographics. The first case involves a spoiled little rich kid accused of murder in the Bahamas (no idea why the case is being tried in the U.S.) and now on trial. The big reveal as life unfolds isn’t that big a reveal, and if you didn’t see it coming, you weren’t paying attention in pop trials 101 for TV courtroom shows. I don’t know how big of grey areas the show will tackle in future cases, but you would be an idiot to expect the first case wasn’t a slam dunk “not guilty because he didn’t actually do it” type case. I also had a pretty good idea who did do it, just wasn’t sure motive. And I suspect that the focus group watched the show, didn’t like the ambiguous ending, and so there is a wrap up scene where they reveal really who did it, just as the police show up to arrest them.
Decent show, but unless they have some decent mystery up their sleeve, I think they’ll be one season and done.
