The cast and crew of the David E. Kelley “drama” series Boston Legal had plenty of reason to celebrate when the recent Emmy nominations were announced. The series was nominated for Best Drama and series stars James Spader and William Shatner also picked up nominations. The cast and crew returned to work last week but their show’s future may not feel as secure as it once did.
Boston Legal, as you probably know, was a spin-off of Kelley’s popular drama The Practice. The quirky legal series debuted on October 3, 2004 and ranked 27th for the season with an average of 12.5 million viewers each week. Season two dropped to 46th for the year with 10.3 million viewers. Season three slipped to 48th and attracted an average of 9.9 million each week. Though the ratings are still respectable, the series can’t be considered a big hit. Last May, ABC even postponed Legal’s season three finale until after the sweeps period.
ABC renewed Boston Legal for a fourth season on March 21, 2007 so the show will certainly return at some point. The big question is “when?” Boston Legal was originally scheduled to return on Tuesday, September 25th but was bumped. The network had asked the show’s producers to create a special 90-minute episode to follow Dancing with the Stars but they declined. Now the series return date is up in the air. With falling ratings, is ABC losing interest in Boston Legal? The show certainly doesn’t seem to be a priority.
Whenever the series does return, you can expect to see a number of cast changes. Tara Summers, John Larroquette, Saffron Burrows, and Taraji P. Henson will all be joining the team as series regulars. Emmy-winner Christian Clemenson (Jerry Espinson) will become a series regular as well. Exiting the series will be Constance Zimmer, Julie Bowen, Mark Valley and Rene Auberjonois. Valley and Auberjonois have been booked for a few season four episodes, presumably to give the writers an opportunity to give the characters an exit out of the firm. Stay tuned! 
08-02-07 UPDATE: The producers seem to have changed their mind about ABC’s request to make the season premiere a 90-minute episode. Boston Legal will return on September 25th at 9:30pm. It will air Tuesdays at 10pm after that.
I agree with a lot of the comments here about BL. Its far too intelligent, and “real” for most people to understand, and deal with! Its the perfect combination of real life issues being met head on with refreshing Political Incorrectness humor. It certainly doesn’t appeal to those who voted in our current administration!
Aloha
By far the most intelligent
show on network tv.
I wish ABC would be more
consistent with the show.
How about HBO?
Boston Legal is an excellent combination of good drama and a tasteful comedy and I never miss an episode unless I’ve had to work (in which case I tape it) and in some cases I’ve actually called off to watch it. Shatner is a horney, power crazy 14-year-old trapt in a 50-year old body-“Deny Crane”, you gotta’ love it. In my opinion he is only succeeded by James Spader’s character Alan Shore who I can’t even put into words of how brilliant and sarcastically ballsy he is. PLEASE DON’T CANCEL THE SHOW, I BEG YOU!!!!
we love boston legal never miss a week cant wait for the new season to start best show on tv please do not take off
This has been my favorite show since its inception. It always has some intellectual “meat” to chew on. There is always some thought-provoking issue to debate, or at least feel very passionately about. I hope it stays!
Boston is absolutely the best dramatic comedy on TV!!! Who should we send the peanuts to to make sure this doesn’t get canceled. Or worse, moved to a different time slot and/or put on hiatus from week to week so viewers can’t find it… ABC seems to be particularly good at destroying their show’s ratings by doing this on a regular basis.
BL is my guilty pleasure – if it goes, I’m doomed. There isn’t another show on television with stories and wit as well-written as BL. Oh well – there’s always NETFLIX…
Love this show…never miss it! And looking forward to see how John Lareoquette fits in.
Love this show “Boston Legal”
I absolutely *love* Boston Legal! Sadly, the “average” viewer can’t appreciate it, and,
therefore, its future seems to be in question. I certainly hope it garners enough interest to keep in on the air.
I can’t wait for a new season of BL, I love wittiness and sarcastic humor. Best series out in years!
I watch the show mainly because William Shatner is in it.He’s hysterical!Well,if it doesn’t come back,then it was nice while it lasted.
I quit watching Boston Legal after the third season turned into the same sleazy burlesque as LA Law some years ago. It’s a real disappointment to see excellent writing degraded after a couple of glorious seasons! I live in hope of the next Kelley series!
One of the most politically incorrect programs on TV. I love it! Low ratings indicate it’s too intelligent for most people. Number of awards proves that hypothesis. Last 2 minutes are great commentary on most current events. Keep it up!
I hope they don’t take Boston Legal off the air. I started watching it when James Spader did a really serious case and his performance in court was wonderful.Then you have the funny parts with William Shatner! I had my husband watch it and lots of firends and we are all hooked.We like how you take real things in life and put them in a court and them add a little laughter to break up the seriousness of it. Please keep it on the air and move the time to 9:00 p.m. so it doesn’t interfere with the news at… Read more »