NBC's Bluff City Law tries to re-create the magic of This Is Us in a courtroom

Variety

The NBC legal drama starring Jimmy Smits and Caitlin McGee as a father and daughter who work together at his law firm is all burnish and big, brassy words, says Daniel D'Addario. "What it badly needs is a bit more grit and a heavy dose of confidence. Only a show this uncertain of its audience’s affections would be this needily verbose." D'Addario adds: "As a legal procedural emanating from outside the imaginings of Dick Wolf, Bluff City Law at least represents something novel for NBC. But its understanding of the workings of the legal profession is frustratingly limited in a familiar way — not merely because it falls so nearly into timeworn cliché but also because it seems to trust its audience so little. In its first two episodes, what works tepidly well here is a family dynamic that at least feels unusual; what does not are heard-them-all-before clichés about the power and responsibilities of attorneys. In its relentless speechifying and overly ingratiating need to constantly show off and burnish its moral compass, Bluff City Law resembles no current show more than This Is Us — and is proof that what has made that show a hit cannot easily be replicated in the courtroom." ALSO: While Jimmy Smits is the big star and big draw for Bluff City Law, it's actually Caitlin McGee's show.